I'm curious if there are any performance and reliability advantages to switching the 13bt front cover to a rew, and using the newer updated style of ignition pickup?

 

There is usually nothing wrong with the FC CAS, unless you are running a haltech.

 

There are two advantages to the FD style trigger wheel. The first is that you don't have a gear driving it. You don't have the possibility of that affecting readings. So it's a more accurate way of measuring timing, even though the resolution of the sensor is the same (same waveform between FC and FD). The real world benefit of that is basically not noticeable though.

The main advantage is that the FD trigger wheel doesn't need adjustment like an FC. You don't have to set it, and you don't have to worry about whether the marks are accurate. I'd say it's not worth the hassle if you trust your timing marks for the FC pulley and front cover.

 

Why would you go through all of that instead of just adding a FFE trigger wheel and gaining a hall sensor as well.

 

the stock FC ecu does not work with the FD triggers. the impedance is different between the two pickups, such that the FD ecu can use either CAS, but the FC ecu will only see the FC pickups