Further to CJ Motorsports / Charles aka "Phunk" wiring mods..

Has anyone ever heard of Shakti stones? I know I know it sounds like real voodoo magic snake-oil stuff, but some swear by this product. The producted started as an audiophyle tweak and got used for EMI reduction in car electronics......

http://www.shakti-innovations.com/automotive.htm

Sorry Charles for having posted this on your GB thread. I know you wanted to keep it clean....

 

As an engineer, I am of course highly skeptical of a product like this. That said, I looked earnestly on their website for any solid techincal explaination as to how the Shakti products reduce EMI, and I haven't seen anything yet. I have seen at least 10 separate descriptions of what EMI is and how it degrades signal quality, but nothing explaining how their product actually reduces these signals.

Further, their testing shows a 3-10 dB reduction in signal noise. Any real EMI filtering product would want a lot more attenuation than 3-10 dB. Good twisted pair wiring with a shield grounded on the signal source side would be significantly more effective than this.

Matt

 

I've been surfing a bit this AM. Some people wrap their cables in ferrite. see the link - wondering if this is not the same thing, and if this would work on key wiring on the Z.....

http://www.surplussales.com/FerBeaSle/FerBeaSle-1.html

Note the difference in price!

Any engineers out there care to comment??

 

Ferrite beads are a very common way to choke transients in cabling. The most prominent place you'll see one is on the analog VGA cable attached to your PC monitor. They're usually wrapped in plastic, so it's not obvious to the casual observer what is underneath. If you open it up, you'll see a ferrite choke similar to what is being sold on that page. Ferrite beads are one part of a complete EMI suppression package. APS and Phunk's solution of a grounded shield will be effective enough in this situation, however. I wouldn't worry about using a ferrite bead here. It's cumbersome to mount and won't yield any significant benefits beyond the shielded cable.

I know that gq_626's posts have raised alarms here about the signal integrity of the crank angle sensor, and I'm sure some concern is warranted, but people should not leap to the conclusion that this is the single issue causing blown motors under FI. It may be a minor contributing factor, but some people around here seem to think that replacing this cable will instantly safeguard them from any issue. My suspicion is still that improper engine management (read: bad tuning) and weak rods and rod bolts are the ultimate reason for the blown motors. Don't get the idea that buying a shielded cable will make your motor safe.

Just my .02.

Matt

 

Thanks for your replies azrael. I agree 1000% about the fix not being the be and all and end all to making FI work. It one of 100 potential gotchas.

Just wondered if made any sense as a quick and simple tweak....on eithier the wires Phunk are doing.

The Shatki site suggests, put these around the wires to the ignition coil and getting 2-3 HP. After all, people are spending a few hundred on air filters/intakes and getting little more than this.

I guess the real question would be figuring out which ferrite materials would be appropriate, if any. Maybe getting this answer would be too cumbersome to figure out....it's certainly beyond my skills.