Ok, I want to preface everything Im going to say here. Im in a pissed off mood BUT dont want to cool down before i do this...want you guys to know everything before you make a purchase of this magnitude. I feel I have to share since I learn here. If Id shut up..it wouldnt be right. If this thread gets locked so be it.

No one has worse luck than me, trust me, we wont get into the details...and Every car Ive had has been a Demon SOB so maybe this one is no different. Odds are your install will go much better. Ive had it all..heads/cams..stroker motors..turbo cars...none were easy. I didnt go with a Blower because of issues ive had with the balancers in the past, belt issues and Im a turbo fan. Oh and I find a hell of a deal on one of those Kwiklifts for my house...its awesome...then I read where you dont want to park an STS car uphill cause the oil will drain back to the turbos...**** like that only happens to me!

Above everything..whoever you are paying to install your kit if that is what you are doing....its worth every penny. Not an easy do it yourselfer at all..you need a patient motorhead buddy... and to the two jackasses on Two Guys Garage, who made it look so easy, time for a new job where you know what the hell you are talking about. This is also meant to be constructive criticism so they can make the best STS kit possible..and not let the little things **** people off. Also we should have noticed the missing parts before we started...but they shouldnt have been missing...water under the bridge..

Ok I feel better now. Just to backtrack a little. The wiring wasnt a breeze but was pretty straighforeward...just took a couple hours...knuckle buster fuse box...back breaker under dash...instructions need updated...I got no "phone" cord for the oil buzzer so I guess they deleted it in the newer kits...its not needed anyhow. Its easy to overlook the text in the beginning that tells you to run the oil pump from a 12v source dry for 5 minutes to break it in. I saw it and did that without issue...I see Protovette did not. PCV hookup, Filters behind the taillights, injectors, intercooler...all piece of cake.

Also I had a mint original black car...scratches all over now from none before...and there is no avoiding it because of all the damn twisting, rubbing, bumping..if you are the "typical" vette owner ( you wouldnt be in this forum if you where anyhow dont put your car through this...itll never be the same.

The good news is the missing bolt/hardware kit was shipped out by STS as promised...BUT god damn Fed ex didnt deliver the SOB until 4:30PM...thats the second time I recently got screwed by Fed Ex..and will never use them again...so with no hardware...Day 2 went downhill fast. Two big problems in the A4 cars are the tranny lines up front and no access in the rear rocker panels to help run the pipes to the front. Mounting the oil pump without the proper hardware took alot of bullsh!t to get it in around the tranny lines. Had to make a spacer so the parts all fit. That took an hour at least.

Now running the pipes from the back to the front. We found NO WAY possible to bend those spot welded flanges. If you did and dont have a Z06..then you are better than me. We ended up cutting them...not good for a vette...but not the end of the world. The instructions should say cut them...I wasted 4 hours there...ran to the hardware store trying to get the right bar in there to hammer the **** out of them. Maybe im the retard and you guys all did it no problem...wouldnt surprise me.

Also if those pipes were an inch longer it would be much easier to get the front pipes and hoses on. Just too difficult where it didnt need to be. The pipe bracket that goes to the front sway bar was 1/2" short...maybe its my car...or the bracket could have had an oval hole that cost a little more...we ended up bending the **** out of the bracket to get it close. And guess what?? we remove the sway bar mounting bolt...two washers fall out...wonder why...the sway bar bolt hole was stripped!!!!!!!

Backtrack a little...Im a new vette owner...Wanted a twin turbo vette before I die and unfortunately dont think I will ever afford my dream car...a Lingenfelter TT. ..bought this mint C5 a month ago off ebay after looking for a while. Between Carfax and GM warranty work check there are some real pieces of **** out there for sale and liars that own them. Some guy told me his 02 was never wrecked..I run a carfax that says it was wrecked...question him...he says oh yeah I forgot..********. Another car had more warranty work than I tought possible...everything replaced and 4 owners in 4 years. My car was clean and the owner was honest. Only warranty work was for a squeak up front..first time in they "lubed" the front sway bar...and guess what ...jackass GM mechanic stripped the sway bar bolt.

ok...so we have to go get a helicoil and fix the threads...and with all the bending we get the pipes to fit...hooked them up to the intercooler.

By the parts pile left...I think all we have to do is mount the turbos..now that we have the hardware....and hook up the piping in back. Hope it goes easier tomorrow....and we can get it dynoed so we can get you some numbers...but honestly Im not expecting much from the way things have been going..........

 

I feel your pain, but you have to put it into perspective. I know you have spent endless hours installing this kit, but you will know it inside and out once you are done. This will be invaluable is any problems or issues occur with the kit.

I've been though it! I remember the fuse box from hell, trying to find the lead going to the fuel pump, the friggin' tiny mounting bolts for the oil pump, etc... I have a Z06, so getting the charge pipes to fit wasn't too bad. I could not image it without the vent holes:
http://wabbit.rit.aecom.yu.edu/stspics/DSCF0318.JPG

Anyway, hang in there, take it one step at a time. It is worth it. I have been putting lots of miles on my STS car, and it has not failed me yet.

Tommy

 

That has to suck, big time. Hope my ECS Novi kit install doesn't give me that much trouble. I almost went with sts kit but have 4:10 in the rear. Good luck the rest of the install.

 

Thanks Tommy....seeing that pic makes me feel alot better..damn Z06s

I hope you are right!

 

I went for a pro-install (not STS) even though I've done a lot of wrenching.
I look back on it and say,
"I could have done it myself", but I would have run into some vexing problems, most importantly the right tune. "Could" and "should" are different things, and I'm OK with the way I did it.
There's nothing like knowing what you've got though, and you'll know your system forwards and backwards, top to bottom when you get done.

By the way, I'm a regular shipper of high-value items, and FedX has by far the best track record. Don't count them out.
I could write pages about a UPS shipping fiasco to Finland.

 

That sucks.

Hang in there, you'll be happy in the end.


Jim

 

i was there too in november when noone else knew what the hell tehy were doing, i feel your pain, keep the work up, and take your time, trying to get it done on a shedule will just bug the hell out of you. thats why i wsh i had the luxury of an install like cajandude's. i on the other hand had my car sitting in pieces on my buddy's lift for 2 weeks

 

Yeah, hang in there. You'll get it finished, and it will be awesome. I'm planing to install my rocker pipes this weekend. It looks like my buddies sawzall will be coming in handy.
Let us know how you progress. I'm sure I'll have more questions for you and the STS crew.
Chris

 

Yeah, the STS kits have a few surprises

I had one on my F-body for a little bit. It was a pain, but I ended up getting rid of it because of the quality, and a lot of things they neglected to mention. Plus I spent hours tweaking brackets and rotating the turbine housing trying to get the turbo high enough, but it still hung down too low for my tastes. I also had a few other weird problems... and had to heavily modify way too much **** in my opinion for $4600 kit. However, It pulled HARD. I mean, very hard and the BOV sounded absolutely sick. IATs would only hit 110-120 with no intercooler on a warm day. I'd probably say it made more power than my vette.

If I had to do it over again, I'd have someone else do it. Although I could do one blind folded now

It makes heads and cam look like changing a throttle body to me.

I'm sure once you get it right, it'll be a lot fun. I feel your pain though!

 

you're making me glad I listened to tommy when he told me to just pay ecs to install it. but on a brighter note, once you get that car running you're gonna forget all the headaches you're having now.....I promise...

 

Hang in there. I think the next post is going to be a happy one.

Lewis

 

What is a typical install price?

 

Sent you an email.

 

Damn Im beat...off for Day 3....

 

If I ever get close to buying, I'll make sure to read your posts again just to get in the proper frame of mind for the install.
Like the rest of you, I have done some projects that were a lot more trouble than expected. Some were worth it in the end and some just plain were not.

Hope to see a post soon where you can't wipe the boost-a-grin off your face!

 

I feel your pain. But, you are having fun, and living your dream. Things seldom go by the book.

I read the STS install book ... and said to myself, Buster, without a hoist you are a fool to even attempt this. I took it to the ProShop .... and enjoyed every minute of watching them do the wrenching. I'm the kind of guy who can do one if I've watched one. I think now I can do my second car

Drove my C5Z in to work today. Been awhile since I have driven it. I'm thinking ... what a dog ! I used to love driving it ... and thought it was a blast. Now .... its got to have some TT's on it .... or else I'd bored with it.

 

Hang in there C5A4TT. I also have an A4 STS TT and I think you will enjoy the car once it's done.

With your forum name, install price shouldn't be of any concern to you . I believe ECS will install and tune the kit include dual pillar pod guages for around $8,500.

 

Wow, and all the kudo's being throwin around on this setup I was led to believe that this was a turnkey install, like the A&A or ECS Blower setups with not much to mod over the instructions, unless you wanted more

Good luck with the remaining install and of course post the final install as this is good stuff for those DIY out there

 

when they finally go on, they look like this..

 

Unfortunetly, TV shows make things look much easier than they really are. They condensed days of work in to 30 minutes or less. I would never believe a word they say.

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Keep a level head and plug away, you'll get the job done.

Good Luck