Home Forums Articles How To's FAQ Register
Go Back   Xoutpost.com > BMW Related Forums > Tire, Wheel, Brake and Suspension Forum
Arnott
User Name
Password
Member List Premier Membership Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Xoutpost server transfer and maintenance is occurring....
Xoutpost is currently undergoing a planned server migration.... stay tuned for new developments.... sincerely, the management


Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #41  
Old 05-25-2014, 11:38 PM
X5SND's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Winnipeg, Mb
Posts: 1,908
X5SND is on a distinguished road
Progress Update:

I know I'm still WAY behind on this project....but we're gettin there! (The ol' motivation level was running on E after last weekends' detail session on the Rover)

Right now this is what remains:

- Install bag pressure supply bulkheads
- Install synflex bag pressure lines
- Assemble & install tank supply lines from air dryer
- Install Air filter & dryer
- Install pressure sensors
- Test for leaks

I should be able to knock this out over the next couple days..the only potential hold up is on a couple swivel 90* PTC fittings I'm waiting on.


The wiring harness I had to make from scratch more or less. The VU4 manifold comes with its own pigtail harness for Accuairs' own ECU, but as I'm using my existing dakota digital to actuate the valves it need to be modified. On top of that, I needed to add leads for 5 pressure sensors (4 bags + 1 tank) as well as my compressor on/off pressure switch....its a total of 21 wires (I think?) which I shrank down to 19 or so with the use of some common grounds. The harness from inside the box all runs through a delphi style bulkhead connector...making the disconnect process quick and clean!

Wires, wires everywhere! Wire ends with connector seals on (the green things)



Branching & loom process:


Initial fitment (The leads running up & out of the box will eventually terminate behind those covers...at their respective sensor terminal)


...It just wiring, so naturally it's not very exciting but was stupidly time consuming.


Moving onto the lines....my braided line assembly goes something like this:

1) Take a piece of SS braided line, tape up the end tightly and stick it into a chop saw to obtain a nice straight cut....like so:



The tape compresses the braids and prevents what would otherwise be a very very frayed end (which makes the next step impossible)

2) Twist on the collar potion of the fitting, paying close attention not to stray any of the SS wire strands along the way:



3) Stick the thing in a vice (OCD dictates using a rag to prevent marking of the fittings), and lube up the nipple end before threading it down. You get something like this:



As you tighten them down it bites into the hose and seals the end. It was a bloody slow process as every end had to be done with rags over the ends to ensure there were no tool marks left on the fitting end when completed.



Repeat this process time and time again with a few breaks for cold ones over the day and you end up with something to this effect:




After a few holes were put into the ol' digit tips from the occasional stray razor sharp SS wire and blood was spilt building this thing (literally).....you get to the point of this thread everyone comes here for.....Complete-ish Teasers!





(with some of the synflex line installed)


All you will see once its in the truck and buttoned up:




Last but not least; normally I try to refrain from aftermarket logos or branding but seeing as I had this kicking around and needed SOMETHING to fill the big bare space on the the aluminum lid figured I may as well stick the Accuair vinyl on. If I get really bored at some point, Ill anodize the lid and laser etch the X5 logo or something....but for now, its just this:



After all is said and done Im hoping to get everything up and running this week so I can get the X all detailed up next weekend to enjoy once again for summer!

__________________
2004 X5 3.0i

Mod list: Currently Longer than the maximum allowed characters that can be typed here...

Reply With Quote

Sponsored Links

  #42  
Old 05-25-2014, 11:50 PM
SMOKEY53's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 539
SMOKEY53 is on a distinguished road
Nnnnice. You nailed the symmetry - which for someone like me who is OCD would have been a massive achievement.

Do the valves dump inside the car or out?
Reply With Quote
  #43  
Old 05-26-2014, 12:00 AM
X5SND's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Winnipeg, Mb
Posts: 1,908
X5SND is on a distinguished road
Thanks! Yeah I really wanted to get everything to look symmetrical...Took quite a bit of day dreaming, I mean errr... "mental construction sessions" to figure out how I was going to route everything.

As for the dumping, I haven't decided yet. The setup i have right now dumps through a single 1/4" line routed into the battery box with a silencer on the end (so technically its still inside the car, but can't be heard). I may just plug silencers into the PTC exhaust ports and see how that rolls as it would save me from having to put any additional bulkheads into the box. Theres no way in hell I'd allow it to be the stereotypical unmuffled "pshhhhhhht" sound....not a chance! lol. Refinement is the name of the game with this setup!
__________________
2004 X5 3.0i

Mod list: Currently Longer than the maximum allowed characters that can be typed here...

Reply With Quote
  #44  
Old 06-01-2014, 10:18 PM
X5SND's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Winnipeg, Mb
Posts: 1,908
X5SND is on a distinguished road
Just wanted to report that after spending this weekend knock'n this project off....it's up and running!! Full update & pics to follow tomorrow sometime!
__________________
2004 X5 3.0i

Mod list: Currently Longer than the maximum allowed characters that can be typed here...

Reply With Quote
  #45  
Old 06-02-2014, 01:30 PM
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: NYC
Posts: 4,755
SlickGT1 is on a distinguished road
It is tomorrow sometime.
__________________
2006 4.8is, Black on White. SOLD Sniff Sniff.

2017 F85 x5m, Black on Red. BEAST MODE


"The older we grow the greater becomes our wonder at how much ignorance one can contain without bursting one's clothes." - Mark Twain

Unlock OBC post 5
Reply With Quote
  #46  
Old 06-02-2014, 02:16 PM
Ricky Bobby's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Wake Forest, NC
Posts: 9,344
Ricky Bobby will become famous soon enough
X5SND is literally a machine, I would never have the discipline to dedicate my whole weekend to this massive and meticulous of a project! Amazing to say the least,
__________________
2018 Ram 2500 6.7L Cummins 68RFE
19k miles -Bright White/Black - Big Horn Sport - Crew Cab Short Bed
2013 X5 35D (CEO's) - Born on 5/17/2013 -
82k miles - Alpine White/Cinnamon Brown/Premium Pkg, Sport Activity/Premium Pkg and Sound/20" Style 214/Running Boards

Reply With Quote
  #47  
Old 06-02-2014, 08:00 PM
X5SND's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Winnipeg, Mb
Posts: 1,908
X5SND is on a distinguished road
Progress Update:

So as I previously posted, this new system is up and running....I still have a couple odds and ends to finish off (tidying up the air line runs, pick up my air dryer mount from the machine shop, grab some exhaust port silencers & give everything a thorough clean). I was also dealt a leaky PTC fitting....but all in all I should only be looking at a couple hours of work outstanding, max.

Following my previous post it was a matter of final assembly. So here goes:

Take a box, and put some fittings in:




Now put some more in... and while you're at it, throw in some pressure sensors and a pressure switch:



Add in some valves, hoses, & electrical bulkhead:



How bout some More hoses? Looks like we need a few more...:



MORE MORE MORE!:



Once you've had your fill of playing with with hoses, go find a mounting frame...like this:



Take your spare tire; chuck it out....fill void with twin 3 gallon air tanks mounted to frame 'found' previously. Like so:



From another angle:



Once thats good and secure....and perhaps after a couple cold ones lets have some fun with the 9 million wires that we need to hook up. Now I just want to point out, that I could have shaved about half a day from this nightmare-ish bit, had I not lost my road map (pin-out diagram) of my bulkhead connector.**Enter the "dog ate my homework excuse"** Long story short I had to do it the old fashioned way of testing each pin for continuity. This sucked:



Once that was sorted, we need make up the main tank feed lines & temporarily mount the air dryer. Also, can't forget to connect the main feed line in from the compressor....looks something like this afterwards:



I will point out that those yellow air lines are only temporary...I ran out of black line, so Had to use this stuff for the time being...they aren't staying long. (You should know me by now....Hell would freeze over before those yellow lines are ever considered "acceptable")

As I previously mentioned (I think?) with this setup now, not only do I see the live height values & tank pressure, but also see the pressure in each bag. Dakota Digital really incorporated some nice features into this system as you can set independent values for the minumum height error & time duration needed before the ecu will intervene to correct as well as change valve speeds to slow down the system (minimizing overshoot). Also, because I'm using "the full monty" system, I can specify the the maximum psi difference for bags on opposing sides....this prevents cross-loading & over-filling bags to unsafe levels on uneven ground.

This is what some of the above mentioned pages look like in my display:

Tank PSI readout:



Individual Corner height readout (Sitting bagged out):



Individual Pressure readout (They're all reading "00" as this was taken upon the initial start up; Compressor was still building up)



Speed settings; Adjusting Rear valve speed to slowest value:



Adjusting Maximum psi difference for Front bags:



All buttoned up:



I think I'm going to end up getting some thin gauge stainless shields bent to close in the sides of the tanks/box & finish everything off nicely.

That about does'r....aaaaand that concludes how I spent my weekend!

I'll No doubt have some more to add, but Im pressed for time at the moment so this will have to do!
__________________
2004 X5 3.0i

Mod list: Currently Longer than the maximum allowed characters that can be typed here...


Last edited by X5SND; 06-02-2014 at 08:16 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #48  
Old 06-03-2014, 12:07 AM
admranger's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 1,636
admranger is on a distinguished road
Ummmm, yeah, that yellow line ruins it all. Toss it in the rubbish bin.

If you want a professional look next time, hog the box and tanks out of a single piece of aluminum. 6061-T6 preferably. :banana:

I always admire people who can do this sort of detailed project. Original thought needed on layout and execution. This isn't a skill set I possess.

Nice work!

However (comma) they make these things call soft jaws for vises. They come in brass, aluminum, plastic, etc. Aeroquip even has their own version for sale (at a BMW premium like price!). OCD my ass.











__________________
Kirk
Las Vegas
2016 X5 40e Mineral White/Black Dakota Leather, ZLL, ZCW, ZDA, ZDB, ZPP, multi contour seats, rear side window shades, HK stereo
2011 E90M3, 6-speed manual

Last edited by admranger; 06-03-2014 at 12:12 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #49  
Old 06-03-2014, 10:46 AM
X5SND's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Winnipeg, Mb
Posts: 1,908
X5SND is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by admranger View Post
Ummmm, yeah, that yellow line ruins it all. Toss it in the rubbish bin.

If you want a professional look next time, hog the box and tanks out of a single piece of aluminum. 6061-T6 preferably. :banana:

I always admire people who can do this sort of detailed project. Original thought needed on layout and execution. This isn't a skill set I possess.

Nice work!

However (comma) they make these things call soft jaws for vises. They come in brass, aluminum, plastic, etc. Aeroquip even has their own version for sale (at a BMW premium like price!). OCD my ass.











Lol. Actually truth be told I did have a set of nylon soft jaws for the vise for exactly that....but as is with everything else you very rarely use; on the day you need it, naturally, you can't find it!


As for the tanks, I opted to go with these for a couple reasons. First, they carry the necessary DOT/SAE markings (as does all my PTC fittings & valves) required in my area. Secondly, I really didn't like the way it was going to look with that much aluminum. The black tanks, titanium/black hose ends and nickel plated fittings kept my overall theme more consistent IMO.
__________________
2004 X5 3.0i

Mod list: Currently Longer than the maximum allowed characters that can be typed here...

Reply With Quote
  #50  
Old 06-12-2014, 12:33 PM
ModBargains's Avatar
Vendor
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: 1721 E Lambert Rd #C, La Habra, CA 90631
Posts: 62
ModBargains is on a distinguished road
Ready to see that thing on the floor
__________________

Sean Singh | [email protected]| (714) 582-3330 ext. 8009
We Specialize In:
BMW Wheels & Tire Packages | BMW Accessories | BMW Brakes |BMW Suspension | BMW Exhaust Experts |BMW Angel Eyes |X5 Parts | X3 Parts
Hours: Mon - Fri 8:00am-6:00pm / Sat 8:00am - 5:00pm (PST)
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On





All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:05 AM.
vBulletin, Copyright 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. SEO by vBSEO 3.6.0
© 2017 Xoutpost.com. All rights reserved. Xoutpost.com is a private enthusiast site not associated with BMW AG.
The BMW name, marks, M stripe logo, and Roundel logo as well as X3, X5 and X6 designations used in the pages of this Web Site are the property of BMW AG.
This web site is not sponsored or affiliated in any way with BMW AG or any of its subsidiaries.