Coilpack swap How-To?

[MrMazda92]

So I've been looking around for a while now, trying to find a guide(PT, MX6.com, here) for the coilpack swap on K series V6s. I've had little luck, beyond "here's my question, help please!!!" type posts on MX6 and PT forums. They're helpful, yet nothing quite beats a concise, to the point guide.

If anybody has done this swap, and happened to document the process, it would be amazing if you would write out a guide, to be added to the FAQ.

If nobody does it soon, I guess I'll have to give it a shot.

[marcdh]

I'm rusty on this as everything has been working so I haven't had to think about it, hopefully this will be somewhat accurate.

Coilpacks have 3 coils, requiring 3 signals from megasquirt with 3 ignitors. (each coil drives two spark outputs aka wasted spark)
Mx3 has 1 signal from the ECU, 1 ignitor, 1 coil and the rotor distributes that one source amongst the 6 outputs.

So you can see this isn't going to work with the OEM ecu. You're going to need megasquirt or some other aftermarket management.

I think the 626 with the KLG4 has coilpacks OEM, so you could investigate swapping that entire setup, but I'm not sure if it's feasible. We don't even get that setup over here.

[MrMazda92]

Thank you for your reply.

I am aware that MS is required(Not required, but a complete chassis harness swap would take longer, and yield far less benefit than MS), and you're right about the KLG4.

Basically, I'm trying to find a reliable source(i.e. someone who has actually DONE this swap, since so many of the PT threads go a bit like this: "Well, so and so said... and this is what I think...")

It's never straight forward enough, so people simply don't follow through with the swap to coilpacks. Anybody who's ever lost a distributor would happily go this route, if it wasn't so unknown to them.

I'm serious everyone, I know several of you have done this swap; Did ANYONE document it??

[Ryan]

I know a guy personally who has done it, and I plan to do it myself when I go MS.

Its really not that hard, all wasted spark setups are the same. Just google it. All you need to know is the firing order.

[marcdh]

What would you like to know? It's pretty easy once you have MS setup for them. I didn't even bother running ms with disty, just went straight to coilpacks. My steps briefly were this:

Ran 4core wire from ms to bay
Removed disty
Installed coilpacks and bracket
Installed 626 36-1 wheel (or run stock crank pulley and retain 180 cam sensor in disty)
Setup ms to run coilpacks

[MrMazda92]

So it's that simple then? Better than I could have hoped, honestly.

I do have one more question, beyond the coilpacks themselves, the bracket(Disty bracket should work shouldn't it?), and the 36-1 wheel from a 626 or wherever I buy my MS from, I won't need to buy anything?

Basically, beyond the how-to, which I now know is way simpler than I'd figured, what will I need to dig up at the PnP?

Thank you both, you've been quite helpful.

[Ryan]

You need an engine controller with at least 3 spark outputs. Three coils with two spark outputs.

Link a spark output to each of the 3 coils (each coil does two cylinders) The pair of cylinders must be 180º out, that is, when one is TDC and about to fire, the other is TDC in the exhaust stroke.

The cylinders fire together, thats why they call it wasted spark, one is wasted in the exhaust stroke.

Coil on plug is better, but this uses half as much hardware and performs just as well. The coils are working 1/3 as hard as a disty coil, but only 2x as hard as COP. for COP you need six spark outputs and six coils....

[MrMazda92]

You're a champ Ryan, thanks!