How to FAST XFI, LSx coils, sequential ignition and injection on a smallblock Ford

[Caprimaniac]

The goal for this setup was simple. To aquire the parts for a true bolt- on high- end EFI system, assemble it, tune it and run it….. I didn’t want to do any soldering, re-pinning or other EEC- geek work. If so, I’d go with a Megasquirt or whatever and built the harness and all. This I had no time for….. On this setup, the harness is 100% correct even down to the numbering on the harness telling what cylinder the coil and injector connector goes to. In other words, it should be pretty foolproof.


This setup use parts from the later Explorer 302 (1999- 2001) to mate up with the XFI/ XIM system for a 4.6 2V mod engine. The cam and crank trigger pattern are identical (1 for each 2 crank rotations and 36-1 crank wheel), and the fireing order are the same on the 4.6 and the 302HO and 351W.

There are other ways to do this, but those would require some of the work mentioned above. Other ways may also give a better or poorer result. I cannot say because I do not have the knowledge nor the experience. Some say a 4 “tooth” crank trigger like the FAST would be better than the 36-1 in this install, that a hall sensor would be better than a discreet and so on…..

This applies to the 302W and 351W. However, with the 351 you will have to either modify a 302 or find other solutions for a cam position sensor and may be crank trigger wheel as well. More on this can be found on corral.net, in the aftermarket (AEM) EFI- section (see below).
The following applies to the Ford 302 8.2 deck height (or should I rather say 302 distributor height) block and the most of it also to the 351W, except for what previously said above.

First you need to have a 351 or 302 HO (79- 93 FOX efi) fire order camshaft in your block. That is because the XIM ignition use this fire- order.
You’ll also need throttle body, manifold with injector bungs , injectors, rails and the rest of the fuel system which might be factory Ford or any aftermarket types.

This is the list of hardware parts you’ll need, with some remarks:
XFI box FST-301003 (This is the one with internal datalogging, which you might not need.)
XIM box with coil harness FST-301313A
Main harness FST-301100
Injector harness FST-301203 Have EV1 injector connectors
Coils FST-30256-8
TPS sensor FST-307005 (or you can use factory Ford and put on new pins and connector to mate with the harness).
Crank sensor SMP-PC325
Crank trigger wheel/ damper RNB-594-155 (You only need the trigger wheel.)
Engine front cover RNB-635-106
Cam sensor RNB-689-101 This use the large ID 302 distributor gear!
IAC valve FST-307014 (GM style)
IAC adapter FST-307022 (adapter for Ford TB to GM IAC)
Air temp sensor FST-307004 (GM style)
Water temp sensor FST-307003 (GM style)
MAP sensor FST-307007 (to suit; 1,2,3 or 5 bar… this is a 1 bar sensor for N/A)
Ignition wires TAY-84044 These are quite short….

Other remarks:
These part numbers are Summit’s. Parts can be obtain from FAST, Rockauto,….
Edelbrock /Weber marelli “Pico” style injectors will fit the connectors in the injector harness.
The trigger wheel might be obtained from a salvage yard, from a 5.0 Explorer or other. This, ofcourse, also applies to the other sensors and the front cover…

You also need this custom fabricated piece:
Disc, steel. Damper snout OD and Explorer trigger wheel ID (press fit).

You will also need to figure out how/ where to place your coils and fabricate or buy the necessary parts like a coil bracket.

Extras: FAST is offering a lot of extras to the XFI; turbo boost handling, oil pressure logging, traction control, boost control, nitro control….. You can pick from the list. Read up at FAST online

Install:
It’s much plug & play here. My engine fired up at first try, so it can’t be much to it…
You might remove the crank trigger wires on the main harness, since it will go onto the XIM harness. Splice & ground. The harness(es) is great in many instances. Only concern is that they’re very long & bulky. In my small car the boxes could go into the trunk…. Take your time and figure where to place the boxes and how to route the harness.

Be sure to let the coil harness be routed “by itself”. I used a hi-ram manifold and put all wireing inbetween the runners/ cylinder banks less the ignition wires which I ran on the valve covers.

Cam position sensor should be installed with the tool that comes with it; put engine in TDC, put the tool on to lock the sensor in place and slide it in & lock the bolt down. It will be in the correct spot, trust me…

On installing the crank trigger wheel, first note at what crank degree the missing tooth is mounted on the balancer. Install the fabricated adapter to your crank balancer and then slide on the trigger wheel and make sure the missing one falls where it should…. I seem to remember its’ around the 30 ATDC, but don’t take my word for it…

One more thing on the balancer and so… My timing pointer got in conflict with the crank sensor on the front cover. I cut some and welded some and it came out good. You have to make sure the timing pointer is DEAD ON! Very important. So please check with true TDC, balancer and pointer at mock- up….

The main trouble I had, after running the engine for a couple of weeks, was the balancer and how the crank trigger wheel was sitting in regards to the front cover. On engine mock- up the balancer was installed and bolt torqued to spec. (90 ftlbs?). However- it did not seat to the crank gear. SO PLEASE CHECK THIS ON EVERY INSTALL! This was an Eagle crank and a summit SFI balancer. Eventually crank bolt got loose and it could be further torqed, ending up squeezing trigger wheel between balancer and front cover. The solution to this was to install a spacer between balancer and crank gear- a sleeve on the crank snout. Take a look at the forum at the corral for more on this.

Then it’s time for the tuning……
Please read all relevant information in the C-COM help section. Here you find a walk- through on how to initially set your software settings as well as more fine- tuning tips & tricks, some unique for the FAST XFI system.

Here’s a quick walk- through on first startup checks:
Check your fuel pressure. Should be 46 at no vacuum.
Set fuel, relative to your injector size, at a sensible level in your idle- area. Say 800- 1200 rpm and 40- 100 LOAD or MAP. I have around 15 with 44lbs injectors.
Set timing in the same area to 16- 20 degrees.

Do all the checkbox things for this setup and then finally, before you attempt to fire, put in your operational parameters file in system configuration “fixed timing test mode” and set fixed timing test advance to 20 degrees.

Now; fetch your good old timing light and hook it up. Fire up the engine. If it does not start, make adjustments to IAC open VS CTS and cranking fuel until it fires. (If fuel horrible fuel smell, take off fuel…etc.)
Your timing light should now show 20 degrees. If not, make adjustments in the crank ref. angle (*BTDC) in the operational parameters to get it exactly at 20 degrees.

Now, as the engine is running at idle (hopefully!), remove the MAP vacuum connection (close inlet man. Hole) and check fuel pressure which should be 46 lbs. Adjust to this figure.

Tuning:
Now it’s time to beginning filling in the tables…. Get the engine up to temps (160F+) and get it to idle smoothly before you move on. Be SURE that the AE fuel vs CTS is 0 at this point. Add or take away fuel on the surrounding cells to get the appropriate AF- number at anywhere between 15 and 13.5. By adjusting TB opening and fuel, get the IAC down to 10 and recalibrate the TPS.

Make a preliminary fuel and spark map from what you now have. On fuel you should have the lowest AF- numbers where your max torque is. Check you cam specs/ ask you manufacturer or use compareable dyno graphs to get an idea. Let the fuel rise steady into this area an keep it up top.

For spark you can use your knowledge on what a compareable distributor advance would be like and start there. Of course there will be a lot different with a pressurized engine with turbo or supercharger, so you better read up on this…. Also, due to the nature of a high- pressure boosted setup, the only way to tune such a setup is on a dyno/ rolling road. Be careful with the timing…

I’ve tuned a N/A pump- gas setup with a fairly large cam and I’ve ran into one big problem: The engine was doing changes in RPM, up-down- up- down, even if my throttle was stationary and everything else seemed not moving, on slow running in 1. and 2 gear around 1800- 3000 rpm’s. This condition might be due to the cam and inlet combination. All other tuning have gone relatively well. Getting cold temp fuel addition and AE fuel vs TPS rate can be some time consuming as well, but it’s fairly quick to get to good results.

There’s a lot to be said on tuning and the different parameters in the C-COM software.
I do not wish to go further into these. My guidelines are as follows:
- Read the HELP- sections in the C-COM software. Search whenever you have a question. It’s usually in the HELP- file although you cannot remember where to find it….

- Use the FAST online tech forum for help on setup or tuning issues. There are a lot of helpful and skilled persons there. Here’s the complete webadress to take you right there: Fast product support

- Other useful online resources:
EFI101

Corral aem-ems forum/ (here’s some pics on the crank trigger setup as well.)

+ a bunch of others…..

I take absolutely no responsibility of errors and utterly wrong statements in the txt above...
If you have any questions you can post here or send me a PM.

Sorry for the blurry pic...

Regards
RS

[bobcowan]

Really good info. You and I have talked about this before, as we're both traveling a similar path. I would like to add a couple of small bits that might be helpful.

Originally Posted by Caprimaniac

This applies to the 302W and 351W. However, with the 351 you will have to either modify a 302 or find other solutions for a cam position sensor and may be crank trigger wheel as well.

RS

The cam position sensor is fairly easy and inexpensive. You can use the stock Ford explored 5.0/302 sensor in a 5.8/351W block. The block fitment is exactly the same. But you do have to change the the oil pump and oil pump drive shaft to match. It will all bolt in.

As you said, you can use the AEM part as both a cam and a crank sensor. But then you're adding expensive aftermarket parts, and you're back to the distributor as the crank signal, which is less accurate than the crank sensor.

The crank trigger wheel could be more or less an easy fix. If you're not racing, you can simply use a stock Ford balancer with the trigger wheel attached. Then you can use the stock Ford front cover mount for the Hall or stock Ford VR sensor.

It gets more difficult if you're racing, and need a SFI balancer. I was not able to find one in the aftermarket. I found a guy on E-bay to make me a 5" wheel with a center hole big enough for the balancer I use. I sandwiched the wheel between the balancer and the pulley. Then I had to fab a bracket for the Hall sensor.

[Cobra #3170]

Originally Posted by Caprimaniac

The goal for this setup was simple. To aquire the parts for a true bolt- on high- end EFI system, assemble it, tune it and run it….. I didn’t want to do any soldering, re-pinning or other EEC- geek work. If so, I’d go with a Megasquirt or whatever and built the harness and all. This I had no time for….. On this setup, the harness is 100% correct even down to the numbering on the harness telling what cylinder the coil and injector connector goes to. In other words, it should be pretty foolproof.


This setup use parts from the later Explorer 302 (1999- 2001) to mate up with the XFI/ XIM system for a 4.6 2V mod engine. The cam and crank trigger pattern are identical (1 for each 2 crank rotations and 36-1 crank wheel), and the fireing order are the same on the 4.6 and the 302HO and 351W.

There are other ways to do this, but those would require some of the work mentioned above. Other ways may also give a better or poorer result. I cannot say because I do not have the knowledge nor the experience. Some say a 4 “tooth” crank trigger like the FAST would be better than the 36-1 in this install, that a hall sensor would be better than a discreet and so on…..

This applies to the 302W and 351W. However, with the 351 you will have to either modify a 302 or find other solutions for a cam position sensor and may be crank trigger wheel as well. More on this can be found on corral.net, in the aftermarket (AEM) EFI- section (see below).
The following applies to the Ford 302 8.2 deck height (or should I rather say 302 distributor height) block and the most of it also to the 351W, except for what previously said above.

First you need to have a 351 or 302 HO (79- 93 FOX efi) fire order camshaft in your block. That is because the XIM ignition use this fire- order.
You’ll also need throttle body, manifold with injector bungs , injectors, rails and the rest of the fuel system which might be factory Ford or any aftermarket types.

This is the list of hardware parts you’ll need, with some remarks:
XFI box FST-301003 (This is the one with internal datalogging, which you might not need.)
XIM box with coil harness FST-301313A
Main harness FST-301100
Injector harness FST-301203 Have EV1 injector connectors
Coils FST-30256-8
TPS sensor FST-307005 (or you can use factory Ford and put on new pins and connector to mate with the harness).
Crank sensor SMP-PC325
Crank trigger wheel/ damper RNB-594-155 (You only need the trigger wheel.)
Engine front cover RNB-635-106
Cam sensor RNB-689-101 This use the large ID 302 distributor gear!
IAC valve FST-307014 (GM style)
IAC adapter FST-307022 (adapter for Ford TB to GM IAC)
Air temp sensor FST-307004 (GM style)
Water temp sensor FST-307003 (GM style)
MAP sensor FST-307007 (to suit; 1,2,3 or 5 bar… this is a 1 bar sensor for N/A)
Ignition wires TAY-84044 These are quite short….

Other remarks:
These part numbers are Summit’s. Parts can be obtain from FAST, Rockauto,….
Edelbrock /Weber marelli “Pico” style injectors will fit the connectors in the injector harness.
The trigger wheel might be obtained from a salvage yard, from a 5.0 Explorer or other. This, ofcourse, also applies to the other sensors and the front cover…

You also need this custom fabricated piece:
Disc, steel. Damper snout OD and Explorer trigger wheel ID (press fit).

You will also need to figure out how/ where to place your coils and fabricate or buy the necessary parts like a coil bracket.

Extras: FAST is offering a lot of extras to the XFI; turbo boost handling, oil pressure logging, traction control, boost control, nitro control….. You can pick from the list. Read up at FAST online

Install:
It’s much plug & play here. My engine fired up at first try, so it can’t be much to it…
You might remove the crank trigger wires on the main harness, since it will go onto the XIM harness. Splice & ground. The harness(es) is great in many instances. Only concern is that they’re very long & bulky. In my small car the boxes could go into the trunk…. Take your time and figure where to place the boxes and how to route the harness.

Be sure to let the coil harness be routed “by itself”. I used a hi-ram manifold and put all wireing inbetween the runners/ cylinder banks less the ignition wires which I ran on the valve covers.

Cam position sensor should be installed with the tool that comes with it; put engine in TDC, put the tool on to lock the sensor in place and slide it in & lock the bolt down. It will be in the correct spot, trust me…

On installing the crank trigger wheel, first note at what crank degree the missing tooth is mounted on the balancer. Install the fabricated adapter to your crank balancer and then slide on the trigger wheel and make sure the missing one falls where it should…. I seem to remember its’ around the 30 ATDC, but don’t take my word for it…

One more thing on the balancer and so… My timing pointer got in conflict with the crank sensor on the front cover. I cut some and welded some and it came out good. You have to make sure the timing pointer is DEAD ON! Very important. So please check with true TDC, balancer and pointer at mock- up….

The main trouble I had, after running the engine for a couple of weeks, was the balancer and how the crank trigger wheel was sitting in regards to the front cover. On engine mock- up the balancer was installed and bolt torqued to spec. (90 ftlbs?). However- it did not seat to the crank gear. SO PLEASE CHECK THIS ON EVERY INSTALL! This was an Eagle crank and a summit SFI balancer. Eventually crank bolt got loose and it could be further torqed, ending up squeezing trigger wheel between balancer and front cover. The solution to this was to install a spacer between balancer and crank gear- a sleeve on the crank snout. Take a look at the forum at the corral for more on this.

Then it’s time for the tuning……
Please read all relevant information in the C-COM help section. Here you find a walk- through on how to initially set your software settings as well as more fine- tuning tips & tricks, some unique for the FAST XFI system.

Here’s a quick walk- through on first startup checks:
Check your fuel pressure. Should be 46 at no vacuum.
Set fuel, relative to your injector size, at a sensible level in your idle- area. Say 800- 1200 rpm and 40- 100 LOAD or MAP. I have around 15 with 44lbs injectors.
Set timing in the same area to 16- 20 degrees.

Do all the checkbox things for this setup and then finally, before you attempt to fire, put in your operational parameters file in system configuration “fixed timing test mode” and set fixed timing test advance to 20 degrees.

Now; fetch your good old timing light and hook it up. Fire up the engine. If it does not start, make adjustments to IAC open VS CTS and cranking fuel until it fires. (If fuel horrible fuel smell, take off fuel…etc.)
Your timing light should now show 20 degrees. If not, make adjustments in the crank ref. angle (*BTDC) in the operational parameters to get it exactly at 20 degrees.

Now, as the engine is running at idle (hopefully!), remove the MAP vacuum connection (close inlet man. Hole) and check fuel pressure which should be 46 lbs. Adjust to this figure.

Tuning:
Now it’s time to beginning filling in the tables…. Get the engine up to temps (160F+) and get it to idle smoothly before you move on. Be SURE that the AE fuel vs CTS is 0 at this point. Add or take away fuel on the surrounding cells to get the appropriate AF- number at anywhere between 15 and 13.5. By adjusting TB opening and fuel, get the IAC down to 10 and recalibrate the TPS.

Make a preliminary fuel and spark map from what you now have. On fuel you should have the lowest AF- numbers where your max torque is. Check you cam specs/ ask you manufacturer or use compareable dyno graphs to get an idea. Let the fuel rise steady into this area an keep it up top.

For spark you can use your knowledge on what a compareable distributor advance would be like and start there. Of course there will be a lot different with a pressurized engine with turbo or supercharger, so you better read up on this…. Also, due to the nature of a high- pressure boosted setup, the only way to tune such a setup is on a dyno/ rolling road. Be careful with the timing…

I’ve tuned a N/A pump- gas setup with a fairly large cam and I’ve ran into one big problem: The engine was doing changes in RPM, up-down- up- down, even if my throttle was stationary and everything else seemed not moving, on slow running in 1. and 2 gear around 1800- 3000 rpm’s. This condition might be due to the cam and inlet combination. All other tuning have gone relatively well. Getting cold temp fuel addition and AE fuel vs TPS rate can be some time consuming as well, but it’s fairly quick to get to good results.

There’s a lot to be said on tuning and the different parameters in the C-COM software.
I do not wish to go further into these. My guidelines are as follows:
- Read the HELP- sections in the C-COM software. Search whenever you have a question. It’s usually in the HELP- file although you cannot remember where to find it….

- Use the FAST online tech forum for help on setup or tuning issues. There are a lot of helpful and skilled persons there. Here’s the complete webadress to take you right there: Fast product support

- Other useful online resources:
EFI101

Corral aem-ems forum/ (here’s some pics on the crank trigger setup as well.)

+ a bunch of others…..

I take absolutely no responsibility of errors and utterly wrong statements in the txt above...
If you have any questions you can post here or send me a PM.

Sorry for the blurry pic...

Regards
RS

Nice Job!

[Caprimaniac]

Thank you, fellows.

I know this might not be "bulls eye" for Cobra owners as they usually tend to want more of a "classic" approach. However; use an TWM, Inglese or whatever 8 stack and hide the coils in the fenders, and whoops- you're there with classic looks & top modern equipment....

On this: "If you're not racing, you can simply use a stock Ford balancer with the trigger wheel attached. "

You mean the Explorer balancer? Yes, but then you're stuck with a single 6- rib serpentine belt and 28(?)oz imbalance. It can be removed and a crank pulley of another type be attached to the 3- hole hub.

And Bob; are you sure you can use the 302 cam sensor in the 351 with a 302 oil pump and drive???
Alot of this on the corral and the guys build their sensors of particular 351 dists and other parts.... The length of the shaft is too short, as far as I can remember. The dist gear has to sit atop of the seat in the block.

RS

[bobcowan]

Originally Posted by Caprimaniac

Thank you, fellows.

And Bob; are you sure you can use the 302 cam sensor in the 351 with a 302 oil pump and drive???
Alot of this on the corral and the guys build their sensors of particular 351 dists and other parts.... The length of the shaft is too short, as far as I can remember. The dist gear has to sit atop of the seat in the block.

RS

Yeah, you can. Take a look at the distributor mounting area on the two blocks - they are the same. If they were not, the front cover would not fit the same on both blocks. The only difference in that area is the height of the valley wall behind the distributor, and below the intake manifold.

As you already know, the oil pump drive shaft is a different size in the two engines. But they are the same length. So you can use a 302 distributor in a 351 block, as long as you also use the matching oil pump and oil pump drive shaft.

[albanycobra]

Bob this is excellent information......

I have a stock 302(5.0ltr) in my GT40 at the moment, It's what I think you Guys call the explorer motor with 36-1 crank trigger and stock efi.

I have a stroker 351 to 418 (8 stack)motor sitting in the shed. I want to use the dissy for crank position and do away with the trigger disc on the crank pulley.
I want to set up my EFI on my 302 then when it is all debugged I want to swap my race motor in. Being able to use a 302 dissy type crank sensor which I can swap from 302 to 351 is gold. All I have to do is order a 302 Oil pump and drive shaft and fit to my 351.


Thanks again.