Matt's S12

All installed and set up, now I get nice instant starts, no more multiple cranks!

Just gotta get the coil drivers and coils done, then I can ditch the distributor.

Well NOW it starts with nearly a second on the starter!

Apparently stock Nissan ignitors need a fair amount of current to trigger, so I had to put in a 390ohm 5volt pull-up resistor to the ignitor trigger lead.

However without the pull-up in there, it was still able to run with a fixed duty cycle and the spark inverted, I figure it was still able to get JUST enough current through just the D14 LED (spark A output) and it's 330ohm resistor.

But anyway, with the proper pull-up installed, I now have proper dwell control and "this cylinder" timing mode works too.

For anyone interested, I have my trigger angle set to 80 degrees and the timing fine tuned by the normal means (rotating the distributor until it matches my fixed timing setting).

A little more fine tuning to the after start enrichment and warm up enrichment and it'll be running better than the OE ECU! Even from a dead cold start.

Now to get an ignitor that supports 4 coils (or a few more power transistors), and get coil-on-plug going. Or a 4 cylinder waste spark coil, doesn't really matter to me, either way will rid me of the distributor.

I'm thinking of switching to the hi-res code (tighter control of pulse width length), which also has some neat features that aren't in the current Extra firmware (029y4), like a real turbo anti-lag!
Not that I need that feature, nor a need to destroy my manifold/turbine/exhaust.  But it's neat to play with some.

English motherfucker......Do you speak it?   I don't understand a thing you are on about.

Seriously though Matt, all this is freakin awesome!!!  Keep it up.

Thanks man!

Yeah, it help understanding it all if you have a background in electronics and engine management already, though if you read the manuals for MegaSquirt, it does explain a lot of it decently enough.

there is the kickass cali style pick-n-pull in wadsworth, I used to go there lots.  every weds is half price day!

NemisisMatt, I see you didn't introduce me to this AirCooled VW owner

I'm thinking of switching to the hi-res code (tighter control of pulse width length), which also has some neat features that aren't in the current Extra firmware (029y4), like a real turbo anti-lag!

200sxkitcarthere is the kickass cali style pick-n-pull in wadsworth, I used to go there lots.  every weds is half price day!

Since I've installed the MegaSquirt, I haven't had the VVT stuff connected on my SR, so I've been driving around with a in/ex cam overlap of 1 degree... Which apparently is good for turbo spool, though I don't see it, but it for sure does nothing for low end torque.

So I finally got around to reconnecting it, and WOW I forgot how much low torque my engine has.
It seems to get a faster spool too, despite what I've read.

Downside is that I need to spray a little more fuel while VVT is active (21 degrees overlap). Oh well!

How do you really test it during a midwest winter? My impression is that when winter hits out there the only thing you guys are driving on is snow and ice.

ClownyEnglish motherfucker......Do you speak it?   I don't understand a thing you are on about.

Seriously though Matt, all this is freakin awesome!!!  Keep it up.

RedneckHow do you really test it during a midwest winter? My impression is that when winter hits out there the only thing you guys are driving on is snow and ice.

Yea, it's not too bad when it's all cleaned up, but I still don't have a lot of traction.

Edit:
Also, winter is a good time for parts of the tuning, especially if it's a daily driver like mine. Cold starts are a pain to tune, and during the spring/summer time, you can't tune that stuff.

And with the cold air, you're less prone to knocking, so you don't need to be as careful when tuning either.

Building the COP harness:
(https://i.imgur.com/dJ6cuE5.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/GVKCJ8L.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/TxvmYO7.jpg)

Just need to build up the ignitors and wire the rest in.

Since I just guessed at how much fuel the VVT was going to need, it wasn't really running very well this morning... So, I did a good retuning session tonight.
I had added too much fuel at the top and very bottom end, but the overall additional fuel needed is about 10% richer.
Pretty big difference if you ask me.

Other problem I'm having is this weird gravel-against-the-bottom-of-the-car noise at high speed (most of the time it sounds like it comes from the rear?), high load... I was hoping that all it was, but tonight I did an expairiment and dropped timing in boost by 5 degrees and it seems to have gone away.

So... Maybe it was detonation like I fear, or just coincidence? I guess time will tell, I'll have to do some WOT pulls under those conditions and see if it's still there. If it is, then it's just shit on the road getting kicked up.

I'm thinking it's probably just road debris, because I've shut the engine down while it was happening and the plugs are all clean, so I donno.

I gotta schedule a few hours on a dyno, so I can get the timing ACTUALLY dialed in. That's the only thing I can't do correctly.

Haha and im good at doing it by eyesight as we found out during our last meet   My VG was damn near dead on when we put the timing light to it.  I'm sure boost is a completely different ballgame than slightly adjusting for premi or lowgrade fuel on an NA though (considering it makes very very little difference on my NA )

Yeah, NA is pretty loose on the timing, compared to when you're pressurizing things.
Case and point was my old CA20, I was able to run 30 degrees base timing, and only started to knock at around 38! On 93 octane of course.

I wonder if maybe the reason I was able to run the timing I was with out knocking on the old ECU, because of the timing pull issue I had with it. It was probably pulling out just enough (for whatever reason) to keep the pinging at bay.

*shrug* It pulls hard either way!

You run 93?!? :o

We run 98 in ours and we still think that's not enough!

If I'm not mistaken, the way they find Octane ratings is different between the US and other countries.

I'd say his 93 octane is near the same as 91 octane at some other US gas stations, and that the 93 relates to the 98 you use there.  Various companies use different formulas to calculate the octane rating, so its hard to tell honestly.

Quote from wiki (so take it as you will):

Different countries have some variation in what RON (Research Octane Number) is standard for gasoline, or petrol. In the UK, ordinary regular unleaded petrol is 91 RON (not commonly available), premium unleaded petrol is always 95 RON, and super unleaded is usually 97-98 RON. However both Shell and BP produce fuel at 102 RON for cars with hi-performance engines, and the supermarket chain Tesco began in 2006 to sell super unleaded petrol rated at 99 RON. In the US, octane ratings in unleaded fuels can vary between 86-87 AKI (91-92 RON) for regular, through 89-90 AKI (94-95 RON) for mid-grade (European Premium), up to 90-94 AKI (95-99 RON) for premium (European Super).

Yeah, our 93 is averaged RON/MON, so our 93 is basically your 98.
I'm running a water+alcohol spray too.

Which is also another reason I'm not sure if that was knocking or not, because with the water spray it should be next to impossible for it to detonate.

with my weak sauce timing numbers, it should be next to impossible for it to detonate.

There's nothing wrong with my max advance, it just could ramp up a little faster.

(https://i.imgur.com/bpU95Ym.jpg)
New ignition coil drivers!

The finished harness
(https://i.imgur.com/KVoq3oV.jpg)

Edit:
Just need to make the heat-sink bar for the drivers and install!

Have you figured out the dwell time of the coils yet, or are you just gonna pick something out of thin air? Probably would be a good idea to scope them, or you risk overheating the coil or burning up the drivers. I'm sure Tim would know how to do this, probably means measuring the rise time of the primary or something.

just to be sure I'm not nuts here

"Dwell is the amount of time the coil is allowed to charge before releasing the energy to the plug wires."

Is that correct then?

According to a link I found here (Haltech ECU's official site), it seems that stock SR20 Dwell Time is 1.9ms

http://forums.haltech.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3080 (http://forums.haltech.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3080)

damn u guys

i really wanna learn this stuff and I have learned a little here and there but I'm a hands on learner.  I think MS is in my near future

"Dwell is the amount of time the coil is allowed to charge before releasing the energy to the plug wires."

Is that correct then?

I'll probably start around 1.5 or 1ms, unless I can find that page with the actual values on it again. I seem to recall that they're around 1.5 though.

Here's launch control/flat shift part one:
(https://i.imgur.com/pteXrxN.jpg)

Got the proximity switch mounted to the clutch pedal box, so that the switch just turns on when the clutch is disengaged, but not to the floor on the starter interlock switch.
I just need to make up a circuit with either a transistor or just use a small relay to send the signal to the MegaSquirt (the switch outputs 12volts, or whatever the input voltage is).

Also, wireless tuning part 1:

wireless tuning via your cell phone/pda?!?!?! holy crap...nice! BTW would na dwell be different than boosted dwell? I wonder if that number xano posted earlier was for a na or turbo sr app....Good stuff man!

edit: He pulled it from haltechs site....so i am thinking boosted app.

Yea, as soon as I write my own program for it, the current "PocketTune" for MegaSquirt won't run on my smartphone for some reason (missing DLL or something), so I'll probably have to come up with something.

Dwell is a per-coil value, it depends completely on the coil.
You can run a little more dwell for a hotter spark in a boosted app, but it'll shorten the coil's life a lot.

and the number i gave was for a SR-DET, so a turbod app.

Yea, but that's besides the point, the coils on a CA18DE and CA18DET both have the same dwell, but ones a turbo app and one isn't.
It's the coil that dictates the dwell, not the application.

See this is why I'm going to make you help me when it comes time to turbo my car.....at least then it'll be done right

I wasnt aware...but now i am...thanks man!

wuts the latest with that rear end matt?... mines basically finished jus have to build strut towers now. imma get u sum pics wen i can

It's on hold for right now, until I can get the cash together for some spring+shocks.

seishukuIt's on hold for right now, until I can get the cash together for some spring+shocks.

A T3 manifold and downpipe lol.  Along with extra flanges to flange the rest of the system the rest of the way back if you wanted to.f

seishuku.
Any guesses as to what I'm making?

XanoA T3 manifold and downpipe lol.  Along with extra flanges to flange the rest of the system the rest of the way back if you wanted to.f

v-band > 3-bolt flange

top mount too close to BMC

do mid mount like this.  local drifter/shop car

(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c53/AK_Slick/2010%2001%2014%20Car%20Progress/P1010047.jpg)
http://www.vegasdrift.com/forum/index.php/...5.html#msg19925 (http://www.vegasdrift.com/forum/index.php/topic,2567.msg19925.html#msg19925)

v-band = expensive, these = free
But I agree, v-band would be the way to go.

(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y59/seishuku/Flanges.jpg)
Drilled them today, still need to do some grinding on the ports though, you can see the gasket matching marks I made on the head flange.

v-band powar!  ebay stuff can be shady but mine is good

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/UNIVERSAL-3...sQ5fAccessories (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/UNIVERSAL-3-0-V-BAND-VBAND-CLAMP-KIT-1CLAMP-2-FLANGES_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem20af88d3e9QQitemZ140383933417QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-3-V-BAN...sQ5fAccessories (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-3-V-BAND-TURBO-CLAMP-EXHAUST-FLANGE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem1c0f0b07f8QQitemZ120511465464QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories)

Not bad, I'll have to keep those in mind.
But again, mine = free, can't argue with that.

Finished the exhaust flanges:
(https://i.imgur.com/KNF7niW.jpg)

Aaaaand...
(https://i.imgur.com/jBHQ1OP.jpg)
Weld Els for the manifold!

where u get the elbows?

A drawer at work.

I donno what they were for, I think some job we did 10 years back, but made about 100 too many, so there are a bunch of those and some j bends.

They're all 1.25" .120 wall.

seishuku