Power Card Timing Controller

[mroadsters]

Any here use the Power Card Timing Controller on a VVT motor? Or the JR Ignition Timing Controller? Curious as to experiences good / bad?

[kentman]

I have the JR boost timing controller (BTC) on a VVT motor. It works. It is never "recommended," but I find that it works fine.

For a period of time, I had dropped the pulley size to spin the SC faster. With the smaller pulley, it will ping without some other form of help. The BTC will pull timing with increased boost, and it prevents detonation at max boost.

Alternatively, you can use an intercooler. I had one of those also. I had the JR air/water IC. I found that I liked using the IC because I could turn off the BTC, and I would not ping at all. I could run full timing with the smaller pulley and not ping.

I have since dropped back to the stock JR pulley. To simplify, I have removed the IC. That got rid of the extra plumbing under the hood. I still have the BTC installed, but it is deactivated, since I have no ping issues. I may switch back to the smaller pulley with the BTC enabled later. That is still TBD.

For now, the stock JR boost feels good enough to me. Next, I am planning on removing the A/C compressor and condensor to cut weight and complexity under the hood. I will install a shorter belt that will drive only the PS and the SC. If that goes well, I may try to drop pulley size again. That would require use of the BTC. Beyond that, I had always kicked around the idea of playing with a 50 hp shot of NO2. That may never happen.

I am looking to upgrade to a Z roadster in roughly '15 or '16. That gives me five or six years to play with my current NB setup.

[mroadsters]

Interesting that you get no pinging at all. '01 is a VVT motor, correct? I get a very light, very short duration pinging at low rpm, such as accelerating out of a turn in 2nd gear. Occasionally I hear a very short tinkle on tip-in. I'm going to go to a colder plug to see if that helps (currently running stock NGK BKR5E-11's, going to install NGK BKR7E-11's on Thursday).

My non-expert self diagnosis says it does seem like I need to pull some timing out at the low end. The more I read up on this, the less I think I 'know' about it.

I really like the idea of an air to air IC, but the price - not so much... But getting the intake air temp down seems like a win pretty clearly.

[kentman]

I do get the tip-in ping. I think that is when the control goes from open loop to closed loop. Nothing really fixes that. I hear that a wide-band O2 sensor can help, but I have never tried. One small ping on tip-in has not killed my motor yet. I just live with it.

I am referring to mainly the hot day WOT ping. It pings like crazy with the smaller pulley and no other help. The A/W IC and/or the BTC help you rid that particular issue.

What most people do to save money is add water or meth injection. That is enough to cool the charge, and stay clear of detonation. It is pretty cheap to do if you build it yourself. An A/A IC is overkill to solve this minor issue.

If you go for bigger levels of boost, that is when the A/A IC comes in handy.

[mroadsters]

Are you running the intake supplied with the kit, or did you go to some thing else?

[mroadsters]

The BKR7E-11's (2 stops colder) seem to have worked a treat! No pinging at WOT at lower rpms. I can go WOT pulling out of a turn in 2nd and no pinging. I haven't been able to detect any at tip-in either, but we'll see about that...

[kentman]

Are you running the intake supplied with the kit, or did you go to some thing else?

I am using the JR intake. It seems as good as any. I had kicked around the idea of the Rspeed CAI, but I did not really want to kick out an extra $200 for an intake. It does look nice under hood in their pictures.

[kentman]

The BKR7E-11's (2 stops colder) seem to have worked a treat! No pinging at WOT at lower rpms. I can go WOT pulling out of a turn in 2nd and no pinging. I haven't been able to detect any at tip-in either, but we'll see about that...

Cool (pun intended). I find that I notice tip-in ping in right turns particularly when launching down a hill into second.

[kentman]

Next, I am planning on removing the A/C compressor and condensor to cut weight and complexity under the hood. I will install a shorter belt that will drive only the PS and the SC. If that goes well, I may try to drop pulley size again. That would require use of the BTC.

Condenser and compressor are gone, and a shorter belt is now installed. Next, I need to source a 62.5 mm pulley from somewhere and get the BTC back online again. Stage one tuning seems to be out of stock. I am not sure who to check next. Track dog racing has them for $110 shipped, but that seems a little high to me for a small hunk of metal.

[mroadsters]

I don't use AC often, but I sure want it when I want it!

It turns out the the colder plugs did NOT entirely solve my problem. Adding the TDR heatshield seems to also have helped very much.

I am still looking to get the Power Card timing controller, but it seems like I'm going to be replacing my clutch sooner rather then later. It's always had a bit of a shudder when cold, perhaps adding all this power hasn't really done it any favors.

[kentman]

I am surprised by your CEL issues. I have had no issues like that. I am running an older version of the PC. If you really think that it is the latest version of PC that is causing the trouble, then you could go with another engine management solution that is better and less prone to issues.

I have been running the OEM clutch for six years and 40K miles with the SC installed. It has never slipped. I have always had shudder, but I just learn to work around it. I just blip the throttle when it is vibrating. It is no big deal to me since I know how to work around it. Clutch slipping is the only reason that I would choose a swap.

My biggest annoyance is the second gear crunch. When I launch really hard in first and quick shift into second on a hot day, I get a nasty loud gear grind on a "clean shift." This is especially true when cornering at the same time. I had this happen pretty bad last night. I am going to check the clutch slave again, but that never seems to fix the issue. It is just the slow synchro.

Regarding A/C, I do not need it. Mine died a while back (like 5 years ago). I killed the condenser. That in turn killed the compressor over time due to lack of oil. Pulley alignment woes have been killing belts also. Thus, to me spending more money to revive an A/C system that I do not need and is causing me issues did not seem worthwhile to me. If I need A/C, I just drive one of our Jeeps or the sedan. I also like shedding weight, and the compressor and condenser weigh quite a bit. I also trashed all the A/C plumbing in the engine bay. I got rid of the A/W IC last year also. I am trying to cut complexity and weight as a function of time.

[mroadsters]

My CEL issues were solved when Moss sent me a replacement power card.