Drivetrain Aquamist HFS-3
Yes, started it this afternoon! Been going alright...hope to have it done tonight.
4th Gear
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 497
Likes: 1
From: Albany, NY
Ok I heard back from Jeff at Howerton Engineering. We would need at least 5 for a group buy.
The normal every day price for the entire setup including the tank that goes in the trunk/hatch area is just under 900 bucks. But with 5 or more people he'll see what he can do. No work on exact pricing.
I don't want to hijack this thread so we'll see how your install goes and get some feedback then i'll start the group buy since it'll be a lot easier to get people on board after someone else actually installs one.
Sorry Thumper but you get to be the tester I guess lol. Either way i'm getting one...just a matter of how much I spend if it makes you feel better
The normal every day price for the entire setup including the tank that goes in the trunk/hatch area is just under 900 bucks. But with 5 or more people he'll see what he can do. No work on exact pricing.
I don't want to hijack this thread so we'll see how your install goes and get some feedback then i'll start the group buy since it'll be a lot easier to get people on board after someone else actually installs one.
Sorry Thumper but you get to be the tester I guess lol. Either way i'm getting one...just a matter of how much I spend if it makes you feel better
Iv'e had this system for some time now. Actually Thumper was at the dyno the same day Jeff Howerton and I were installing it in the parking lot. Jeff was in SoCal for a couple days and offered to help me install it 
. Jeff is a great guy and makes some amazing products.
The difference in this system and my old W/M system was a joke. From the moment I pulled out of the parking lot and hammered it I was blown away. And that was before we tuned for it
. I went from 299WHP to 330WHP after Jan from RMW finished tuning for the "new system". Thumper took a ride after the we finished. I will let him tell you what he thought 
.
This is one of the best mods you can do for your R53 or 56.
Here is a pic of my tank set-up
. Jeff is a great guy and makes some amazing products. The difference in this system and my old W/M system was a joke. From the moment I pulled out of the parking lot and hammered it I was blown away. And that was before we tuned for it
. I went from 299WHP to 330WHP after Jan from RMW finished tuning for the "new system". Thumper took a ride after the we finished. I will let him tell you what he thought .This is one of the best mods you can do for your R53 or 56.
Here is a pic of my tank set-up
Could have a little more to do with the Rotrex than the meth kit though....
Anyway...not finishing tonight. I'm getting too frustrated and cranky to get anything more done
Never installed one of these before or anything like it...and while nothing is too terribly difficult, it's just a lot of thinking and my brain is tired!
3rd Gear
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 174
Likes: 0
From: San Ramon, CA East Bay
Iv'e had this system for some time now. Actually Thumper was at the dyno the same day Jeff Howerton and I were installing it in the parking lot. Jeff was in SoCal for a couple days and offered to help me install it . Jeff is a great guy and makes some amazing products.
The difference in this system and my old W/M system was a joke. From the moment I pulled out of the parking lot and hammered it I was blown away. And that was before we tuned for it. I went from 299WHP to 330WHP after Jan from RMW finished tuning for the "new system". Thumper took a ride after the we finished. I will let him tell you what he thought .
This is one of the best mods you can do for your R53 or 56.
Here is a pic of my tank set-up
. Jeff is a great guy and makes some amazing products. The difference in this system and my old W/M system was a joke. From the moment I pulled out of the parking lot and hammered it I was blown away. And that was before we tuned for it
. I went from 299WHP to 330WHP after Jan from RMW finished tuning for the "new system". Thumper took a ride after the we finished. I will let him tell you what he thought .This is one of the best mods you can do for your R53 or 56.
Here is a pic of my tank set-up
That looks sweet. And thumper... if i don't loose a piston next you will. Looks great!
Is it done yet?
4th Gear
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 310
Likes: 3
From: Mililani, HI
Is that the whole kit? Doesn't Aquamist make the ALTA kit, what's the difference between the two?
the HFS3 is light years ahead of the Alta kit. It was never made to do what this kit will do.......anyone telling you different doesn't know meth kits
Yes Aquamist makes the Alta kit...but it is not at all related to the HFS-3 or HFS-6. The HFS-3 and HFS-6 are the only kits which can read and work with the injector pulses of DI motors. In addition there are numerous other features and failsafes that really set the HFS apart from every other meth kit on the market. Not all meth kit's are created equal...they all share the same concept, but how they execute it varies hugely.
Finally finished the install....took me forever as I am the world's worst when it comes to wiring or anything electrical. Still have some trouble shooting to do though.....full report tomorrow.
After tons of troubleshooting...finally have it up and running and been driving around for the past half hour playing with it.
I'll start off by saying color blind people (ie ME) should always have another set of eyes helping them when working with colored wiring! I had tapped the fuel injector wire with the wrong colored wire coming from the HFS controller haha....causing the car to misfire as only 3 injectors were then working. After 2 days of working on the install...I was livid, and was sure I effed something up. But with the help of Jeff "kindly" suggesting that I recheck to make sure I had the right colors, we were up and running!
I will go on to say that Jeff is truly wonderful to work with...and is one of the most helpful people you will ever encounter. He is extremely knowledgeable and knows all the in's and out's of the Aquamist kit. I cannot count how many times I've called him this holiday weekend...picks up everytime and always was patient with my stupidity
Here are some pics...I still need to clean up/hide some wiring and lines but for now I'm just happy its up and running and that the install is over!
Running the Line/Wire:
The tank location in the trunk is perfect as there are already factory rubber grommets underneath the carpet, perfect for running the line and power wire for the pump underneath the car.
As seen here:
I then brought them up through the fender, behind the wheel liner.
As seen:
---------
Wiring:
4 wires that need to be tapped...part I screwed up cuz I can't get colors right
Power, MAP sensor, and 2 fuel injector wires (+ and -). Additionally, you can splice into the wastegate signal wire to be used as a failsafe should the kit malfunction. I chose to hold off on this for the time being, as it's really only a good safety feature once you get tuned to meth.
Power for the HFS-3 controller can come right from the fuse box, using an Add-a-Circuit. I had it in the fuse location for the OBD which is a switched fuse. (Only on when the key is on)
Ran the wiring from interior to engine bay through the rubber grommet in the firewall by the battery. Just sliced of the top to one of the nipples and u can feed wires through. They drop down right to the fuse box...very easy to get to. (Thanks to SooperCooperErik for that one)
The Controller Box:
Excuse the mess...ultimately it is going to go in the glovebox, out of sight. There are settings and adjustments that need to be made with the controller, and until I'm done with that, I have it out on the floor for easy access.
----------
Jet Location:
I chose the location simply due to ease of install. I wanted to put it further down by the intercooler and before the MAP sensor, but I was too lazy to take apart things to remove the tube to drill down there. So this location was it:
I plan on testing this spot for a few weeks, but ultimately I am going to put it further down the tube...to compare.
FAV (Fast Acting Valve)/ and Flow Sensor location:
In the cowl area where the battery is. Was perfect and convenient.
Gauge:
Need to get a bracket for it to attach to the tach. For now, it actually sits in that spot nicely by itself.
--------------------
Over the next few weeks I'm going to be testing various jet sizes along with various concentrations of methanol. Right now I'm just running 50/50 pre-mixed (Boost Juice), along with the .6mm jet. Once I get some straight meth to mix myself, I will up the jet size. For people that love tinkering and testing....you will lovvvve this kit. It's so customizable, you can mess with it till you go crazy.
As I said previously, I will be moving the jet location further down by the intercooler, and before the MAP sensor. Judging by my IAT's I think its safe to say it is that MAP sensor which reads air temps, not the tiny one down behind the intake manifold. Once I get the spray before that sensor, the self-corrections by the ECU will probably be better, as it will see the drastically lower inlet temps. Even with the jet just after the sensor, I'm seeing temps stay at ambient or a degree or two below, when the meth is spraying. (Thinking its just because its so close to it). Even though I'm not getting the complete benefit of the ECU seeing cooler IAT's...I'm still getting the full benefit and safety of much cooler combustion chamber temps, increased octane (resistance to knock), and cleaning of the inlet valves. It is 116 outside right now and I just beat the crap out of the car, and normally the car would hate it. It seemed to love it, it wasn't even phased by the heat.....ran strong and pulled "cleanly," and yes it definitely pulls harder, it's running great.
That's about it for now....off to go play more Think I covered everything I wanted to, if ya'll have anymore questions just post em up!
I'll start off by saying color blind people (ie ME) should always have another set of eyes helping them when working with colored wiring!
I had tapped the fuel injector wire with the wrong colored wire coming from the HFS controller haha....causing the car to misfire as only 3 injectors were then working. After 2 days of working on the install...I was livid, and was sure I effed something up. But with the help of Jeff "kindly" suggesting that I recheck to make sure I had the right colors, we were up and running! I will go on to say that Jeff is truly wonderful to work with...and is one of the most helpful people you will ever encounter. He is extremely knowledgeable and knows all the in's and out's of the Aquamist kit. I cannot count how many times I've called him this holiday weekend...picks up everytime and always was patient with my stupidity
Here are some pics...I still need to clean up/hide some wiring and lines but for now I'm just happy its up and running and that the install is over!
Running the Line/Wire:
The tank location in the trunk is perfect as there are already factory rubber grommets underneath the carpet, perfect for running the line and power wire for the pump underneath the car.
As seen here:
I then brought them up through the fender, behind the wheel liner.
As seen:
---------
Wiring:
4 wires that need to be tapped...part I screwed up cuz I can't get colors right
Power, MAP sensor, and 2 fuel injector wires (+ and -). Additionally, you can splice into the wastegate signal wire to be used as a failsafe should the kit malfunction. I chose to hold off on this for the time being, as it's really only a good safety feature once you get tuned to meth.
Power for the HFS-3 controller can come right from the fuse box, using an Add-a-Circuit. I had it in the fuse location for the OBD which is a switched fuse. (Only on when the key is on)
Ran the wiring from interior to engine bay through the rubber grommet in the firewall by the battery. Just sliced of the top to one of the nipples and u can feed wires through. They drop down right to the fuse box...very easy to get to. (Thanks to SooperCooperErik for that one
)The Controller Box:
Excuse the mess...ultimately it is going to go in the glovebox, out of sight. There are settings and adjustments that need to be made with the controller, and until I'm done with that, I have it out on the floor for easy access.
----------
Jet Location:
I chose the location simply due to ease of install. I wanted to put it further down by the intercooler and before the MAP sensor, but I was too lazy to take apart things to remove the tube to drill down there. So this location was it:
I plan on testing this spot for a few weeks, but ultimately I am going to put it further down the tube...to compare.
FAV (Fast Acting Valve)/ and Flow Sensor location:
In the cowl area where the battery is. Was perfect and convenient.
Gauge:
Need to get a bracket for it to attach to the tach. For now, it actually sits in that spot nicely by itself.
--------------------
Over the next few weeks I'm going to be testing various jet sizes along with various concentrations of methanol. Right now I'm just running 50/50 pre-mixed (Boost Juice), along with the .6mm jet. Once I get some straight meth to mix myself, I will up the jet size. For people that love tinkering and testing....you will lovvvve this kit. It's so customizable, you can mess with it till you go crazy.
As I said previously, I will be moving the jet location further down by the intercooler, and before the MAP sensor. Judging by my IAT's I think its safe to say it is that MAP sensor which reads air temps, not the tiny one down behind the intake manifold. Once I get the spray before that sensor, the self-corrections by the ECU will probably be better, as it will see the drastically lower inlet temps. Even with the jet just after the sensor, I'm seeing temps stay at ambient or a degree or two below, when the meth is spraying. (Thinking its just because its so close to it). Even though I'm not getting the complete benefit of the ECU seeing cooler IAT's...I'm still getting the full benefit and safety of much cooler combustion chamber temps, increased octane (resistance to knock), and cleaning of the inlet valves. It is 116 outside right now and I just beat the crap out of the car, and normally the car would hate it. It seemed to love it, it wasn't even phased by the heat.....ran strong and pulled "cleanly," and yes it definitely pulls harder, it's running great.
That's about it for now....off to go play more
Think I covered everything I wanted to, if ya'll have anymore questions just post em up!
5th Gear
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 750
Likes: 0
From: Bay Area
Thanks for the write up Thumper. I have a noob question: If you already have carbon built up on the intake valves, would the w/m injection "clean" all the crap or will it only prevent future build up?
