Chebosto

iTrader: (43)

this unit from MSD will raise the voltage to the fuel pump so it will supply more fuel flow... also has a vaccuum hose attached so it knows when its on boost to turn it on... just wondering if anyone has tried this yet so far.

thanks for any input,

Cheston

sentry65

iTrader: (11)

i'm running it, it works great so far

lots of setups on other cars run them. The APS TT kit on the C6 vette uses them and so do some of the lingenfelter covettes.

MardiGrasMax

iTrader: (8)

Hi Cheston, I run one on my Max on top of the Walbro 255lph HP pump. I rewired the pump wiring with heavier gauge wiring back to the Boost A Pump. I'm kinda on the edge of the 255HP pump so I thought it would be a good idea. Works fine.

Chebosto

iTrader: (43)

^^

hey Mardi.. wow. hows it going ? long time no talk.. glad to see you're still around.

cool thanks for the tip

Mike Wazowski

iTrader: (113)

about how much more flow are people getting with this?

MardiGrasMax

iTrader: (8)

GSS342HP pump at 70psi

@12v 46gph ~460whp
@13.5v 56gph ~ 550whp
@16.5v 73gph ~750whp

Keep in mind that this is at the pump head flow and under perfect conditions. But as you can see voltage makes a huge difference. You should also upgrade the wiring that runs to the pump power and ground. Running 16.5v to the pump will shorten its life so the booster uses a boost pressure switch to turn the booster on when intake manifold sees boost. Another concern is say your racing at night, lights on stereo cranking your fuel pump might not be seeing 14.6v, or even 13.5v it could be lower and pump flow will suffer. This is a good reason to justify the fuel pump voltage booster.

Mike Wazowski

iTrader: (113)

Thanks, Those are some impressive numbers for just upping the voltage.

THE TECH

iTrader: (154)

The only problem with changing the voltage is that you decrease the life of the pump in most situations.

Sharif@Forged

iTrader: (92)

It's a quick and dirty way of increasing fuel flow. Only problem, is that MSD product is notorious unreliable. I personally will never use MSD on my car, or a customer's car. In the domestic word, and Honda world, MSD components are always breaking down, and driving people nuts with trouble shooting.

I think I mild increase in pump voltage is safe, as long as you are keeping fuel pressure at a reasonable level.

sentry65

iTrader: (11)

my voltage is just being boosted from 12 to 13-13.5 volts or something around there. It only kicks in at a certain PSI of boost and it's just a temporary fix for now. I try to keep at least a 1/4 tank of gas in the tank just to make sure the fuel pump is sitting in some fuel to keep it cool

I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with my fuel pump assembly though and am waiting on phunk's twin pump assembly so I can see if that solved my fuel pressure issues. I don't want to buy a stock pump assembly and redo it all. I'd rather upgrade it to something I know works and is better

my goal is to not need the booster pump at all though

MardiGrasMax

iTrader: (8)

Since they only run when you are in boost, the loss of pump life for street cars is very negligible. For a road race car it would be a different story.

Kenne Bell makes the most widely used fuel pump voltage booster called the Boost-A-Pump. I used the their Boost-A-Spark on my Maxima to overcome some spark issues, worked like a champ!
http://www.kennebell.net/accessories...boostapump.htm

I personally used this one on my Maxima, its cheaper but on all the time. Worked fine. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FLOWC...QQcmdZViewItem

For the ~550whp folks its a good investment, after that spend the money on the twin pump in tank systems.

Julian@MRC

iTrader: (28)

This is a quick fix way to get more HP out of your existing pump.I believe VRT used this on one of their cars. Or was it JWT?I cant remember, but someone had tried a similar set up..

Julian@MRC

iTrader: (28)

Thats a pretty funny comment about a company with over 36 years in the industry, especially comming from someone who up until 4 years ago, sold Chocolate for a living.
MSD is a very reputable company, and they would not be in business for over 30+ years if their products failed as you say they do.
MSD will be around long after you and I are gone.
http://www.msdignition.com/1msdhistory.htm

GurgenPB

iTrader: (2)

I was thinking of doing this also, but I will hold off until I am convinced that it's an issue at my power levels (500-600; 91-96 octane respectively).

sentry65

iTrader: (11)

My mechanic saw that the C6 APS TT kit uses a booster pump when he was installing one and was immediately skeptical.

So he called up APS and asked them what's the deal with them and if they're reliable because it seemed like a fishy part for APS to endorse using in one of their kits.

They said they've been great and reliable in their testing...but not that APS's findings or opinions necessarily mean anything

Julian@MRC

iTrader: (28)

A booster pump is standard equipment for many aftermarket supercharger and turbo kit manufacturers both domestic and import. It does work.However I Personally would never rely simply on boosting fuel pump voltage on a high HP vehicle.If you wnet as far as to spend the $$$$ To build a capable motor to handle lots of power, then why be cheap on something as crutial as fuel delivery. It is not the ideal way of doing things, however it does work.

shushikiary

As an electrical engineer I can tell you that upping the voltage on any electric motor will reduce it's life time. Whether it's a DC brushless, brush, or commutator type motor, when you up the voltage you will reduce it's life span.

Upping the voltage = upping the current for the same impedance winding in the motor. Since it's a moving part there is also a frequency dependant part, and when you up the current the frequency the motor spins at goes up (giving you the higher fuel flow, and higher pressure at lower motor speeds as the force in the motor goes up with current, where the torque of the motor is greatest at 0 rpm) When you get too high a frequency (rpm) you can run into issues with voltage spikes, etc as you pass over the commutator, etc (when you disconnect the motor winding you get a voltage spike, more current + faster disconnect on the commutator = larger voltage spike) which can wear down the commutator faster. Also more current = higher heat -> motor winding insulation (usually enamel coating) wears out faster, when it wears out you get a short in the winding = no work no more. Of course a fuel pump shouldnt have a commutator in it as you dont want any sparks.. lol but then you have to have a controller to control which coil turns on when, and upping the voltage on those components will wear the out faster, and even if there is a voltage regulator infront of the control electronics, upping the voltage on it will reduce it's lifetime as well. There are other factors as well involving more complex parts of the electronics but I wont go into it.

Bottom line: increasing the voltage beyond designed specs will reduce the lifetime of the motor -> reduced pump life.

Sharif@Forged

iTrader: (92)

You are absolutely correct. The life of an electric OEM style fuel pump is several years easily. A small increase in voltage (1-2volts) should result in a decrease in life, but it is still done. If most guys can get 2-3 years of life out of any part on this car, they consider themselves luck.

sentry65

iTrader: (11)

yeah I have absolutely no doubt it reduces the life of the pump, but I think just about everything I've done to my car has reduced the life of something or at least the engine, tires, and transmission.

still though, it's only reducing the life of the pump once you reach what psi you set it at to start kicking in at. It's all going to depend on how often and hard you go WOT. Walbros are cheap anyway

Mike Wazowski

iTrader: (113)

Amen