Sharkey

iTrader: (1)

the microsquirt will run the ignition with nothing more than the crank sensor and map sensor hooked up. having the coolant temp sensor allows you to add timing for cold start and warm up. the cam sensor will allow for sequential ignition as you mentioned.

me, id hook every sensor up i possibly could, and sort out ways to hook up things that shouldnt be. i love having a ton of data to use for tuning.

patooyee

I'm wanting to use the knock sensor as well but I'm getting conflicting info as to how well microsquirt can work with them.

Sharkey

iTrader: (1)

you wont be able to use a knock sensor without extra equipment. the microsquirt is a trimmed down megasquirt 2, and the megasquirt 2 could only run the old style knock sensor with the early knock sensor filter box commonly found in 80s gm v8. even with that you had to make some hardware changes inside the ms2. i ran this setup on an l61 and it worked ok, i had to track down a knock sensor from an older gm with the same bore size, and any filter box will work. it was sort of an on/off thing, if it started to knock it would just pull the max amount of timing you set it to, and when the knock was gone it ramped it all back in. im not sure if this was a limitation of the gm sensor and box or a megasquirt limitation. now using it with the microsquirt, there are 2 extra inputs, you may be able to use one of them and hook that knock sensor system up to that, i just cant remember what type of signal it outputs to the ecm, it might just be a 0-5v or a grounding output and be useable.

the ms3 now has an optional knock card you can buy and plug in, and it uses the newer bosch style 2 wire knock sensors directly wired to the ecm.

patooyee

Yes, I did some research a while back about it. I would definitely need a knock module that uses an input on the Microsquirt. But I've heard that the modules aren't very accurate and often trigger false knock signals.

Sharkey

iTrader: (1)

yea they do false knock. they arent a real good system, and you need to be sure you find the right sensor for the bore size.

patooyee

Throttle body adapter from Ecotec to Ford 5.0. The Ford TB bore is actually slightly smaller than the Ecotec but I figure I'll be forcing air through it. (Gives you an idea of the power made possible by engineering through the years!) If I feel like it is a problem, any aftermarket Ford 5.0 TB should also fit.

patooyee

Been a tough week or so. I started working on motor mount plates and my welder and plasma table died both on the same day. I fixed the welder and had to buy a new computer and reconfigure the plasma table from scratch, but finally got motor mounts made. One of the bolt holes was stripped out so I had to heli-coil it to SAE threads since I don't keep metric heli-coils on hand. So that's why you see the one random SAE bolt. Tomorrow I'm going to put the motor back on the transmission and bend some more tube for the chassis.

patooyee

I've been meaning to ask ... what spark plugs are recommended for a turbo LE5?

Sharkey

iTrader: (1)

i run ngk LTR7ix-11 plugs in my l61 turbo. these are 2 steps colder than stock. now something you need to consider is what you may have to consider is running on propane may change the plug requirements. a quick search turns up propane conversions wanting iridium fine wire plugs, which the ltr7ix-11 is, and it also calls for 1 step colder than typical use with gasoline. this may become an issue, there is no colder plug that fits the ecotecs (aside from the lsj) because of the 1" long threads. gonna have to try it and see what happens things.

Slowbalt2000

iTrader: (1)

Sharkey

iTrader: (1)

whats the part number?

i was also looking at brisk racing plugs since i replied, they also have a couple colder heat ranges that would be similar to an 8 or a 9 in an ngk.

patooyee

I'd also be interested in that number. I can't find anything on their site that isn't heat range "16." But the way each manufacturer rates their heat ranges is different. Denso 16 could be equivalent to NGK 8.

Slowbalt2000

iTrader: (1)

denso 5341

patooyee

According to Jeg's that's actually 3 steps cooler than stock. But that's fine by me. Thanks.

https://www.jegs.com/i/Denso/313/5341/10002/-1

Slowbalt2000

iTrader: (1)

Three steps colder than stock for the NA engines, but two steps colder if were talking about boosted stuff. It was a challenge to find an 8 that met all the requirements. For a while i was using gasket seat plugs which did work but arent ideal.

Sharkey

iTrader: (1)

next time i have the head off my l61 im going to have my machine shop machine it so i can run 3/4" reach gasket seat plugs in it, aka BKR7E plugs. costs me $60 for a set of plugs for my l61 and $15 for a set for my lsj.

Slowbalt2000

iTrader: (1)

yeah the BKR is a much more common plug.

patooyee

I put them in today but noticed that they are slightly shorter than stock. The coil packs don't give me a super positive snap when they go in as a result. Maybe there's nothing to worry about?

Slowbalt2000

iTrader: (1)

patooyee

Thanks. There's a spring inside the coil pack that allows for some height variation. Just making sure that you're not using some sort of aftermarket coil pack as well.

Slowbalt2000

iTrader: (1)

Ive always used stock coils.

patooyee

Posting this mainly because it's been so long since I've gotten any tube work done, not because it's impressive in the least. My shop is a pig sty but I'm actually proud of the progress I made in only about 4 hours of working yesterday. I'm using a software package that allows me to make my tube notches in advance before fitting them in position. It's the first time I've used it. It's a bit of a leap of faith to make a notch before you ever even put the tube in the chassis so we'll see how it works out soon.