how to: Air pump auxilary port activation
07-16-04, 03:34 AM
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how to: Air pump auxilary port activation
Okay, so I?m just going to give a short little write-up here on a RX-7 Series 4 non-turbo auxiliary port activation, using a line that is tapped into the stock air pump line. This is by no means a new idea, just do a quick search on this forum and you?ll see that. But there seems to be a lot of confusion, and it is a common question people ask, ?how do I get my ports to activate...?. I won?t go over every little detail, since if you are considering doing this, then you are competent enough to figure these things out. If you have any specific questions you could just ask. And as usual do this AT YOUR OWN RISK, although it?s kind of hard here to screw something up.
I did this primarily because I am getting a straight pipe and custom exhaust made for my car. There is NOT going be a line to tap into the exhaust, and of course there most likely will not be enough exhaust backpressure there anyways. Also, for those of you that have done exhaust modifications and still are able to have your ports open the stock way, they may not be opening at the right time, or may not be opening fast enough. Whatever your situation for the 5/6 ports not opening, I recommend this as a fairly easy and cost-effective solution. However, if you are looking for a more performance oriented, responsive system, then by all means go spend money on one of the more elaborate (and expensive) solutions out there. Anyways, this is what I did:
You will be getting all of the supplies needed in the plumbing section of your local hardware store. Use your own judgment of what is needed, as long as you get to what I generally have done in the steps below?
1) First of all, if you don?t really know much about the S4 secondary air injection system, give it a read in the FSM. It is under the ?fuel and emissions control systems, non turbo? section. The basic idea here is to tap into the main air pump line, which is the hose that comes right out the rear of the air pump. You will be using the pressure generated by the air pump to open up the auxiliary ports. The best way to tap into this hose is to take it off, cut it in the middle, and to use a brass ?T? with compression fittings on all ends. This will securely connect the hose back together and give you another outlet to connect to your 5/6 ports. I unfortunately could not find a T that was big enough (the air pump hose is pretty big), so I used another method:
Purchase a brass union, no bigger than ¾ of an inch (I recommend ½ an inch). Drill a pilot hole in the hose (smaller than the union), and then insert the union and thread it in. You will then want to put some sort of sealant around it to make sure it is air tight. I haven?t done that yet, but it seems to work fine without it. Another thing you want to do is to drill with the hose off, just so you don?t get the shavings going into the hose and clogging things up. If, like me, you find it next to impossible to remove the hose, be sure to use a powerful vacuum to try to suck out any of the shavings.
This picture is a basic idea of the component you will be making:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-5/718153/pic_1.jpg
You can see the union connected to the braided toilet hose, and then the T splitting off to an air dump (I will explain later) and your auxiliary port hose. I have labeled where everything goes, however I have since changed some of the pieces, as you will see in later pictures. You can use the barb-type fitting to go the 5/6 port nipple, but in the end I went with a compression fitting since it would be more air tight. I also replaced that steel coupling joining the T and the dump valve with a hose connected by compression fittings. This was because the coupling thread didn?t fit that great with the other components. So basically you want to make something like what is in the picture.
this is a picture of the union tapped into the air pump hose:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-5/718153/pic_4.jpg
Another thing to note is I use Teflon tape on all threaded connections. Not necessary, but it doesn?t take long/cost much to do, and makes things more air tight.
2) After you have the union in there properly connect it to the T. I used a braided toilet hose. It?s actually made of a plastic compound, but the main reason I used it was because it could screw on to the union and the T. You could also used high temp hose connected with compression fittings.
The next step is the T. You should have it already assembled as in the picture. One outlet goes to a dump valve. This is here because the airpump actually generates more pressure than is needed, so to get the ports to open at ~3800 you need this dump valve to adjust how much pressure gets to the actuators. Also, it helps to release air pressure when you let off the throttle, to close the actuators faster.
The remaining outlet of the T will go to the actual 5/6 port actuator ?nipple?. You will have to first CUT the line going from the split air pipe to the nipple. I didn?t feel like trying to take off the existing hose, so I used it and connected ¾ inch high temp hose to it and then to the T.
picture:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-5/718153/pic_2.jpg
You can then mount this where you want, I will leave that up to you. I decided to use cable ties and strap it to the charcoal canister.
Here is a labeled picture of everything installed:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-5/718153/pic_3.jpg
Notice I used left over high temp hose connected to the compression fitting of the dump valve. I have decided to dump air externally, but the sound isn?t the greatest (sounds like a leak). You could just let the valve dump inside the engine bay, it?s no big deal.
3) After you have everything connected and finished, take a look over things to make sure everything is fine. I would of course suggest giving your sealant, whatever you used, time to dry. After you are confident everything is okay, start up the car. Next up is adjustment:
The beauty of this system is that you can open the ports without load, as the air pump pressure is only dependent on engine speed. This is good, because some adjustment is needed to get the ports opening properly. You will need to see a tachometer, or have someone help you out in controlling the RPMs. Take a look at the actuator rod to see how it opens. I found that with the dump valve closed, the ports were opening too early, fully opened around 3000 rpm, and they would not close very fast. If I opened the valve all way, it opened too late, starting around 4500, and was very slow in opening. Just play around for a bit until you get it to start opening around 3500-3800, and then fully open about 4500. Only weird thing I noticed was that the actuators would sometimes get fully open, and then if I stopped increasing the RPMs, they would close a bit. I guess my actuators aren?t that airtight or something. Kind of annoying, but I eventually adjusted it to work fairly well.
As for driving impressions, there is nothing to be noticed. Which is good, because that tells me it is working as good as the stock system. Just make sure you adjust it right using the dump valve. I did find that the toilet hose I used was getting kind of soft after long, hard drives. It should be fine, but I?m going to be using some flame-retardant hose insulation to be safe.
Total project cost was about $30 US. I think it could have definitely be done cheaper though. One thing I would change is to use smaller components, especially that union. I used ¾ inch and I realize now that is way too big. I couldn?t really find matching parts to do that though. You may also notice I have to use a few adapters to get the different component sizes to match. You could definitely simply this.
Anyways, that is my little write up. I probably forgot a bunch of things. And kind of useless for me since I am getting the proper S5 intake manifold, lol (I have an S5 w/S4 motor). Questions and comments are welcomed...
I did this primarily because I am getting a straight pipe and custom exhaust made for my car. There is NOT going be a line to tap into the exhaust, and of course there most likely will not be enough exhaust backpressure there anyways. Also, for those of you that have done exhaust modifications and still are able to have your ports open the stock way, they may not be opening at the right time, or may not be opening fast enough. Whatever your situation for the 5/6 ports not opening, I recommend this as a fairly easy and cost-effective solution. However, if you are looking for a more performance oriented, responsive system, then by all means go spend money on one of the more elaborate (and expensive) solutions out there. Anyways, this is what I did:
You will be getting all of the supplies needed in the plumbing section of your local hardware store. Use your own judgment of what is needed, as long as you get to what I generally have done in the steps below?
1) First of all, if you don?t really know much about the S4 secondary air injection system, give it a read in the FSM. It is under the ?fuel and emissions control systems, non turbo? section. The basic idea here is to tap into the main air pump line, which is the hose that comes right out the rear of the air pump. You will be using the pressure generated by the air pump to open up the auxiliary ports. The best way to tap into this hose is to take it off, cut it in the middle, and to use a brass ?T? with compression fittings on all ends. This will securely connect the hose back together and give you another outlet to connect to your 5/6 ports. I unfortunately could not find a T that was big enough (the air pump hose is pretty big), so I used another method:
Purchase a brass union, no bigger than ¾ of an inch (I recommend ½ an inch). Drill a pilot hole in the hose (smaller than the union), and then insert the union and thread it in. You will then want to put some sort of sealant around it to make sure it is air tight. I haven?t done that yet, but it seems to work fine without it. Another thing you want to do is to drill with the hose off, just so you don?t get the shavings going into the hose and clogging things up. If, like me, you find it next to impossible to remove the hose, be sure to use a powerful vacuum to try to suck out any of the shavings.
This picture is a basic idea of the component you will be making:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-5/718153/pic_1.jpg
You can see the union connected to the braided toilet hose, and then the T splitting off to an air dump (I will explain later) and your auxiliary port hose. I have labeled where everything goes, however I have since changed some of the pieces, as you will see in later pictures. You can use the barb-type fitting to go the 5/6 port nipple, but in the end I went with a compression fitting since it would be more air tight. I also replaced that steel coupling joining the T and the dump valve with a hose connected by compression fittings. This was because the coupling thread didn?t fit that great with the other components. So basically you want to make something like what is in the picture.
this is a picture of the union tapped into the air pump hose:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-5/718153/pic_4.jpg
Another thing to note is I use Teflon tape on all threaded connections. Not necessary, but it doesn?t take long/cost much to do, and makes things more air tight.
2) After you have the union in there properly connect it to the T. I used a braided toilet hose. It?s actually made of a plastic compound, but the main reason I used it was because it could screw on to the union and the T. You could also used high temp hose connected with compression fittings.
The next step is the T. You should have it already assembled as in the picture. One outlet goes to a dump valve. This is here because the airpump actually generates more pressure than is needed, so to get the ports to open at ~3800 you need this dump valve to adjust how much pressure gets to the actuators. Also, it helps to release air pressure when you let off the throttle, to close the actuators faster.
The remaining outlet of the T will go to the actual 5/6 port actuator ?nipple?. You will have to first CUT the line going from the split air pipe to the nipple. I didn?t feel like trying to take off the existing hose, so I used it and connected ¾ inch high temp hose to it and then to the T.
picture:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-5/718153/pic_2.jpg
You can then mount this where you want, I will leave that up to you. I decided to use cable ties and strap it to the charcoal canister.
Here is a labeled picture of everything installed:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-5/718153/pic_3.jpg
Notice I used left over high temp hose connected to the compression fitting of the dump valve. I have decided to dump air externally, but the sound isn?t the greatest (sounds like a leak). You could just let the valve dump inside the engine bay, it?s no big deal.
3) After you have everything connected and finished, take a look over things to make sure everything is fine. I would of course suggest giving your sealant, whatever you used, time to dry. After you are confident everything is okay, start up the car. Next up is adjustment:
The beauty of this system is that you can open the ports without load, as the air pump pressure is only dependent on engine speed. This is good, because some adjustment is needed to get the ports opening properly. You will need to see a tachometer, or have someone help you out in controlling the RPMs. Take a look at the actuator rod to see how it opens. I found that with the dump valve closed, the ports were opening too early, fully opened around 3000 rpm, and they would not close very fast. If I opened the valve all way, it opened too late, starting around 4500, and was very slow in opening. Just play around for a bit until you get it to start opening around 3500-3800, and then fully open about 4500. Only weird thing I noticed was that the actuators would sometimes get fully open, and then if I stopped increasing the RPMs, they would close a bit. I guess my actuators aren?t that airtight or something. Kind of annoying, but I eventually adjusted it to work fairly well.
As for driving impressions, there is nothing to be noticed. Which is good, because that tells me it is working as good as the stock system. Just make sure you adjust it right using the dump valve. I did find that the toilet hose I used was getting kind of soft after long, hard drives. It should be fine, but I?m going to be using some flame-retardant hose insulation to be safe.
Total project cost was about $30 US. I think it could have definitely be done cheaper though. One thing I would change is to use smaller components, especially that union. I used ¾ inch and I realize now that is way too big. I couldn?t really find matching parts to do that though. You may also notice I have to use a few adapters to get the different component sizes to match. You could definitely simply this.
Anyways, that is my little write up. I probably forgot a bunch of things. And kind of useless for me since I am getting the proper S5 intake manifold, lol (I have an S5 w/S4 motor). Questions and comments are welcomed...
Last edited by coldfire; 07-16-04 at 03:37 AM.
07-16-04, 03:35 AM
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hmmm...looking through the archives and there doesn't seem to be anything like a write up like this 
oh yeah, let me know if the pictures don't work. if somebody can host them, that would be great...
oh yeah, let me know if the pictures don't work. if somebody can host them, that would be great...
07-18-04, 05:11 PM
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opening aux air ports
This seems like a great idea but I was wondering if the same results could be achieved by putting a stop valve off the T on the air pump hose. this would allow you to adjust the amount of air being bled off and this should allow the same activation with out a dump valve and the annoying hissing of the dumped air.
07-18-04, 07:26 PM
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yes^, that would give you adjustment over how much air you are sending to the actuators, but like i said, the reason for the dump valve is 2 fold:
1) control how much pressure is in the system
2) allows pressure to dissipate quickly once you let off the throttle/decelerating
remember that the airpump is constantly pumping air.
oh, and as for the hissing, i recently took the hose off the dump valve, and you can barely hear it
1) control how much pressure is in the system
2) allows pressure to dissipate quickly once you let off the throttle/decelerating
remember that the airpump is constantly pumping air.
oh, and as for the hissing, i recently took the hose off the dump valve, and you can barely hear it
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07-19-04, 07:03 PM
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I have been getting ready to do this mod myself (think about it since I removed my sleeves and killed my low end). This writeup is very good and has convinced me to do it. Thanks for taking the time!
07-20-04, 12:02 PM
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okay, i am going to attach the pictures to this thread also, just in case the ones posted in the writeup aren't working. oh, and if you are reading this 2 years from and can't see any pics, just PM/e-mail me. i know i always get pissed off reading through the archive and not being able to see and of the pics.
pics:
pics:
07-22-04, 11:43 AM
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thanks^
my interior is not-so-clean anymore though. right now i have my whole exhaust system and a bunch of other crap in the back. and i'm finding my premix oil spilled in the strangest places...
my interior is not-so-clean anymore though. right now i have my whole exhaust system and a bunch of other crap in the back. and i'm finding my premix oil spilled in the strangest places...
07-22-04, 06:09 PM
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cool, i got a thread in the archives
as for the "more pricey" solutions, you are looking at stuff like using an RPM switch to allow air to the actuators at a certain RPM, using an electric air pump (again with an RPM switch), converting to an S5 intake system, etc.
a search will yield you plenty of results for this, and i think there is also a electric air pump write up in the archives.
as for the "more pricey" solutions, you are looking at stuff like using an RPM switch to allow air to the actuators at a certain RPM, using an electric air pump (again with an RPM switch), converting to an S5 intake system, etc.
a search will yield you plenty of results for this, and i think there is also a electric air pump write up in the archives.
07-22-04, 06:13 PM
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Originally Posted by RotaryResurrection
I've had a writeup (not as good as this one, mind you) on my webpage for 3 years now about this. Good job, though.
actually i remember coming across your write up not too long ago, when i was searching the forum for defunct auxilarly port solutions. but i'm glad you think i have a good write up here
07-25-04, 05:54 PM
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i've been reading a few things, and i have been thinking about the dump line coming from the ACV (the one that has that air chamber and silencer). now, as i understand it, the ACV should be dumping air at 3800 RPM. now at first i thought that this would be the perfect line to tap into, because it's only purpose is to dump air, and it dumps at the RPM i want my 5/6 ports to open. HOWEVER, i don't think it is that simple.
1) That dump may not be opening everytime you hit 3800 rpm. i don't know if anybody wants to verify this, but i don't think it will open every single time you pass 3800 RPM.
2) There may not be enough air pressure in this dump line to open up the actuators fully. I haven't tested this, but maybe someone can provide some info for this?
3) My ACV my not even be working right. or might, can't really tell unless i acutally hook everything up to this line.
anyways, considering these, that is why i did not pick that dump line, and instead choose the air pump line.
but maybe some of you can give me a little more info on this, and i can decide which alternative is better.
1) That dump may not be opening everytime you hit 3800 rpm. i don't know if anybody wants to verify this, but i don't think it will open every single time you pass 3800 RPM.
2) There may not be enough air pressure in this dump line to open up the actuators fully. I haven't tested this, but maybe someone can provide some info for this?
3) My ACV my not even be working right. or might, can't really tell unless i acutally hook everything up to this line.
anyways, considering these, that is why i did not pick that dump line, and instead choose the air pump line.
but maybe some of you can give me a little more info on this, and i can decide which alternative is better.
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