How NOT to install an Alky kit! DANGER! Pics inside may shock and horrify!
 

Note to MitsuStylers: Hey all, I'm posting this here before I post it on the big public forums; I would like a little feedback on this rant before I shout too...um...loudly I guess? :D TIA!

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Ok all joking aside let me be up front and say that this thread is NOT intended to BASH the members who's posts I'm linking to. Instead, it is meant to point out potential problems and then suggest better/safer methods of installation. After my last rant on cheap alky kits (http://forums.evolutionm.net/evo-eng...s-exposed.html) I found to my shock and horror that there are some prime examples of how NOT to install an alky kit IN OUR OWN HOW TO SECTION! I'm sorry but I have to point out these things because it is plainly obvious that most people are not getting why alky kits can lead to engine failures. Here are some examples of what NOT to do.




1) Alky Nozzles go in HARD pipes not silicone couplers!
This is probably fine and dandy for a little while but eventually these couplers are going to rip/tear and eventually leak both charge air and probably alky/water. These couplers get twisted around and flexed daily, and furthermore if you're into modding your car they might get removed more than a few times! The more time and more abuse that happens, the more likely you are to have a problem here.
Solution: tap into a hard (metal) pipe and use proper sealant.

http://i.imgur.com/h0kDil.png

http://i.imgur.com/wkxQn.png



2) wiring safety! Think people, THINK!

2a): *Most* wires do not go outside the car
Yup, road debris can slice them and they're not generally meant for all-weather use.
http://www.evoxforums.com/forums/sho...&postcount=110
And do NOT use the door jam/fender gap to route wires!



2b) Wires do not go around grommets:
EVER! They go through grommets! Unless I'm seeing this pic wrong, routing a wire or a whole harness around a grommet can lead to an electrical short and guess what: FIRE!

Solution: route wires through grommets.

http://i.imgur.com/7YfTgl.png



2c) If you're going to tap into the fuse box, do so in a proper fashion.

This is NOT acceptable (wire can come loose, and you want a fuse at the power source...anywhere you don't have a fuse can potentially turn into a fire with a quickness!):
http://i.imgur.com/RFYwo.png

Instead, use a proper wire or fuse tap like this, with an actual fuse right at the fuse box:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=071-580


3) Alky/water line feed: inside or outside, but pick appropriate tubing!

If you had used braided SS line or even a hard metal line, this routing would be fine, but honestly, think about all the crap all over the roads you drive on every day.....do you really think there's not an object (rock, metal chunk, hooker, etc) that won't puncture a hole in this in a heartbeat? Sure chances might be somewhat low as the lines are realy nice quality and very durable when they're brand new, but what about after a year or two of use? They become hard, brittle, and more likely for damage to occur. I think its obvious what follows once these lines start leaking.

Solution: find a safe routing solution inside the car, or use braided SS line made to endure the elements.

http://i.imgur.com/rMwRAl.png


4) Lastly, why on earth delete your spare tire?
These cars are meant to be driven on the road, and isht happens! Find a spot to put your pump that doesn't involve crippling your car in the event of a tire puncture.


I'm not trying to be a rag but everyone EVERYONE that mods their car wants to do it under a few conditons! It must not affect the safety of the driver/passengers, and it really should never affect the reliability of the car. Taking shortcuts like the ones I've shown here are quick links to blown headgaskets, melted pistons, fire in the engine bay, and putting your LIFE at risk! I'm sorry to be so emphatic about this but there are real problems by doing this and the people posting these are getting pages and pages of commens about how great the installs look by people that really should know better.

Re: How NOT to install an Alky kit! DANGER! Pics inside may shock and horrify!
 

Nice overview of a few different installs. Those are some of the Jankyest installs ive seen in awhile!

Re: How NOT to install an Alky kit! DANGER! Pics inside may shock and horrify!
 

Nice write-up, Hollywood_X fails.

Re: How NOT to install an Alky kit! DANGER! Pics inside may shock and horrify!
 

Looks like a good over view. Nice work. My only suggestion would be to include some pics of correct installs for each of those bad examples.

Re: How NOT to install an Alky kit! DANGER! Pics inside may shock and horrify!
 

Sorry for a little OT, but does the Alky system work well with NLTS? Most Alky kits are TPS based am i right? So i spose NLTS would work just fine becuase they are both TPS based

Re: How NOT to install an Alky kit! DANGER! Pics inside may shock and horrify!
 

Not TPS based, but IDC based. NLTS cuts fuel so yes it works dandy with NLTS. A boost-based system on the other hand would keep right on spraying during NLTS, since you can hold 10-15psi pretty easily between shifts.

Re: How NOT to install an Alky kit! DANGER! Pics inside may shock and horrify!
 

Hollywood is a good guy and contributes a lot, but he is for sure not always right.

I still love how he thinks that the Cosworth Cams for the X are the end all be all and no other cam could possibly compete with them or make more power. He keeps saying that so many people have bench tested flow rates and that size cam is max power...kinda funny.

Good write up scheides! So did you figure out where your tank is going yet?

Re: How NOT to install an Alky kit! DANGER! Pics inside may shock and horrify!
 

Too chicken to make that post on evoXforums murlo? :)

Yea cossie cams are a nice mild cam and decent on stock valvesprings but the whole theme for my X is kinda do it right/big or do nothing and leave it stock.

If I put an alky kit in this thing, it'll probably be mounted in the same spot as hollywood's, I've been eyeing that spot since I saw the trunk of (some guy on evomn--can't remember his name atm) a year or two ago. Only thing is options:
-put a 2.5Gal tank sideways in there with a mini battery turned sideways (all the way to the right), or
-maybe the same thing with 2x 1 gallon tanks to prevent sloshing.
-My other idea would be to get a 6 quart (i.e. big!) tank and mount it at an angle (45°*or so), with the low-level sensor pointing in from the back and the feed hole at the very bottom.

....All of these would use non-vented caps that had filler hoses going up and out to a very small, very easy to get to filler tank.

Pump goes somewhere that you can't see and also doesn't delete the spare, and then route everything up to the engine bay for a nice clean install. There's a ton of room under the cowl to mount everything nice and dry and no heat.

Re: How NOT to install an Alky kit! DANGER! Pics inside may shock and horrify!
 

I have my AMS mini battery in now and there is tons of room now, you should have plenty of room.

I have let Hollywood know several times that I don't believe the Cosworth cams are the end all cam :)

Re: How NOT to install an Alky kit! DANGER! Pics inside may shock and horrify!
 

Yea everyone mounts their mini batts laying down back there; I'm talking about mounting it standing upright, all the way to the right, for max alky kit mounting room :)

Re: How NOT to install an Alky kit! DANGER! Pics inside may shock and horrify!
 

Do you reuse the wiper fluid reservoir for the alky kit?

Considered putting a small ass wiper fluid one in there to free up room?

Re: How NOT to install an Alky kit! DANGER! Pics inside may shock and horrify!
 

Nah the wiper fluid reservoir can prolly just stay where it is but I thought about that too, just one more thing to leak/break though. KISS.

Hrm, I'll actually have a 2.5 gallon tank at my house this weekend, I'm gonna see how well it will fit. :)