Converted 1997 F-350 7.5 460 to Sequential EFI - Dyno Graphs Inside
 

As some of you may know I converted my 97 F-350 with a 460 from bank-to-bank EFI to sequential EFI by making a wiring harness and wiring in some other sensors so I could use an AEM full standalone ECU on my speed density setup (saved me from having to convert to MAF)

I don't have pics and vids cause the buddy I went with used his phone and for some reason we can't get his sd card mounted to the computer so those will come later, for now I do have the graphs though:

First is 203HP and 321Torque
Second run I added about 4 degrees of timing and made 210HP and 329Torque
Third run I added 8* down low (went from 19* @600rpm to 28* @ 600rpm, then calculated over to 3500 where I'm running 35*. I kept it at 35* total as a previous with an added 2* didn't increase it at all) This is when I made 207HP and 341 Torque. Adding any more timing didn't help power so I backed it off to where it was and left it. AFR's were around 12.8 - 12.9 consistently


First run
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...60_DYNO001.jpg
Second run
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...60_DYNO001.jpg
Third run
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...DYNO001001.jpg

What do you have setup for your exhaust? Headers? Straight through no mufflers? I would like to know because it sounded very good in the video with no backfiring which mine does. Also what were the stock hp numbers?

Stock exhaust manifold, stock cat, 3" straight pipe from cat back back with no mufflers.

No stock numbers to compare it to unfortunately but this https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...ts-are-in.html should give you an idea. My first pull I made almost identical hp/torque...only difference is I have a cat and 37" tires

Sounds good, nice numbers too. Is that wil an E4OD? Man I would love to get more info on doing this conversion. Bank-to-bank never made much sense to me. Did you get any MPG savings?

Are there any writeups on converting to the AEM ECU?

Thanks, Mike

Yeah bank to bank is pretty stupid in my opinion....hence the conversion. My mileage went from 9.3 to 12....not excellent but definitely worth it to me. There's no writeup that i know of as i think i'm the first to convert this particular year model 460 to aem but honestly it wasn't bad. I actually did a writeup here Ballertown Motorsports • Login . You may not be able to view it so if not just register with the forum. The owner of the the forum (blacksaleen95) is extremely knowledgeable and helped me setup my aem map. All in all it cost me about 800. It was extremely simple as well....all i had to do was make a sequential fuel injector harness, wire it into the engine harness ecu connector, add a map sensor and wire that in, and that's it. If you got any questions let me know.

Thanks a million! I'll check it out, im real interested in doing it. Ive debated on either doing a sequential swap vs a MAF conversion. I'd love to run a MAF setup so I can bump the compression up and stroke the motor with a fat cam, but it seems like alot of work and not alot of supported articles on it with a 460...although im certain it could e done. BTW good lookin truck.

Not a problem.

Yeah that's why I went with sequential speed density vs MAF. Not only do I benefit from the mileage, I now can make any modification and still be able to tune it for maximum power.

All you need is:

AEM ECU 30-1400 - found one for $750 on ebay
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...7/IMAG0180.jpg
A junk wiring harness to make the SEFI harness - $50 from the junk yard
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...7/IMAG0154.jpg
to make this...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...EFIHarness.jpg
Honda map sensor. I had one laying around. A GM one would work also. $5??...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0/IMAG0008.jpg

Really the most expensive part is the AEM ECU. Cost me a total of about $800 and super easy to do.

So with the AEM ecu and sequential fire system I should be able to run a 9.5:1 compression and a bump up the cam?

I work in computers so im not exactly "lost" but I am just starting to read on this subject.

Edit: BTW, im just now reading your article at ballertown...

Absolutely. With AEM the possibilities are literally almost endless. You could bump your compression up to 12.0:1 if you wanted...you'd just have to pull timing. Adding a Cam won't be a problem either. ANY mod you do you'll be compensate for it. You can download AEMTuner here and just play around in it...you'll see what I'm talking about. AEM EMS's were specifically designed for people who want to do major modifications.

I don't want to badmouth any part of your conversion; I think it's great that you've shown how to convert to an AEM system. I certainly wasn't aware that AEM made units with Ford connectors, and it certainly prompts me to look more into how a friend's Subaru with an AEM system is tuned.

However I DO question your attributing the mpg gains you've got to the conversion to sequential EFI. I also used to think that sequential had to be better than batch fire, at least until I learned that fuel is always injected onto the back of a closed intake valve. With the 460, 4 intake valves are closed at any one time, and so it works just fine.

I don't doubt that you did get mpg and possibly performance gains, but I would assert that you got those from tuning fuel and spark for your engine. Most of the 460 Ford Speed Density ECU calibrations I've seen run quite rich, and may be locked out of closed loop except at idle. Fixing those issues with the Ford system is what gave you your gains.

For comparison, you could have tuned your Ford ECU (leaving it batch fire) for (I'd guess) less than $450, and when you were done, you could burn that tune to a chip for about $60, freeing your other equipment for use on many other pre 2005 Fords. That option would have been a lot more attractive if you'd had an automatic.

But anyway, none of that detracts from the work you have done; congratulations on getting it to work so well.

I totally agree. i don't think my mileage went up that much from the actual sequential efi, but rather from the more efficient AFR's along with optimal timing numbers. Although at the same time, I can't help to think that not dumping fuel on top of 3 other closed valves that are hot and having it evaporate before the next actual intake stroke did help it out a bit, but like you say it's definitely a combination of things. At cruise where my load is around -10" I have it tuned to where the AFR's are around 14.2 -14.5...which I'm sure is much leaner than the stock ECU like you mentioned

If I hadn't already started acquiring my stuff for a conversion, I probably would have looked at AEM, I looked at a bunch of aftermarket setups. My major hangup on them was transmission control. I am going to EFI primarily to use an E4OD in place of the C6. I did acquire a 93 SD SEFI computer with E4OD control but after talking with a number of people found that SD doesn't tolerate much cam change. It causes the same issues we used to see with lumpy cams that had low vacuum at idle.

I plan on seeing if mine will go 16:1 or leaner at cruise, the old 390 2V engines in the LTDs would cruise at 19:1 or leaner (they would peg an AFR meter on the lean side). At least I don't have to worry about Cats on mine.

SD just calculates air mass from pressure and temperature. Ford's SD has a calibration table so you can tune this calculation to compensate for different flow efficiencies in the intake. So as long as any new cam preserves the relationship of flowing more air with more manifold pressure, you should be able to calibrate the airflow to be correct.

However, for some reason Ford SD tuning expertise seems to have gone away, and all you hear is that you have to go Mass Air. Never mind that SD lives on outside of the Ford EFI world.

Did you know that the 94 Ford SD code provides for open loop, closed loop and an extra lean open loop MPG mode? They may not be calibrated in as stock, but the code and tables are there. I don't know about the 93; if you post the bin, I could find out, or maybe with the catch code.

So with the AEM system, can you make an easy software change and run back in 2 bank batch fire, and see what the difference really is?

I am quite aware that SD lives outside the Ford world, my screen name gives a hint. My other perversion is turbocharged Chrysler engines. Their systems are all SD, but did start SEFI in 1990. Once the truck is back running again (it is getting a bed replacement and rear end work in addition to EFI conversion) I will go back to my K car convertible (license plate reads T2KCAR).