So a fair amount of activity on the SLC this last week. Thanks to everyone who suggested I look into alternate surge tank vendors. The ones I focused on were:
- Integrated Engineering
- Deatschwerks
- 034 Motorsports
- Radium Engineering
At the end of the day I decided to go with Radium Engineering's surge tank coupled with my genuine Bosch 044 pump. It seems we've gone full circle - and I'm sure more than a few people are scratching their heads regarding my decision to go back to the Bosch pump.
The two things that seem to have really screwed me over with this whole fuel system drama has been poor quality (fakes) and poor assembly/quality control. The knock-off pumps are of low quality and have a low expectation for life. The FiTech system was rife with questionable design and poor quality control. So I figured the Radium Engineering unit was the best way for me to personally address those two issues.
The RE surge tank has the option of coming with or without a pump - and they can accommodate multiple pump designs. I elected to supply my own pump because I didn't want to chance that they'd send me a knockoff (I actually don't believe they would), but I also didn't want them to perform end of line assembly either. On top of that their charge for a Bosch 044 was $250, a pretty significant mark-up. Lastly they don't offer any warranties with their supplied pumps - run fuel through them and you're out of luck if it kicks over dead in 20 miles. So final assembly would be performed by me, if there was any cross-threading to be done, it would be my own damn fault - I can live with that.
The linch pin that set me along the RE design was my ability to source my own legit Bosch pump via Summit. Now that this doorway is open to me I have a supply of known-good future pumps should it become necessary. I also believe if the pump died in the first 20 miles that Summit wouldn't hesitate to cover me with a replacement. As far as I know, the Bosch pump is also the only pump on the market for which you can verify its authenticity. Every legit pump comes packaged with a serial number you can use at a Bosch website to verify it's the real deal - I don't think you can do that for anything else out there. Of course, the likelihood that someone in Asia is going to knock off a Deatschwerks pump is pretty low but at this point I'm sticking with the tried (by others!) and true.
In addition to those two big points there were several other design reasons I preferred the Radium unit over the others.
OK, time for some photos!
Here's what the FiTech unit ended up producing when I dead-headed the pump. At this point it should be producing its maximum outlet pressure since it's at full restriction. This test confirmed there was definitely some internal issue with the pump.
OK, I didn't think all was lost. Allan had mentioned that the internal feed tube had broken on his and photos of the FiTech guts looked like it was a simple hose clamped on either end. No biggie, I can fix that - except that I couldn't. At least one, possibly 2 of the screws holding the FiTech surge tank together were cross-threaded. Someone either reefed down on it and prayed they wouldn't snap the bolt during assembly or they used an electric/pneumatic drill and just went to town without first starting by hand. After getting kicked in the face and missing the Concourse, then finding that the assembly was performed by a monkey I'd had enough. I was thoroughly disgusted with FiTech and I couldn't stand the thought of them making any money from me - no more chances.
So here's a few pics of the Radium unit:
It's similar to the FiTech - billet aluminum, lots of nice machining and anodized. It definitely drips of high quality. Total capacity is probably comparable to the FiTech, maybe a bit less. I'm not too concerned about running it dry.
The two tanks next to each other:
Bonus points - the Radium and FiTech have the same mounting pattern so it's literally a drop-in replacement.
Top view - the fittings are arranged a little differently between the two. The RE unit has a MUCH more robust electrical connection, and it's placed toward the outside which makes getting to it a lot easier. You can install the harness with your fingers. I had tried to install the electrical last on the FiTech and discovered that getting a tiny 5/16" wrench down between all those fittings was very difficult. On my second unit I had pre-terminated wires and installed them first, before securing my hoses.
Closeup of the wiring:
Here's what the guts will look like once they're installed into the tank. There's no hose between the pump discharge and the top plate - it's a metal fitting that passes through the top plate. Similarly, the pump is hard mounted to the lower plate which serves as the inlet feed for the pump.
Of course this story wouldn't be complete without a dash of bad luck. Literally, the last component to get installed before closing out the surge tank is a nylon washer that acts as a seal between the green fitting and the top plate. My hardware kit was missing this $0.05 washer. Uuuuungh. And of course by the time I'd realized this it was Friday. I called Radium and they were pretty cool about it - they apologized and said they'd have a washer for me in the mail immediately. Unfortunately I'd already bargained with my wife for a day this weekend to work on the car and I'd burnt a lot of currency doing that - and now I wouldn't be able to work on the car! I inquired about next-day shipping and was told it would be $70. I guess I didn't need the washer that badly ...
So being the DIY kind of guy I am, I got the specs for their washer and made my own out of some rubber I had laying around. The washer is nylon so I went a little thick on the rubber to give it more compression.
It felt pretty solid after I got everything tightened down. I then plumbed the system and fed +12V to the LP pump to fill the surge tank - all looked good, no leaks. I then ran +12V to both pumps so I could set my FPR and look for any leaks. Again, all looked good - it appeared my rubber washer was working!
It was about 10PM when I'd gotten this far and I couldn't go to bed without attempting an engine start. I knew this was going to eat up some of my "good neighbor" currency but I couldn't help myself - the engine fired right up and sounded healthy! I only let the engine run for a few seconds before shutting it down and calling it a night.
The next morning I hopped out of bed and got into the SLC for a shakedown drive. I had a tough time sleeping, I was looking forward to driving the car so much I woke up ~2hrs earlier than I'd intended to. It was way too early to be waking up the neighbors, I'd already probably irked a few the night before. When I heard the neighbor's gardener running their leaf blower I knew it was time!
I made it a few blocks then checked for any leaks - and wouldn't you know? That cloud that's been following me around decided to strike right then and open up on me - yep, fuel leak - right where my ghetto washer was installed. Uuuuungh ... OK, no choice now but to wait until I get the real deal washer from Radium before I can give it the beans. At least now I feel like I've got a solid solution and there's just a small bit of work to do before I can finally close this chapter and move on. I'm a pro at R&R'ing my entire fuel system now!
Another YouTube video, hopefully the last having to do with my fuel system. The short drive was pretty glorious, that car is just such an awesome experience. I know I bitch about the sound at highway speeds - but in the city, it just sounds SO DAMN GOOD.
More words and photos on my blog. In the immortal words of 2Pac Shakur -
68. "Defeat is not my destiny, Release me to the streets" - 2Pac