My new car!

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Tue Nov 06, 2012 9:14

Well, I was kinda bummed out as I was bidding on some mint condition used Apexi N1 EXV coilovers on eBay but I lost out by $10 bucks to some sniper...oh well, you win some and loose some, no big deal, but it would have been sweet to have snagged them!

Anyways, I did end up purchasing a Kenne Bell Boost-A-Spark (BAS) Ignition Amp in order to provide some extra juice to my ignition coils. The Amp is real simple, it just takes in battery voltage from the coil and uses an internal transformer to send the output juice up to 21 volts. This swells the ignition coils output by a multiplying factor.

The BAS is also cool because it features an adjustable dial to vary output to the coils, so you don't have to be amping them 100% all the time. Additionally, the BAS is activated by a Hobbs pressure switch at 4psi (although my used amp didn't come with this, so I will purchasing one shortly) so the coils aren't getting over-juiced all the time.

Installation of the amp was pretty straight forward since the FD has a sub-harness for the ignition coils. I just unplugged the coils from the harness, keyed the car and used my multimeter to figure out which wire provided battery voltage, removed the sub-harness and spliced the input and output wires of the Amp into that power wire. Grounded the Amp and that's pretty much it.

I went for a short drive to verify operation and the FD ran fine. I was blowing out spark before around 18psi, but of course I only got boost up to around 16psi before calling it quits. The car was pulling like a raped ape at 16psi and spinning tire pretty easily so I figured why go any higher? For now, the car will remain at 16psi until Spring when I can get her out more regularly and dial in some more boost.

VRx8 · Postby **VRx8** » Tue Nov 06, 2012 9:14

Time for some 555R's! lol

Website · Postby **Shadowden** » Tue Nov 06, 2012 9:14

chickenwafer wrote:I've taken headlights and tail lights apart before, it's not a big deal. Once you do it a few times you get the hang of it. I was worried about messing something up, but it's the risk you take I guess.

I would love to consult with you about a headlight project then!

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Wed Nov 07, 2012 9:14

VRx8 wrote:Time for some 555R's! lol

Yeah I want to save up for the Nitto 555R or NT05R's in the future. Right now my tires aren't doing too bad but they are hating this cold weather lol.

Shadowden wrote:I would love to consult with you about a headlight project then!

No problems, I'm sure we could figure something out.

Drove my fd to work today for the first time in a while. Ran great. No leaks, no issues, no drama other than running stupid low on gas and forgetting my debit card at home like a dummie :lol:

So I couldn't even really boost it in the way home but I did give it a good coupe rips on the way to work when ambient temps were in the low 40s and man did it haul! Turbo rotaries sure do love cold temps. She hot and cold started beautifully so I'm hoping I'm on the road to solving that very annoying issue (hot start).

Driving did make me think about a couple things, namely coilovers. I still really want a set but I am very concerned about making it over speed bumps/dips and, more importantly, in and out of my driveway. It's already hard enough as it is, so I would have to build some sort of ramps or something to easily get in and out, which would add another degree of annoyance when driving the car more than there already is. The sacrifices of driving of a lowered car lol.

That being said, I still think I will get the coilovers for the adjustability and handling. I probably won't lower the car as much as I initially planned due to the fact I actually drive it and plan on tracking it, so it will be at a useful height.

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Wed Nov 07, 2012 9:14

I thought it was pretty low already. I mean, it looks good at the height it's already at.

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 9:14

Thanks...yeah it also lowered thanks to the Konis but it does have some bad fender gap lol. I'm just not in a hurry to hate driving this car tho by slamming it and making it difficult to get over bumps and in and out of my driveway. So it's all about setting them to a good height.

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:14

Did a once over on the car this evening just in case I'm able to get my car on the dyno tomorrow. I'm tuning Jimmy for more boost at Boost Creep and if we have enough time I think I'll get my FD on the DynoDynamics and see what she can do. Will also give me a good opportunity to nail down some stray cells in the tune.

I also saw GReddy released a new Profec B electronic boost controller and it looks fantastic. The look alone is pretty cool, but they also added another setup feature so it should make boost control even better. It also has a cool new OLED screen so visiblilty is greatly improved. Damn I want it now lol.

http://www.greddy.com/products/electronics/profec/?partnum=15500214

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:14

chickenwafer wrote:...at Boost Creep...

Uh oh. Run, Jimmy, run!!!

LOL

I'm wondering if my boost controller is even working properly, so maybe it's time I get a new one too. LOL

Damn you, Dave.

iani1.1 · Postby **iani1.1** » Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:14

damn, that profec b does look pretty sweet.

VRx8 · Postby **VRx8** » Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:14

That looks pretty sweet! Get iT!!

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Thu Nov 15, 2012 9:14

speedjunkie wrote:Uh oh. Run, Jimmy, run!!!

LOL

I'm wondering if my boost controller is even working properly, so maybe it's time I get a new one too. LOL

Damn you, Dave.

Lol I know you don't like Harvey and had a bad experience, but he's always treated me and Jimmy right so we have no problems going to him. Plus, his car has always been on Harvey's DD, long before you and I went there, so it's good to keep going to that dyno to keep things consistent. Otherwise, the numbers from two different dynos means nothing lol.

iani1.1 wrote:damn, that profec b does look pretty sweet.

VRx8 wrote:That looks pretty sweet! Get iT!!

Yeah I think it's real cool, problem is I'm debating now between a diffuser or this lol. I already have a manual controller so this isn't a requirement, but neither really is a diffuser lol.

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Thu Nov 15, 2012 9:14

Yeah I know, I was just making a joke. I can understand others not having a problem with him and going to him, but I'll never step foot in that place again or let him even come close to my car lol. Call it a grudge I suppose lol.

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Fri Nov 16, 2012 9:14

Hell has no fury like an Eric scorned lol

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Sun Nov 25, 2012 9:14

Not very many updates here. Drove the car to work two days last week since the weather was so darn nice. Loved the cold air. I turned boost down to around 14-15psi and it pulled great, even though it was a little rich with those 0*C intake temps. Really fun to get the car out and use it. I've convinced myself in order for the car to be rational and keep it I need to drive it more.

As I was researching electronic boost controllers, and nearly pulling the trigger on a Turbosmart E-Boost Street, I diverged and looked into more EMS options for the FD. The trusty PowerFC is serving me just fine, and I don't necessarily need more features, I just want more control and fine tuning over the features I need. I really like how easy the PFC is to use and setup, but it is lacking some features. It was introduced back in 1999, after all. Think about how much home PC's have changed since then...it's crazy.

I was looking into Haltech's, and the PS1000 is real nice. Of course Eduardo going PS1000 isn't helping LOL. More and more people are moving to Haltech's and the reasons are obvious. I also found out TriPoint Engineering has made a patch harness to make an AEM Series II EMS a PnP option for the FD, comes setup with a base calibration. I had the first gen AEM EMS for my FD for all of 2 weeks and was less than impressed- mostly because back then I was attempting to control the stock twin turbo solenoids and it wasn't up to the task. Now, I'm not, so maybe the Series II is a feasible option?

Anyways, I only started looking at these options because the EBC I was looking at is $300 bucks- I could sell my current PFC, OLED Commander with mount, and Datalogit and with the $300 from the EBC pot I haven't spent yet would put me within $100 bucks of the AEM Series II or the Haltech, which has built-in closed loop boost control features. Well, I have all winter to think about it LOL.

Also thought of doing a custom turbo kit and selling my current setup..but I think it would be premature. I need to wrap this turbo up to 22psi before I decide if it's not enough LOL.

VRx8 · Postby **VRx8** » Sun Nov 25, 2012 9:14

I think you would be very happy with the Haltech, you can do so much. 32 x 32 map talk about fine tuning! If you get fancy you can control water injection with it as well. Just so many things! and you can add EGT and all sorts of other things lol. For the money you can't beat it I think.

C Ludwig can make patch harness for the FD, I was going to buy from him but then I stumped with a slightly better deal and pulled the trigger. C Ludwig can get you a Patch Harness + PS1000 for approx $1550.

Speaking of which did you get the software working?

My new car!

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