ER Competition Oil Coolers install

[int2str]

[Posting here since you guys are the most likely to install these]

How many of you have installed these?
SteveAZ? I think you have?

Tried to tackle the install this weekend and the car is still in pieces...

A few issues I ran into:

1. The installation instructions are not for the 1 series - or at least not my version of it. The instructions don't talk about the horn bracket (the fact that it has to be removed), the spray nozzles in the bumper etc. Not having the right instructions sure makes dis-assembly harder...
2. Somehow there was no bracket for the driver side oil cooler included. I'll have to order that ASAP to get my car back on the road.
3. My coolers came pre-assembled with the shroud and all. Making it near impossible to mount them! Somebody here mentioned cutting an opening at the back of the oil cooler for a wrench to go in. I did that on the driver side and it helped. In fact, that's the only way it can work. Why ER didn't think of that is beyond me.... The instructions for mounting the oil coolers are completely useless in that regard.
4. With the screws this inaccessible, I'm not sure I can adjust the mounting position at all. My tires aren't on yet, but even if I have rubbing issues, I'm not sure what I can do at this point.

My questions for your:

• Was your kit complete?
• What did you do about your horns?
• Any rubbing issues (please state wheels/tires)?

Also would be helpful if somebody would post a picture of the inside of the wheel-well with the coolers mounted.

Thanks!

[int2str]

And more issues to report....
Passenger side AN fittings hit the bottom bumper
Driver side shroud prevents bumper cover installation anyway....

*sigh*

[yandy]

That sucks man, kinda weird the instructions are for the 3series since their development car was a 135 (if I'm not mistaken). I was looking at this as an option, but this is tough to swallow.

[Focusedintntions]

What did ER have to say about this? Did you contact them?

[int2str]

Originally Posted by yandy

That sucks man, kinda weird the instructions are for the 3series since their development car was a 135 (if I'm not mistaken). I was looking at this as an option, but this is tough to swallow.

I'm not sure what the instructions are for. But they mention fog lights (which I didn't think any US 135i has) and they don't mention the horn bracket or washer nozzles. Not huge issues, but just annoying if you can't plan for it.

And the horn bracket is riveted on with the rivet being very hard to reach without a drill bit extension.

Originally Posted by Focusedintntions

What did ER have to say about this? Did you contact them?

They sent me the missing bracket (I had to pay shipping since I ordered the kit a while ago). And gave me a few comments on the install. But they boil down to "loosen the cooler screws and adjust to make it fit".

Two problems with that advice:
1. The screws are nearly impossible to loosen (since you can't hold a wrench on the other side.
2. I think the problems are a lot bigger than a little adjustment...

But, ER has been responsive. So I will give them the benefit of the doubt for now. I'm on a business trip right now and won't be able to install the bracket until Saturday.

Hope things will go better then.
I shelled out a lot of money for this kit and it's been a massive disappointment so far.

[yandy]

Originally Posted by int2str

I'm not sure what the instructions are for. But they mention fog lights (which I didn't think any US 135i has) and they don't mention the horn bracket or washer nozzles. Not huge issues, but just annoying if you can't plan for it.

And the horn bracket is riveted on with the rivet being very hard to reach without a drill bit extension.



They sent me the missing bracket (I had to pay shipping since I ordered the kit a while ago). And gave me a few comments on the install. But they boil down to "loosen the cooler screws and adjust to make it fit".

Two problems with that advice:
1. The screws are nearly impossible to loosen (since you can't hold a wrench on the other side.
2. I think the problems are a lot bigger than a little adjustment...

But, ER has been responsive. So I will give them the benefit of the doubt for now. I'm on a business trip right now and won't be able to install the bracket until Saturday.

Hope things will go better then.
I shelled out a lot of money for this kit and it's been a massive disappointment so far.

Yea, that I'm aware of, fog-lights are only on the 3series, but I could be wrong. I hope you get worked out and installed.

[hyphy1]

reviving a dying post... any updates thus far?

[wu2x]

So, after all of these years, these issues still exist. I'm going through the install right now (haven't attached AN fittings yet though). I was hoping that they would make revisions to the kit to resolve the issues, but it is exactly the same, including the wrong instructions. I was lucky enough to have all brackets pre-installed for me so at least that was covered.

On the driver side, my friend and I ended up taking off the driver-side headlight assembly to gain access to the horn bracket rivet. Not too bad to remove overall and makes it so you don't need to do anything crazy like getting drill bit extensions to access the rivet.

The next issue we ran into was that the horn bracket cannot be reattached once the oil cooler shroud is mounted. We ended up drilling holes into the shroud itself and mounted the horns on top of the shroud.

Right now, the final issue we have is how the driver side shroud does not line up at all with the bumper. I think we might be able to bend the brackets a bit, but we might have to extend the mounting holes a bit to allow it to line up properly.

Given how expensive the kit is, and how long these issues have been reported, I'm disappointed in the installation of the kit.

I'll post some photos for other people to reference once we get the driver side to line up.

[beattiecj]

Originally Posted by wuX2

So, after all of these years, these issues still exist. I'm going through the install right now (haven't attached AN fittings yet though). I was hoping that they would make revisions to the kit to resolve the issues, but it is exactly the same, including the wrong instructions. I was lucky enough to have all brackets pre-installed for me so at least that was covered.

On the driver side, my friend and I ended up taking off the driver-side headlight assembly to gain access to the horn bracket rivet. Not too bad to remove overall and makes it so you don't need to do anything crazy like getting drill bit extensions to access the rivet.

The next issue we ran into was that the horn bracket cannot be reattached once the oil cooler shroud is mounted. We ended up drilling holes into the shroud itself and mounted the horns on top of the shroud.

Right now, the final issue we have is how the driver side shroud does not line up at all with the bumper. I think we might be able to bend the brackets a bit, but we might have to extend the mounting holes a bit to allow it to line up properly.

Given how expensive the kit is, and how long these issues have been reported, I'm disappointed in the installation of the kit.

I'll post some photos for other people to reference once we get the driver side to line up.

Keep the updates coming, I was interested in just doing the passenger side oil cooler. Is that much easier than the drivers side?

[wu2x]

Yes, the passenger side reuses the stock oil cooler mounting bracket, so it lines up much easier. There is also no drilling of rivets involved and you don’t have to deal with losing the original horn bracket. You will still have to cut up your fender liner (required for both sides) to allow air to pass through, as well as relocate the rds(?) box that is attached to the fender liner. That is pretty simple though, just drill 2 holes higher up on the fender liner and reattach.

[ayao]

Not cool.

Originally Posted by wuX2

So, after all of these years, these issues still exist. I'm going through the install right now (haven't attached AN fittings yet though). I was hoping that they would make revisions to the kit to resolve the issues, but it is exactly the same, including the wrong instructions. I was lucky enough to have all brackets pre-installed for me so at least that was covered.

On the driver side, my friend and I ended up taking off the driver-side headlight assembly to gain access to the horn bracket rivet. Not too bad to remove overall and makes it so you don't need to do anything crazy like getting drill bit extensions to access the rivet.

The next issue we ran into was that the horn bracket cannot be reattached once the oil cooler shroud is mounted. We ended up drilling holes into the shroud itself and mounted the horns on top of the shroud.

Right now, the final issue we have is how the driver side shroud does not line up at all with the bumper. I think we might be able to bend the brackets a bit, but we might have to extend the mounting holes a bit to allow it to line up properly.

Given how expensive the kit is, and how long these issues have been reported, I'm disappointed in the installation of the kit.

I'll post some photos for other people to reference once we get the driver side to line up.

[berns]

After building my own twin oil cooler kit for less than half the price, and hearing about the pain in the ass install, I'm glad I didn't shell out for the ER kit.

OP, hope you sorted this out!

[ayao]

Originally Posted by berns

After building my own twin oil cooler kit for less than half the price, and hearing about the pain in the ass install, I'm glad I didn't shell out for the ER kit.

OP, hope you sorted this out!

Do you have a build thread or something that provides more details on this? Would love to learn more...

[berns]

Originally Posted by ayao

Do you have a build thread or something that provides more details on this? Would love to learn more...

It's at the top of the track section you're in, and there's a link in my signature below. Head to page 8 I think where I tackle the oil cooler.

[ayao]

Originally Posted by berns

It's at the top of the track section you're in, and there's a link in my signature below. Head to page 8 I think where I tackle the oil cooler.

Thank you sir, found it. Will eventually have more questions for you. My 1M has never gone into limp mode but I do notice oil temps a little higher than I'd like (~270-275F?) Since the 1M has an aux radiator on the driver's side and an aux oil cooler on the passenger side I'm really not quite sure how to proceed. Or, maybe nothing's really broken at this point ...