The fuel's getting through. No spike on the wideband readout. If I ever get a scanner, I'd scan the dyno printout.

Though if it makes you feel any better, I'll change the settings and see what happens next time on the dyno. Just have to confirm pulsewidths aren't too high when keeping the primaries on an extra 400 rpm's, but they shouldn't be to the best of my knowledge.

 

That's wierd that you would still be getting fuel. I would think with the ports closed, the injector has no place to let the fuel out.

Brian

 

Yeah, I would be interested in seeing some charts or something... my problem is I'm on the stock ECU so I really can't see or adjust my fuel delivery - so I'm playing it safe. Mine's a daily driver as well so its not critical for Max hp.

Ramses666

 

It probably won't spike as lean as you think. The normal secondary ports will still be open and the air flowing past should catch most of the fuel and carry it into the engine instead of it pooling in the 6-port valves.

 

Why would any air go by if the ports were closed?

I know that if my ports are not open when my primaries go to half duty, the engine will lean out to 18 AFR.

Brian

 

that was my thought as well - the 5th & 6th better be open before the secondaries come on line.

Oh yeah...I just remembered - I still have the S5 air pump left over from my swap - Doh!! I coulda used that for pressure instead of an electric pump - oh well... It's a done deal now. I wonder what kind of pressure output the stock pump puts out at what rpm's??? I suppose I could hook it up to my system & see if it would work... I'd have to change out a belt but I might have one to fit.

Ramses666

 

I hate to say it but if you didn't see a gain then something isn't right about your car and needs to be readjusted. It's been dyno verified to be about a 15 rwhp or so gain. I did the S5 manifold swap on my cars (S4 n/a and GSL-SE) and loved it both times. It's only a top end gain though.

 

What are the pros and cons of this opposed to say the electronic actuator/vdi method?

Thanks!

 

Well I haven't seen any all electronic port activation job finished & functioning. So where does that leave us? I had to make something work. This is what I came up with & I get cool gauge action & lots of LEDS to go with it & I get to work the air pump as needed.

This adds to the NA experience as I see it. Being interactive with the functioning of the aux ports is a nice diversion. my buddies laugh like hell when I kick on the air compressor & pump up the pressure. the pro's would be full indication of port status and consistent and dependable operation. The cons would be that I have to make sure there is enough pressure in the tank via the gauge for the system to function. I have to flip a switch to pump it up for only a few (3-4) seconds. other than the cost, wiring & space taken up I don't really see any other downside.

Ramses666

 

Why don't you use an RPM switch so you don't have to flip the compressor on manually?

 

I'm about to start a project for a friend on his S4 to get his 5th/6th ports working via an rpm switch and an electric lumbar seat pump. I temporarily hooked up the pump to the battery and teed a pressure gauge between the pump and actuators. The pump puts out 3.75 PSI and the actuators opened at just the right rate for my taste. It's not a true electrical activation, such as a direct servo or stepper motor, but less complicated and quieter than an air compressor setup. I might write a thread on the install, including the wiring hookup to the pump, relay, rpm switch and trailing coils.

 

while I was tuning my s4 na with s5 intakes with my haltech I noticed a 22 hp at the wheels difference.

 

I guess you didn't understand - I made a pressure storage tank out of a lawnmower gas tank. It has a Mazda one-way valve on the inlet and a mini-pressure regulator on the outlet - I have a 0-15 psi boost gauge on one outlet from the pressure regulator and two solenoids from my old vacuum rack on another outlet from the regulator.

The regulator assures me of about 10 psi available to operate the total of three actuators. The pressure spikes down to about 5 psi when the 5th & 6th ports activate at 3600 rpm's - the pressure starts to come back up & then the VDI spikes the pressure down again when it activates. The pressure then comes back up.

The compressor is only needed occasionally to refill the pressure holding tank. I got 7 pulls of the motor from one pressurization of the holding tank. It only takes a few seconds running the compressor to FULLY CHARGE the holding tank.

The boost gauge shows me available pressure to the solenoids and you can see the gauge jump when the solenoids are triggered by the two rpm switches. One solenoid does the 5th & 6th ports the other solenoid operates the VDI.

The compressor would be running too much and not necessarily at the right time if I used another rpm switch. Now if I could find a low pressure switch to run the compressor that would work. I had considered that option & have an old pancake compressor collecting dust - I was going to use its low-pressure switch but that was needlessly complicating things in my opinion - I already had a switch mounted on my e-brake handle & wired up the compressor in about 5 minutes so it worked good.

The pressure storage tank is the only real innovation here, but the mini-pressure regulator was an integral part of keeping the pressure exactly where its needed for the proper working of the solenoids. Anything more than 10 psi & the solenoids tend to stick open for several seconds. There is no real additional load on the motor during a pull because the needed activation pressure is stored in the holding tank. There is no need for any relay. I added full opening port indicator LEDs so that I knew everything was working properly and the other LEDs show the rpm switch functions and the compressor status.

Having the correct amount of pressure at the time it is needed is the trick I would say. The storage tank & regulator assure that the required pressure is available when the solenoids open & supply the pressure to the actuators that open the ports. Its basically what the stock system did using the air pump and ACV valve & the solenoid rack.

I heard about using those lumbar pumps but was somewhat concerned about doing duty in the engine bay and also capacity to work three actuators at two different rpms. How do you know if your lumbar pump setup is actually working and at what rpm do the ports fully open? Just because the RPM switch is working - how would you know what's going on in the engine bay?

I also had all the junk from my S4 & S5 solenoid racks & rats nests so I started thinking & messing with the solenoids & stuff. I had been wanting to use the back-pressure off of my RoadRace Header but the available pressure was too low in my opinion and the pulsing nature of the back-pressure defeated my oneway valve so I couldn't store any pressure in the storage tank.

Adding the compressor was so quick & easy and works perfectly for this application - I can pump the storage tank up as much as I want - 20-40 PSI if I want to and the regulator keeps the pressure right where it supposed to be. You should see that old lawn mower tank swell up at 40 psi!!! I normally barely run over 10-15 psi max. It just isn't necessary - the tank holds enough air for many pulls and only takes 3 seconds of compressor time to fill.

Ramses666

 

This is an interesting setup, very cool. The only problem I have with the RPM switches is that they will still activate if your under 1/2 throttle; which doesn't seem to be a bad thing, just unnecessary. On the stock system the ECU doesn't open the solenoids if your under 1/2 throttle. I have my system running off of just the 6PI solenoid and activation. I use a "T" to route air to the 6PI and VDI so they open at the same time. I have messed around with my setup quite a bit to get it to where I like it, but no dyno time. It seemed like when I used both solenoids there would be a lag after the 6PI opened until the VDI kicked in then it would pull as normal. With my current setup I get a steady pull up to 6PI activation then very small lag, then big rush to redline. I need to get on a dyno though. Props on the nice reliable setup though.

 

I hear you about the RPM switches operating at ANY throttle position, but I have found that the only time my rpms really ever go over 3500 is when I'm on the throttle anyway. I've tried some half throttle pulls trying to "feel" any surging or spiking when the ports open. The 5th & 6th ports are smooth no matter what amount of throttle I use but the VDI really surges the power at half throttle - nothing jerky - just feel the power kick in. It's smooth at full throttle but pulls harder when the VDI kicks in. The LEDs are a fast indicator of the port status so I can get out of the throttle before the secondary injectors kick in when just tooling around.

Ramses666

 

If anyone wants a list of parts I used or some help with thier own particular solution let me know with a PM or something & I'll try to help. I'm just glad I managed to get it all working just right... it really wasn't difficult at all... just some patience & $$$.


Ramses666