When forced induction is mentioned, two other topics also need to be addressed.
First would be the Air which a turbo or supercharger would provide.
Second would the Fuel which larger injectors, larger fuel pump or increase fuel pressure would solve part of the FI problems.
The third issue also need to address but usually neglect is the ignition system. In order for the FI system to run properly or tuned, we must upgrade the ignition system. In this article I will cover ignition system.
I dont know much about ignition or electrical, but I will talk about what I got in my car.
From my personal experience, if you run less than 8 psi, the stock systems will work fine. However, if you desire more boost. A better ignition system is required. There are three ways we can improve ignition in the 1UZFE engines.
- Get colder spark plugs. The plug of choice would be Denso Irridium and gap it to .035″ (.041-.044″ is stock). You will notice a huge improvement from the stock oem plugs. Again Denso Irridium is about 10 times a much. An average Denso Irridium is about $13.00 each and only available in major auto parts stores. Don’t try to ask for them in those Momma and Poppa auto parts stores. They are just too expensive to stock them. Just the plug upgrade will help a lot and you will notice less miss and smoother acceleration.
- The second option which I don’t have have yet would be a set of Nology Hotwires. I have been using these type of wires for many years and personally can give a positive testimony. Nology wires are expensive. The retail price for a set of V8 wires is about $300-$345. However, Nology doesn’t make wires for the 1UZFE. They have to be custom made. The price for complete set is $400. Please email me if you are interested in those wires. Here is a picture comparing oem and Nology Hotwires Video. I should be getting that soon. This is the second easiest ways to upgrade and improve your ignition systems.
- The last option I am using now is the MSD Ignition system. In our engine, we would need two units of 6A part # 6200. They run about $225-$250 each and along with MSD Dual Igniton Adapter Part # 8912. Here is the Wiring Diagram of 6A from MSD. In my system, my engineer also installed a bypass system just incase the MSD is down I still can run the stock ignition. Here are some pictures of the 6A installation:
The above picture is has two units of MSD. The red box is the Dual Ignition Adapter and the red box below the intake pipe is the one of the two 6A units. The two 6A units are stacked to save space and they are highly secured to the firewall.
These two connectors are from the computer industry to allow bypass if for some reasons the MSD Ignition is down so I don’t get stranded. I just unplug it and re-plug into the other Male-Female configuration.
Here is a closer picture of the bypass connectors.
The connectors are located just right adapter the stock igniters.
Here is a closer look at the Dual Ignition Adapter.
Now you see the two units are stacked together to save space.
Final view of the upgrade ignition system. This upgrade is about $500-$700 and would require experience engineer to do this. I don’t recommend trying this at home. I paid professional to install these units. The engineer spent many hours testing my stock ignition system first before installing them.
Remember, more air will require more fuel. More fuel will require more ignition. The last step would be the most extreme setup and if you do all three steps, then are ready for Lextreme boost. Good luck and I hope this article help your ignition quest.
David