Messages

1

Spud Miller's Cave / Re: Let’s talk about points mags

« on: July 14, 2020, 03:17:59 PM »

 If you're going to use the Pro Control for rev limiting, be sure to use a separate relay with it to do the actual limiting of the magneto. Otherwise, the Pro Control relay will fail. They are delicate little guys and don't work for long in that scenario. You could use it to actuate one of our Rev Limiter Relays and it would live for a LONG time. They can be found here: https://fuelinjectionent.myshopify.com/products/rev-limit-relay-pigtail

 Have fun!
 Spud

2

Spud Miller's Cave / Re: Vertex V SM3

« on: May 24, 2020, 05:27:40 PM »

 If it's injected and just for fun, I'd just stick with what you have. You really won't notice a diff in your application unless one of them isn't healthy.

 But...trying something new is fun and learning new tricks keeps it interesting. If it comes with a mag drive that fits your engine and the rotation is correct for you, the only hassle you'll have is to mount the coil somewhere.

 Have fun!

 Spud


 

3

Spud Miller's Cave / Re: New to MFI

« on: May 20, 2020, 08:58:21 AM »

 I would say a high-speed lean out isn't worth messing with most times in an 1/8th mile situation. You could turn the check valve around so it is disabled, remove all the stuff or put a blank pill in it.

When you add pills together, you have to add the areas not the diameters...the area of the two combined and then converted back to an equivalent diameter. In this case:  .110 + .045 = .119

 Have fun!

 Spud

4

Spud Miller's Cave / Re: New to MFI

« on: May 19, 2020, 12:41:21 PM »

  Hi! Sounds like you're having fun.

 Yes, the pressure setting for the high-speed is related to RPM, but most folks have their systems nozzled to give them higher pressure than they used to. People used to nozzle everything big and see maybe 60 PSI at the top end. Now, smaller nozzles and higher pressure mean you might achieve 100 or 120 PSI at the finish line. That 50 PSI high-speed check valve is open right off the starting line, yikes! Some would tell you not to use a pill in it and as you can see, that check valve open at the starting line and no pill could really hurt stuff.

 You could send me a questionnaire off my web site and I could help you figure a good starting point for your high-speed. Or, you use my free web calculator and do it yourself. It would give you an idea of what kind of fuel pressure you're making at the top end (@8000 RPM). From there you could easily get the pressure for any RPM during the pass.

Calculators (to do it yourself): http://www.fuelinjectionent.com/tuneup.php

Questionnaires (if you need my help): http://www.fuelinjectionent.com/questionnaires.php

Spud

5

Spud Miller's Cave / Re: Let’s talk about points mags

« on: April 30, 2020, 08:29:38 AM »

 Well, if you have an Old School car (no solid state stuff on board), then you should run solid core wire. That is best for output at the plug alright and lasts years and years.

 Just filtering the power supply is easy, there is no desired signal present in the 12VDC or ground. Brute force works there...removing EVERYTHING is simple. Most electronics devices destined for automotive use already filter the incoming power and ground pretty good as part of their circuit. It's a known issue that all EE's designing that kind of stuff are aware of.

 Filtering the actual speed signal to remove unwanted spikes and fuzz is difficult without screwing up the desired signal you need to keep. Remove the bad, leave the good...or at least leave enough of the good that the signal is still recognized.

 The difficult problem with filtering is that filters are very frequency dependent. On an engine, the frequency is always changing as you rev up the engine. If race engines ran at one speed all the time, filtering would be simple. The filtering needs to be much different at idle as compared to 8,000 RPM for example...and everything in between and above.

 The problem is radio frequency interference that is induced through the air. RFI is zapped right into the tach unit though it's housing, into the signal input wires, etc. Not an easy problem. I've worked on this issue for YEARS with varying degrees of success.

 For most folks, "racing suppression" plug wire of 50 ohms per foot or less solves most of the problem and impedance that low hardly removes any spark energy. It's a fair trade.

 I'm currently working on a new tach signal device for my lower drive products. A ring of magnets is added inside the drive and a small hall effect pickup unit added to the side using the timing pointer screws present on all FIE and Mallory lower mag drives made for the last 45 years or so. Works great on the bench and is much quicker, easier and more cost effective than adding a crank trigger pickup.

 Spud

6

Spud Miller's Cave / Re: pump rebuild

« on: June 21, 2019, 10:01:56 AM »

 It could be done, but it would be pretty expensive. A new Enderle 760 lid, gear, rotor and end piece would be almost as much as a new 760 pump.

 Spud

 

7

Spud Miller's Cave / Re: Idle Fuel Pressure

« on: May 23, 2019, 02:49:53 PM »

 If you're measuring on the nozzle side of the metering valve, you'll see "0" at idle on a gauge.

 On the pump side, it'll be in the 10-15 PSI at idle depending on how many PSI your main check valve is set at and typically, a main would be 1-2 PSI on a naturally aspirated setup.

If you run a 5-10 PSI main check valve, not only will your leakdown percentage be artificially low, but the idle fuel pressure on the pump side will be more like 15-25 PSI.

 Also, a secondary check valve (off your metering valve) could affect indicated idle fuel pressure. I typically set those about 18-20 PSI and that will limit things in the idle position.

 Spud

8

Spud Miller's Cave / Re: quick pump check up system

« on: May 23, 2019, 02:42:46 PM »

 Hi,

Yes, you could build something to check it but it would be fairly expensive to do right and take some time to do. Measuring flow is expensive...measuring pressure against a fixed orifice and noting the change is probably the quickest and cheapest. But even turning the pump at a precise RPM can be a challenge. If you're off 15 RPM for example, it'll result in a different number.

 I'd recommend just using your engine... if you have a data logger you could note your pressure with a particular pill that you typically run at a certain RPM that you always run through. It should be pretty much the same. If you see it running high you could have a nozzle partially blocked or a filter getting dirty (depends on where your sensor is). If you see it showing low consistently, then that is probably pump wear and reclearancing will fix it up.

 If you don't see your tuneup getting leaner over time and there's nothing leaking from your pump, I'd just run it. An annual (or every other year) flow test and (if needed) a shaft seal, some bearings and a good cleaning inside from your pump dude (me I hope! ) should be plenty good.

 Spud

9

Spud Miller's Cave / Re: Mag rev limiter

« on: May 23, 2019, 02:26:10 PM »

 Hello,

 The (+) terminal in the case of a Vertex internal coil situation is the primary side post on the mag. The (-) wire shown in the schematic just goes to engine ground.

 So, on the rev limiter relay the ORANGE wire goes to the side of the mag. The BLACK wire goes to a cylinder head or other good engine ground.

 Spud

 

10

Spud Miller's Cave / Re: SLE leanout?

« on: February 23, 2019, 10:49:51 AM »

 I've not known anyone who's done that, but if you have a way and you're looking for every last little bit, it may find you something. Having the fuel go full-boogie a half a second or a second before the leave might certainly help in this case.

 Spud

11

Spud Miller's Cave / Reissued: Magneto advance weights

« on: February 13, 2019, 05:03:15 PM »

 Discontinued many years ago, the advance weights for the Super-Mags & Sprintmags allowed a person to crank and start against less ignition timing. For Sprintmags used in hot rod and street applications, centrifugal advance is a great thing to have! There seems to be enough demand that I figured we'd build a batch of them. Recommended only for Sprintmags, Super-Mag II and Super-Mag III.

Available in 10, 14, 18, 22, 26 crankshaft degrees, "all in" by 2800 RPM, these work great to retard engine timing for easier starting.

Works only with a 2-pin style mag drivers and original style lower drives with two pins. We can still build the 2-pin style drives and can fit drives with a new pin-style replacement shaft for those needing to convert in order to use advance weights.

https://fuelinjectionent.myshopify.com/collections/drive-related/products/super-mag-sprintmag-advance-weights

 Spud

12

Spud Miller's Cave / Re: FIE Tech Reference Library

« on: February 09, 2019, 12:19:27 PM »

Spud, I gotta know.....how expensive is expensive?

$900 10 years ago I guess that isn't a lot compared to an $1,100+ JT Stewart valve or an Automann valve.

I was going to whittle away (surfacing with a ball end mill) all the extra exterior material so that it wasn't so "blocky" looking. That added a bunch of machine time on each side and the price would have been a couple of hundred bucks more each. So, I kept the first batch plain jane. Another pricing factor of course, is that a small batch of anything ends up expensive.

 Spud

13

Spud Miller's Cave / Re: FIE Tech Reference Library

« on: February 08, 2019, 01:43:44 PM »

Spud - well worth the wait, thanks for making your valuable reference library easily available.  I was particularly impressed with FIE’s new Super Metering Valve and how you incorporated a separate idle circuit with simplified needle valve control; beneficial phenomenal idea.  Alan

 Thank you!

 I designed that metering valve because it's what I wanted for my car. I built a dozen of them 10 years ago, but I've never advertised them. It felt like it was going to be a support nightmare. There are an amazing number of features built in...extremely versatile. I tried to make something that would appeal to everyone, but it kinda backfired...there are so many options, it's a bit intimidating. And they're expensive. And they're overkill for the vast majority of people.

 But dang it, I got mine and I love it!

 Spud

14

Spud Miller's Cave / Re: fuel tank vent size

« on: February 06, 2019, 11:56:19 AM »

 For that size pump, a single -6 sized (3/8") vent would be more than enough vent. Air comes in a hole much easier than fuel goes out, so the vent doesn't need to be equal to the outlet size or anything like that.

 G-forces and the rollover vent shouldn't be an issue...suction will open it when it needs to. That same fuel rushing back hard against the back of the tank actually creates a bit of positive pressure on the outlet. No problem.

 Spud

15

Spud Miller's Cave / FIE Tech Reference Library

« on: February 04, 2019, 01:40:48 PM »

 I've been meaning to do this for years. It took way too long, but it's finally ready to unveil!

 http://www.fuelinjectionent.com/library.php

 Every FIE instruction sheet, schematic, manual, reference chart, etc. in one spot.

 I'll continue to add to it as new stuff is generated.

 Thanks,
 Spud