I've thought of a distributorless ignition system on a 300-6, similar to the system used by Jeep on the later 4.0l six. Set up the distributor to work as a pickup only, with a crank trigger to determine which pack to fire. I think the only way to do a coil-on-plug system on an FE is with a cam trigger, since you would have 8 individual plugs. It's set up pretty decently for this, you could put a large trigger ring in front of the cam sprocket for more precise timing, and have the sensor in the top of the timing cover. There would be a lot of details to work out, but it would be neat to see done.

 

That's exactly what I'm doing right now. I bought a crank wheel from Electromotive and the machine is installing it in behind the harmonic balancer right now. I still need to get the computer, (I'm considering the Tec3r from Electromotive, but the Holly and the MegaJolt are options) and I need to mount the crank sensor so it can read the wheel. Apparently no body makes a bracket for the FE. And I need the either the coil on plug or coil packs along with a sensor to go in the distributor.

 

It's much simpler to use coil packs, rather than coil on plug, since there is esentially half the wiring, simpler tone wheel design (four signal profiles instead of eight), and more commonly available parts.

 

This is somthing you guys might find intresting.

http://www.mass-floefi.com

 

That's a very interesting system. What are the pro's and con's of speed density versus mass air for fuel injection?

 

Speed-density infers airflow from manifold vacuum. You have a table in the computer, which is based on manifold vacuum and engine rpm. The values in the table determine fuel flow. Then the computer goes through a set of calculations, figuring in engine temperature, O2 sensor voltage, air temperature, throttle positon, rate of change of throttle position, and so on. Then it winds up with an injector open time to use. With speed-density, any change to the engine, such as a cam or cylinder head change, or even headers, affects airflow through the engine. So for a given manifold vacuum and engine rpm, the engine would now be flowing more air. But since the computer has no idea what you did, it would inject insufficient fuel. It thinks nothing was changed. This is why speed-density is generally undesireable for performace usage. However, with a programmable speed-density system, you can change the values in the table to match your engine changes.

Mass-air, on the other hand, actually measures the incoming air with a mass airflow sensor. It bases the fuel injection on the amount of air going into the engine. It also has other factors that go into the computer before determining final fuel injector on time, such as engine temperature, O2 sensor voltage, air temperature, throttle position, rate of change of throttle positon, and so on. Generally mass-air systems react much better to engine changes, since they directly measure air going into the engine. The computer just injects more fuel to compensate for the added airflow. You only start running into problems if your fuel injectors cannot flow enough extra fuel. With the aftermarket system, they size the injectors for your expected horsepower. The particular one linked above uses a stock Ford computer. This means you never have to mess around tuning the thing. That saves you a lot of time and headaches, believe me, I know.

Understand?

 

I do understand Rusty. I had to teach myself that Electronic FI and the Mass Air/Speed Density was a mystery to me.

You didn't mention the Exhaust Gas Temp. Is it used in that mix anywhere?

I still think the cheapest thing we could to to get better milage out of our old Ford's is to graft in one of the CIS systems from Europeon Car's or Truck.
It seems to be a lot easier to swap into our old trucks, than one of those complex electronic systems.

 

Exhaust temp isn't figured in, only inlet and coolant temps.

 

It seems like the mass-flo system is the way to go, but it's expensive! Rusty do you still like and would you reccomend your Commander 950? This is a expensive decision, don't want to make the wrong one! Do you think the mass-flow system is worth all the exra $$ Does anyone have the mass-flow system?

 

The mass-flow system does look like it would be easier to setup. On the other hand, the Commander 950 is totally and completely programmable. You can change EVERYTHING. If I was going to do it again, I'd probably go with the multi-port setup and a single plane intake. You do lose some efficiency with the TBI, but it is easier to set up. Plop the TBI unit on and proceed, as opposed to weld in injector bungs.

I do recommend either the TBI or the Multipoint setup over a carburetor, if only for the ability to start the motor anywhere, anytime. No chokes to set, no carburetor boiling over, no diaphrams to blow out.

If you are going with the Commander 950, you will probably want to contact me for a base map. Nothing Holley gives you is very close for a 390.

 

Rusty,

Any gossip on teh Tec3r?

 

I do believe this thread has been one of the most interesting, and certainly the most informative thread, we've ever had on FTE.
Congrats all you knowlegable and conversive proponants of better fuel milage with equal or better performance.
I've enjoyed the reading.

 

Thanks Rusty,

Still don't know what I want to do. I wonder how different the maps would be between your 390 & my 460. How long did it take to tune?

 

The mass-flow system is basicly the fuel injection off of the 89-93 fox body mustangs, any tuning device that will tune them will tune the mass-flow system, and there is not much you can't do to the fox mustangs' fuel injection.

 

It'll take about a day to get it to where you can drive it. Then the real fun begins. I've been making tweaks to the thing for about a year. And yes, it would be significantly different from a 460. But it would still be a closer starting point than anything Holley gives you.