Engine management / instrumentation:
I decided go take the easy route on my DD....keep LH2.4, and just install some improved fuel & ignition chips to take care of the extra boost which is foreseen.
Found a nice set of later model LH2.4 boxes....the EZK Gold box, and this ECU fuel box:
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Both have been fitted with TLAO chips, aka "Mikes Chips". Here is the fuel chip, with 6500 RPM cut:
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Time will tell how these will work. If spark issue present themselves, I will plan a "Bucha Spark" wasted spark setup in the future....but not for starters. We shall see if 12 PSI of boost requires more spark than the EZK and single coil distributor setup can deliver.
All the sages say that "you gotta have a wideband and KNOW your AFR's"....so I bought an AEM wideband, lightly used. The factory in dash boost gauge on the 9's is a joke, with colors to tell you where you how much boost you have
. I prefer a real boost/vacuum gauge. Not exactly NIST traceable, but it beats the hell out of the stock in-dash gauge. Lastly, always nice to know what kind of oil pressure is within the engine, so I rescured a 5 bar Volvo gauge from an old Bertone, then bought a new VDO sender from eGauges.com to match it. I purchased the type with the dual output, including "idiot light contact"; I believe it is labeled WK which I suspect is German for the "wet kontact" idiot light. Nice wiring instructions are available for download from eGauges.com that make it straight forward. The VDO sender that I used has 1/8" NPT male threads, and the B230 redblocks have an M14x1.5 straight thread with copper gasket port. My old friend TF came to the rescue, and hooked me up with a nice adapter made by Autometer (part# 2267); bought mine on Amazon for around $10, fits perfectly. Do NOT use any teflon tape, as you will ruin the ground path to the block. Hold your mouth "just right" and tighten the NPT threads until you get the sender oriented for optimal wiring connection. End result: I retained the dash idiot light and also have my 5 bar gauge.
Now, where to mount these nice new gauges? I've only seen 2 options on the 7/9's (that are reasonably low cost): the triple gauge A pillar setup, and the Nathaninwa "center AC vent replacement gauge mount". Well this decision was easy....down here in the humid almost tropic SE, you NEED all the AC you can get for a DD. True performance-only cars; sure, rip the AC out along with the center vent and install the huge FMIC. But for this DD work car, I'm keeping mine, along with the cruise control, power seat, etc. etc. So the decision was made.....triple gauge A pillar.
Found this triple A pillar mount from another TB member, an IPD unit. SwiftJustice down in Texas, gave me a good tip on plastic paint....the specialist is SEM. I found their products available on the web, approx. $12 a can for the various colors. Be sure to prepare you plastic properly, as per SEM recommendations & with their materials. Well the 3rd time was a charm
as I first guessed a color, painted, compared, but trying to match the 92 tan interior with 20 year old faded plastic was tough. Finally I settled on CAMEL as the best fit color, which is as good as it gets to make it look like it belongs (no black pillar RICER look for me). Compared to the paint color, the real bitch was building a wiring harness to fit up inside the pillar....connect the boost /oil pressure gauges to my dash lighting so I could dim them with all the instruments. Thankfully I found the Volvo wiring diagrams available online (thanks TrickMick). Some careful reconn. and I was able to find the power/grounds that I needed.
Installing the AEM is a job in itself. Sadly, I've got no pics, but here is a summary. Bought a "weld on bung" with the correct thread for the Bosch sensor, located it all the way at the end of my 940T 2.63" stocker downpipe, just barely behind the AW71 crossmember. Carefully marked the location (30* angle upwards for the sensor), then had a buddy drill the DP and weld on the bung. Mounted the sender inline cable plug on the drivers side of the crossmember; drilled a hole and made a custom steel plate mount to attach it up and protected by the crossmember from road debris. Then fed the AEM cable up along side the fuel supply/return lines, snaked up under the brake power booster, and into the corner of the firewall where the rubber booties are for wires passing from cabin to engine. Run a fish wire thru.....taped a "pull wire" up onto my AEM cable, slathered it up in dish soap lube, then pulled into the dash. You should drop the ABS computer box and it's mounting brackets, located up in the LH corner of the footpedal area, to gain access to fish the cables thru. Once up under the dash, you find the small passage to enter the A-pillar area.....so the AEM cables, lighting wires, braided boost hose, and the oil pressure signal wire all feed up there. Tight, but it all fits. Building a harness....measure twice, cut once. I solder and shrink tube everything, no wire nuts, no electrical tape...but that's how I roll
Here is the finished A pillar system installed:
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I think it looks pretty damn good! Worried a bit that it would be a blind spot...that it would block too much field of view. Truth be told, now after 200 miles on the car, I don't even see it as any obstruction. The only negative thus far is the old 5 bar oil pressure gauge is really dim at night, even with a brand new lamp. I understand the lighting on all the 52mm 240 gauges are bad, and many upgrade to LED's, etc. I can see it just fine for now, but later most likely will go LED. I would also like to have "real gauges" for VOLTS and WATER TEMP, but those will have to wait for now, and I would have to find someplace reasonable to install them. Cheap Thrills will roll with these for now.