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December 2022 - Methanol Install
To start of this installation I had to figure out a general idea of where I wanted everything mounted, and how. The kit I'm using is the snow performance stage 2.5 boost cooler.
Reservoir
The kit came with a reservoir, but it was only a 3qt tank, and talking to someone else that's boosted they said they went through about 2 gallons after 3 20-minute sessions which is just not enough, and even then finding a place to mount it in the engine bay would be a challenge so instead, I opted to use the stock washer fluid reservoir.
Along with having the benefit of being much larger (6qts according to the internet), it also allows it to stay completely hidden, and it already has a built-in low-level sensor, which just means less wiring.
To connect the reservoir to the loop I simply drilled a hole where there's room for a third pump (maybe it's used in the hatchback for the rear washer?), heated up the plastic with a lighter which allowed me to screw in the 3/8 fitting that came with the kit which I also applied a liberal amount of JB weld, to make sure I don't have a leak.
Pump
Since the pump has to be the lowest point of the loop to keep fluid primed the pump basically has to be mounted on the subframe, or at least that's where I mounted it. I made 2 simple brackets that sandwich the top and bottom of the front subframe with a couple of bolts so I wouldn't have to drill any new holes into the subframe. It's not the strongest bracket, but once you have the little plastic cover for the bottom of the radiator and the undertray put back on it feels secure enough.
Gauge
When I first got the kit I wasn't too sure what I wanted to do with the gauge as I hate having random gauges all over the interior. When I started this I had a universal gauge that I used to monitor coolant temps sitting on the left side of the gauge cluster, which I didn't want to get rid of because then I'd have no way to watch my temps. But I ended up buying a different cluster that has an oil temp gauge in it which allowed me to get rid of the universal gauge, and replace it with the one that came with this kit.
The gauge that came with the kit was meant to be mounted in some sort of pod, but I already had a mount made in the perfect place for the universal gauge, so I made a Frankenstein gauge using the housing from the old gauge, and just swapping the internals and face from the new one, along with using some old rubbing tubing to hide the rainbow of wires that were originally coming out the back of the gauge. Overall very happy with the placement, and how clean I was able to get it installed.
Wiring/Plumbing
Wiring was super simple as I only need to connect 4 wires from the gauge which also acts as the controller.
*) 12v switched power
*) ground
*) power wire to pump
*) separate ground for pump
*)vacuum line to monitor boost.
*)methanol Lines
The grounds were pretty simple, so I'll just skip over those.
For 12v switched power I ended up using the cigarette lighter, and used the included inline 20amp fuse. The cigarette lighter circuit uses a 20amp fuse so I shouldn't have any issues with popping fuses.
To route the power wire from the gauge to the pump, I added a small hole in the rubber boot that sits on the driver's side and routed the wire under the cowl to keep it nice and hidden. Also, I added a simple to-pin connector to the pump so if I ever needed to remove the pump, it wouldn't be too much of a hassle.
For the vacuum line, I routed it through the same rubber boot as the power wire for the pump and connected it to a vacuum nipple I had capped off on my n54 manifold.
For the methanol lines from the reservoir to the pump, it was pretty easy to keep the lines out of the way by routing them mostly behind the plastic wheel liners. And routing it from the pump to the intake I ran it parallel to the radiator at the bottom of the car, but I just left it wrapped up out of the way next to my intake since I don't have the supercharger installed yet.
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