My kit has arrived! WOOOOOP!

GrooveStyle

Wow, awesome notes, thanks for that! I'm to the point where the manifold is removed now, and had to head out for the holidays, but will continue next week.

Jayhovah

Merry Christmas boys and girls! I am exhausted, but I believe we are finally getting over the hump. I'm going to start writing these notes up like a blog so I can go back and redline the manual when this whole thing is finished... and also for anyone who might be working their own build (Groove!) before the instructions are rev'd.

We finished rewrapping the main wiring harness and heatwrapping it. My BIL did a great job with it and it looks damn near factory. We tied this up with stainless bailing wire, wasn't sure zipties would hold up to the heat.

The stupid fuel line / purge hose / heat shield debacle is finally over. That portion of the install has been very problematic. Either the spacer provided was too long, or the bolt provided was too short. Support (who has been amazingly awesome and very responsive since our first issue) suggested we shorten the spacer or get a longer bolt. I ended up doing both. The shield is difficult to place in because of the add-on fuel line. It has to bend along the chassis and thus wants to push the shield away from the chassis. If you get a looong bolt (no reason not to), you can thread it in loosely and then torque the shield and lines into place. I was a little worried that over time the shield may begin cutting the lines, so I wrapped them in a couple of of layers of heatwrap to protect #MOARHEATWRAP (can you ever have too much?). One note for GrooveStyle, the shield contacted the manifold in my case and could not be installed the way it is pictured in the manual. Support suggested I move the shield to the next hole back. Doing this you end up using that "middle" hole with the spacer. I like this better anyway, keeps the lines in place.

With that done, we were finally able to get the passenger side manifold in place and torqued down (I feel like I have installed and uninstalled the damn thing 3287486 times).

After that, we went ahead and installed the passenger side turbo. The back two mounting nuts are super easy, but the front two are a bitch. The higher one you can gently get your fingers in there and thread it on, then torque with the closed end of a combo wrench. The lower, front nut is a two person job. One person has to get a finger on the stud from the bottom of the car, the other person needs to place the nut on the stud with some kind of reaching tool (tweezers or.. we actually used a magnetic pick-up tool). The person under the car can hold it in place, and the person on top can get a finger on it and between the two you can get it threaded on. Torquing is similar - the person under the car has to blindly feed the closed end of a combo wrench up to the nut and the person over the car can guide it onto the nut. I highly recommend a ratcheting combo wrench for this.

We went ahead and installed the union for the pass side water feed as well.

Tomorrow we'll get the drivers side turbo mounted. I test fitted it this morning so it shouldn't be terribly difficult getting it mounted. Getting the waste gate and waterline in place could be a different story but support thinks we wont have issues. He suggests, in addition to what the manual has you connect to the turbo during prep, adding the inlet coupler, the outlet coupler, and the outlet pipe before mounting. We didn't have all that on during test fit this morning so there may still be some adventures waiting for us.

Overall, the fit and finish of the kit is excellent. Passenger side manifold/turbo looks factory the way it fits in there, though it is tight. Hoping the drivers side looks just as good. I've been very impressed with the quality of all the parts and have only had to make small adjustments here and there. The instructions are another story, but I'm also pretty sure I am among the first group to DIY this kit so they should get better over time. The support guy Gamma has hooked me up with (who is one of their builders) has been exceptional and I don't think we could have gotten this far without him (again, this will become less necessary as the instructions improve). I call or text him about 6 or 7 times a day.

I am seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and as of tonight I am feeling optimistic about meeting the timeline. There have been so many instances during this build where I have felt overwhelmed just standing there dumbfounded why I just took apart a car I bought only a few days ago, but just keep plugging away and as you overcome hurdles one by one, the finish line starts creeping into view.

Oh one more note for Groove.. I thought I was missing the drivers side compressor outlet pipe, but it just turned out the part number in the manual doesn't match the label on the packaging.

Thanks for reading! Sorry no pics yet.. We are taking them, just don't have a ton of time to size, post, caption, etc...

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2013 Gun Metallic Sport - Gamma V3 Twin Turbogized
DIY Gamma V3 TT Install * Jayhovah's Gamma V3 TT Install Pic'Z and Vid'Z * DIY: Washer Reservoir for the Boosted

GrooveStyle

Again, thanks for the notes, this is gonna help me a ton and should save a ton of time for me next week.

Jayhovah

Not much today, we only worked about 4 hours on the car because of Christmas.

Got the oil distribution block and drivers side turbo installed. Looks F$%king awesome having both turbos in. The compressor housing hits the the water pipe for the 2012+ factory oil cooler, something not accounted for in the initial design of the kit. We had to grind a bit off the compressor housing (on outside around a bolt, there was tons of extra material) and we also had to bend/ding the water pipe but we were able to full torque the turbo in place and you can slide a single sheet of paper between the compressor and the pipe now.

Groove - when you prep the turbos try to visualize where the oil and water lines are going to go and what orientation you want on the fittings on the other end. Our pass oil line wants to face 180 degrees from where we need it to go, so we are either going to have to put a twist-loop in it, or CAREFULLY try to reclock the crimped fitting... or pull the pass turbo and reclock the line completely.. but getting the last nut on the pass turbo was such a b#$% we really dont want to pull it.

__________________
2013 Gun Metallic Sport - Gamma V3 Twin Turbogized
DIY Gamma V3 TT Install * Jayhovah's Gamma V3 TT Install Pic'Z and Vid'Z * DIY: Washer Reservoir for the Boosted

jwick

Little too late now but couldn't you have just remove the stock oil cooler for a proper one and eliminated the issue?

Also you think your making Monday tuning?

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'10 G37T 6MT Graphite/Graphite - BP - G37T Build

Jayhovah

Probably, but I decided not to install an oil cooler yet as I want to see the results with the GTM oil pan which is essentially a big aluminum heat sink with three more quarts of capacity.

Won't make Monday tuning we continue to run into issues. The AC lines on the drivers side prevent us from installing the inlet pipes and the instructions don't mention anything about it so we'll have to get with support tomorrow. There is a bracket in the way on the passenger side but it looks like we can just delete it.

We did get the oil feeds, water feeds, and water crossover plumbed in today. Still have to do all the intake and intercooler piping, fuel pump, and injectors.

Support told us we are pretty much the first DIY install of this kit and they have only done a few installs themselves. I probably would have waited till next Christmas if I had known so I could get the benefit of more refined instructions, etc. It has been a rewarding experience so far, hopefully we can keep pushing.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

__________________
2013 Gun Metallic Sport - Gamma V3 Twin Turbogized
DIY Gamma V3 TT Install * Jayhovah's Gamma V3 TT Install Pic'Z and Vid'Z * DIY: Washer Reservoir for the Boosted

jwick

There are several of us here in Houston that have extensive experience inside that engine bay if you think it might help.

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'10 G37T 6MT Graphite/Graphite - BP - G37T Build

hooey_b

i need to move to H-town...

NeverBoneStck

Tell me about it

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Juiced! That is all you need to know !!

Jayhovah

Thanks for the offer! My BIL and I are working pretty effectively together and Gamma has provided excellent support so far via phone/text so I'm trying to limit the number of "cooks" in the "kitchen" so to speak. =) I hope you do not take any offense to it! I would still love to meet you guys even if I only have time to do so during tuning. =)

We got answers from gamma, the AC lines need to be slightly bent up and out of the way.. they are super soft so this was easily done by hand. The passenger side bracket we thought we could delete was indeed deleted to make room. It did hold the main alternator cable in place, this cable needs to be tucked closer to the motor and to do so the connector on the alternator needs to be clocked. The cable needs to be tied away from the manifold and we will also probably heat wrap it.. (we have been heatwrapping damn near everything as a preventative measure)

We got the fuel rails reinstalled with the 600cc injectors. The manual instructs to lube the o-rings with "included superlube" product but this product was left out of the kit so we just used a dab of royal purple. Turns out the superlube application was clogging the injectors in the first installations so they removed it but forgot to update the manual. Using motor oil instead worked great and isn't all gooey like the Superlube grease so I recommend going that route.

We got the drivers side inlet and outlet piping mocked up and the drivers side wastegate installed (goes on after the turbos are installed and oil/water plumbed) as well. We started mocking up the passenger side inlet piping, and were about to reinstall the power steering cooler and intercoolers when we realized Gamma neglected to include the replacement power steering lines in the kit. It was already getting late in the evening so we decided to call it an early night so we could go buy the power steering lines at the autoparts store tomorrow.

We didn't put a ton of hours in today.. I was starting to feel burnt out so we took it a little easy today and spent some time relaxing to recharge. I am feeling better already and my enthusiasm for the project is returning. We are way behind in time, but we are going to keep moving at a steady pace and whenever it's done it will be done. I am not the kind of person to start rushing.. I have already started moving other plans around to accommodate the extended timeline (and told JTRAN we are behind as well). I am determined to do this thing right the first time as best I can.

Remaining to-do list (in order):
Install power steering cooler and lines
Install intercoolers
Mock up intercooler piping
Drill/tap/barb upper intake manifold and reinstall
Mark/Drill/Tap/Barb inlet pipes for PCV and install PCV lines
Install Passenger turbo heatshield
Finalize intercooler piping and tighten
Run wastegate and BOV lines.
Install new oil pan and plumb turbo oil drains
Install exhaust outlets to turbos
Reinstall "X" pipe sections of exhaust
Put wheels back on and take car off lift
Install new fuel pump
Base tune
Start car, check for leaks, drive around block
Reinstall engine cover
Reinstall crash bar
Reinstall strut tower brace and cowling
Reinstall front bumper
Reinstall undertray
Party at JTRAN, put up nice dyno numbers

Alot of those things are small, quick jobs but I just wanted to post them so I don't forget anything. We have also started to become lax on taking pictures, so I will try to get better about it. I want to load this thread up with pics when this thing is over with.

__________________
2013 Gun Metallic Sport - Gamma V3 Twin Turbogized
DIY Gamma V3 TT Install * Jayhovah's Gamma V3 TT Install Pic'Z and Vid'Z * DIY: Washer Reservoir for the Boosted

jwick

No worries here. I have no issue relaxing in my couch but figured to let you know help was out there.

600cc injectors aren't a lot. Think you'll be limited on power with those.

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'10 G37T 6MT Graphite/Graphite - BP - G37T Build

hooey_b

Aren't 600cc only good up till about 500-550ish hp...?

jwick

Depends on how conservative your tuner is with timing. I'm close to maxed with 750ccs.

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'10 G37T 6MT Graphite/Graphite - BP - G37T Build

Jayhovah

I'm only after about 475. Hopefully it will be enough.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

__________________
2013 Gun Metallic Sport - Gamma V3 Twin Turbogized
DIY Gamma V3 TT Install * Jayhovah's Gamma V3 TT Install Pic'Z and Vid'Z * DIY: Washer Reservoir for the Boosted

Jayhovah

We keep pushing. I can't believe I thought we were getting over the hump 3 days ago. Every time I think we are going to cruise to the finish line, we just run into more issues that aren't covered in the instructions.

Got the Power steering cooler back in with the new bracket. The mounting bolts for the cooler-to-bracket were too short (scavenged from stock bolts removed to keep moving), the button head bolts which mount the bracket (and intercooler bracket) to the radiator supports were too long (drilled holes in the plastic behind them to clearance), and Gamma forgot to include new power steering lines in my kit (went to auto parts store ad bought some generic). We also had to cut a hole in the plastic next to the PS cooler and bend the inlet down so the hoses ran through cleanly.

Got the intercoolers installed - the horn will need to be relocated (not sure where yet), support suggests we just find a spot around the area and bolt it there, but that the horn needs to face down or to the side so that water does not intrude into it. I also had some sensor sticking off the middle support - the tab it was mounted on was bent back to clearance. Had to remove the supports for the hood latch points. We filled the gap with washers to keep them positioned properly - hopefully those supports being deleted wont cause a huge issue. The intercoolers now become support structure, but their mount points are more inboard compared to where the other supports were.

Got much of the intercooler piping mocked up.. Gamma labeled the turbo inlet pipes as if they are identical, but it turns out they are slightly different. We blew a bunch of time banging our heads against the wall there and still aren't sure we have them as Gamma intended, though we seem to have them in a workable configuration so I'm not sure how much I care.

Another thing missing from the instructions, engine mount spacers. No mention in the manual.. I sent a picture to support trying to figure out their purpose and that's how I found out. Groove - make sure you align the slot of the spacers so that the little nubbin on the bottom of the engine mounts fits into them (you'll know what I mean when you put them in).

Tomorrow we're hoping to get the upper intake mani modded and reinstalled, and finish the IC piping mockup and get the inlets drilled and tapped. If things go really well, we'll install the new oil pan and plumb the turbo drains. This project is taking forever, but we are steadily clearing each hurdle.

__________________
2013 Gun Metallic Sport - Gamma V3 Twin Turbogized
DIY Gamma V3 TT Install * Jayhovah's Gamma V3 TT Install Pic'Z and Vid'Z * DIY: Washer Reservoir for the Boosted