Turbocharging my F355 - Or how to remove any market value from your F355 remaining.

No worries about a thread hijack... I was distracted and had to go visit a friend fighting cancer. So my mind was hijacked in dealing with that. Life happens... seems like from the standpoint of helping him cope with the situation that I was able to help.

So back to the car. I got back just yesterday, and started looking at all the components that I am putting together for the build.... Much of the build is coming along nicely, albeit slowly due to financial constraints and my desire to address specific concerns that I have with the build. I certainly would not characterize it as a "low buck build" as I am doing some pretty interesting things with regard to how I plan to complete the build, but aspects of it are certainly not traditional.

I started running the wiring harnesses today for the the megasquirt, innovate dual wide band O2 sensors/gauge, and 8 channel EGT amplifier which has 8 thermocouples (1 per cylinder). I will be using the Aerospace Logic gauge to monitor turbo inlet temperatures since it has two probes... and I simply have it lying around.

The nice thing about the whole setup is the ability to quickly disconnect the entire motor from the chassis for major maintenance without having to fumble with pulling a harness through the firewall. This change to the wiring will prevent unnecessary wear and tear on the wiring harness and allow me to disconnect the entire motor with just a few connectors from the electronic control modules (looks like 2 (or 3) - 30 pin metri-pack connectors. I really like these connectors since they have proper bulkhead connectors, screw together, and are weather tight.

So the show continues... I will start getting some pictures up as soon as I really have something to show. There are a lot of little moving pieces right now, but not so much action to document with regard to the build.

Stupid things like the exhaust tips, muffler, v-band clamps, coils, injectors, and other little pieces are coming in. I'm waiting to get the heads back from the head builder soon. So it's just moving along.

 

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Yes, I am still re-engineering that which does not need re-engineering. No one really complains much about the power steering, generally speaking. To me however, it's just one more belt that gets in the way of other maintenance. The water pump however is notorious for failing.

Solution. Goodbye to the factory power steering and water pumps. I have not decided on which electric water pump
I will use, but the power steering pump was easy money. It's also just less parasitic drag on the engine by moving the water pump and power steering pump to the electric side of the house.

Yes, I know, electric water pumps and power steering pumps don't work off free energy. Still, a number of good reasons exist to do this. Such as less cavitation at high RPM of the water pump.

Enjoy the little update...

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Just some documentation for myself (as well as anyone else who wants to put a Megasquirt into a Ferrari - Unlikely, I know).

Firing Order as we all know is 1-5-3-7-4-8-2-6
Megasquirt fires it's injectors and ignition in alphabetical order.

Injectors Configuration:
Injector A -> Cylinder 1
Injector B -> Cylinder 5
Injector C -> Cylinder 3
Injector D -> Cylinder 7
Injector E -> Cylinder 4
Injector F -> Cylinder 8
Injector G -> Cylinder 2
Injector H -> Cylinder 6

Ignition Outputs:
Ignition is using the AEM CDI as the ignitor
Configured for waste spark with COP

MS3PRO ECU Ignition Outputs to AEM CDI:
Ign A - AEM Coil A In (Cylinders 1/4)
Ign B - AEM Coil B In (Cylinders 5/8)
Ign C - AEM Coil C In (Cylinders 3/2)
Ign D - AEM Coil D In (Cylinders 7/6)

AEM CDI Configuration, Connections to Power and COP:
Switch one on for disable multistrike (initially)
Switch two on for Falling Edge Trigger direct from ECU (5V logic signal)
Switch three off for waste spark configuration
AEM Large Red wire +12 Hot always (Fused 15 Amps)
AEM Large Black wire Chassis Ground
Red IGP wires (x2) to ignition power +12v switched

Coil A (-) output COP 1 + 4 in parallel to AEM +540v Tan
Coil B (-) output COP 5 + 8 in parallel to AEM +540v Pink
Coil C (-) output COP 3 + 2 in parallel to AEM +540v Tan
Coil D (-) output COP 7 + 6 in parallel to AEM +540v Pink

8 Channel EGT monitor
CAN BUS H to MS-PRO CAN BUS - H
CAN BUS L to MS-PRO CAN BUS - L
K type thermocouples
Blue -
Red +

Power Steering pump wiring
Large connector
Pin 1 - Chassis Ground
Pin 2 - 12V battery power fused

Small connector
Pin 1 - Ignition Power
Pin 2 - to Alternator L terminal (probably not required)
Pin 3 - Data Link (Fault wire) - Not Connected

 

Simple stuff, just takes time. Drilling, tapping, and test fitting the individual cylinder EGT probes... No more guessing how well each cylinder is running, it is going to easy to identify a bad hole. I am also going to be monitoring the turbine inlet temperature. I think that many (if not most) of the turbo cars I have seen fail have had heat related issues with no means to even detect a problem (not even a wide band O2 sensor in some cases). The difference between sustainable exhaust temperatures and unsustainable exhaust temperatures is actually pretty narrow under full load when tuning for max power (and can be as little as 100 F). Having seen the failed header from my F355, I can only imagine how hot the exhaust must have been.... I will not be having a repeat of that experience.



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They won't have any fuel maps for the Ferrari, that's pretty much a given, but I don't see that as being a huge hurdle if you are using a wide band O2 for tuning.

The spark map is probably more challenging to get right without time on the dyno, but even there, start with 10 degrees base rising to about 24-25 degrees at 4000 RPM and figure it out from there.

This is where having the EGT's is really valuable because tuning spark via EGT is fairly straightforward. You want the best possible power at the lowest EGT's. Since the Ferrari already has a thermocouple for each bank, a knock sensor for each bank, and a narrow band O2 on each bank you can tune fairly well even without any additional sensors.

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First, I don't believe that the Haltech is plug and play on the Ferrari, but I could be wrong... I haven't played with Haltech in a while (E6, E6X,and E11), but used to be a Haltech dealer, decent units in general and I have nothing bad to say about them. Despite that, my personal cars have not been Haltech powered (even though I thought them to be good units). In the past my personal cars used the electromotive TEC-III or other lesser systems (systems that I liked less than the Haltech). I have tuned Motec, Haltech, Electromotive, Link, AEM, and OEM ECU's (GM/Ford). So I have a fair amount of ECU experience and it should be telling that I decided to jump ship completely to the Megasquirt.

I would say, if you are comfortable with the Haltech, I think that you won't feel intimidated by the Microsquirt. The Haltech is sufficiently complex that if you can master the E6, E6x, or E11 that running a Megasquirt will feel like home. There are more features on the Megasquirt, but it's done in a logical and sensible manner that allows you to grow into it. You don't have to start with all the features and "cool stuff" enabled to get the car running well... that said, you will eventually want to get those things figured out because they improve the driving experience (traction control, launch control, full throttle shifting, etc). I am going a bit overboard with individual cylinder temps, dual wide band O2 sensors, and dual knock sensors; however, one can get the motor running with just TPS (or MAF) and the cam/crank sensors. The Megasquirt was the right answer for me because I do my own tuning and my own work. I have read your COP thread to be sure and even referenced it when figuring out my own setup.

I have a few dash options, I believe that I am going to be running the Racetek IQ3s Dash. Although I have a blue tooth interface and shadow dash on a tablet as an alternate. I really am loathe to remove the Ferrari gauges, but at the same time a digital dash with multiple screens, F1 style shift lights, and other features is appealing. I might use the IQ3s for tuning and then put the factory gauges back afterwards. It's not a big wiring job to swap dashes if wired ahead of time for both options.

I am going to see how the GSXR-600 COP coils work (4400's), they should be pretty close to the right length. If not, I will figure it out along the way. There is a lot of work to do, but I enjoy this kind of stuff.

 

I have a twin scroll T4, so each 2.5" inlet to the turbo will have an WB O2 sensor. They don't intrude into the pipe but are roughly flush with it (per innovate's instructions). It does kill me to intrude on the exhaust gas flow with the EGT sensors, but it's a cost benefit calculation... I would give up 20 HP to reduce the likelihood of hurting the motor by the margin that the EGTs probes will give me.

I can always increase boost to make up for it.

 

I think that if you can straighten the flow path at the port you are more likely to find gains than if you increase the tube size at the port (with one notable caveat). The only reason that I can see increasing the pipe size at the port might help is if reversion into the exhaust port is an issue. If there is reversion occurring, then a larger tube at the port will help prevent reversion. Additionally, by removing the connection between the two banks, reversion could potentially be further reduced, but pipe lengths and pulse tuning issues may be very complicated across all 8 cylinders... the pulses will travel the path of least resistance regardless of what we want.

 

I am working on sourcing all new connector plugs. On the connectors that have pigtails already, I will likely convert to DTM or weather pack connectors, but I am thinking that I like the Deutsch (DTM) connectors better. I should be able to source most of the other connectors pretty easily. I already have new coil and injector connectors.

So to answer your question regarding the dash, it is supposed to communicate over the CAN Bus without significant drama. Although previously it was an RS-232 implementation for the Racepak data acquisition system. Whether that is the reality, is another question entirely, I should know in the next week or two when I get the IQ3s from Racepak (they will be delivering it hopefully on the 5th of December) to my house. Racepak is about a 20 minute drive from my house and one of their support people offered to drop it off on his way home. I decided on the IQ3s because of features, form factor, local service, and finally the price.

I have not considered the non-engine management data acquisition aspects. Although, those options are tempting, I don't want to project to spiral out of control with mission creep. Once the motor is running, and the car is drivable, there is no doubt that I will start increasing the scope of the project to include other CAN bus data acquisition.

Regarding the inputs and outputs, MS3-Pro has plenty, especially when you consider the CAN bus can really augment it significantly. My EGT and WBO2 data is all CANbus, so that's 10 inputs saved right there. As you know, I am planning to run a waste spark set up, so that means only 4 ignition outputs, and full sequential injection which will require 8 injector outputs.

Inputs on the MS3-Pro include (1) shielded crank input, (1) shielded camshaft input, (8) analog inputs (5 are dedicated to IAT,CLT,TPS,O2, and 0-5v MAP), (2) digital inputs, (2) knock inputs, and (5) general purpose/frequency inputs.

On the output side MS3-Pro has (10) dedicated injector outputs, (8) dedicated logic level outputs, (3) 5 Amp general purpose outputs, (3) 3 Amp high frequency outputs, (1) fuel pump relay output, (1) tach output and (1) stepper output.

And on top of all that you have the CAN bus (IQ3s/EGT/WBO2) and RS-232 (Shadow Dash). It's pretty crazy how many inputs and outputs the MS3-Pro has, especially considering the price point.

 

Knowing what I know now, I almost wish I had gone that route. Thankfully, the car isn't registered in CA, otherwise I would have to figure out some other stuff that would make this whole process a whole bunch more challenging.

Although, part of me thinks it would be fun to see if you could successfully hide a turbo system from the smog inspectors (envision cutting the factory muffler in half to hide a pair of turbochargers and running the factory ECU in parallel (feeding it data from the megasquirt to keep it happy).