papaindigo wrote:
Worth the cost to me, besides I like the pretty colors. More to the point; the Samcos lack the alignment witness marks that the OEM hoses have at each end (a little notch that lines up with a tab where the hose installs). No big deal but you do need to pay attention to the routing of the Samcos to make sure they don't rub on anything. Just slip the hose clamps on the Samcos; install the hoses without tightening the clamps; check clearance along the routing (I had to take a file to some plastic "fins" on a gray vertical plug on the driver's side) twisting the hoses at each end to get the needed clearance; tighten hose clamps. Your are done although IMHO it's a good idea to recheck clamp tightness after a bit of driving.
I haven't seen anyone mention the fact that the OEM hose on the RT side, turbo to cooler, is approximately 1/2 inch smaller in diameter than a Samco. 55037729AC necks down to 2 1/2 " right at the turbo. The Samco hose is about 2" all the way up. That in itself has got to make SOME improvement in air flow since the left hose is already larger.
I ordered from BoostController at noon on Friday before Labour Day. I had them shipped to a parcel pickup in Port Huron Michigan. They called me on Saturday morning and I had them in my hands by 2PM. Now THAT's service! That weekend, I installed them and also installed a Provent filter. I also pulled the plug on the MAF sensor and my 2006 has never run so good. Absolutely no "turbo lag" and I fail to see any smoke when leaving a stop light etc. It runs like a sewing machine. I also cleaned the boost sensor, then put 5 L of Mobil-1 in, along with a liter of Fram synthetic oil stabilizer. It remains to be seen in say, 5000 miles what the boost sensor looks like. My guess is that is will be relatively clean.
I'd like to find out it the SEGR mod is still available so I can clear the MIL and still have the EGR valve remain closed. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I'd like to go for the "Green" thing, but I just can't see my way clear to spend that kind of money at the moment.
Oh, I forgot to mention. I thought that I'd tightened the new Samco clamps sufficiently, but when I went for a test run there was a horrible noise and the car went into 'limp mode'. I pulled over and lifted the hood. The hose hose on the left had come off at the intake manifold. I pushed it back on and idled the short distance back home. Like a jerk, I'd left the ratchet and socket back at the house. I don't know what the torque specs are but I'm sure I met or exceeded them when I re-tightened that clamp, as well as the others. Like someone else said earlier, I was a little apprehensive at the plastic cooler ends.