Fuel Turbo Corvairs

[PressurizedPancake]

To the OP, NorwayCorvair-your fuel is rated at the pump on RON (Research Octane Number), whereas in the US it is (RON+MON)/2, so it is the average of Research Octane Number and Motor Octane Number. 95 RON is comparable to US 89, and 98 RON is comparable to US 93 (Which we consider Premium Unleaded fuel)

As previous poster have stated, being an air cooled and boosted engine, I would put all the octane in the tank I could if you plan on running in the hills or driving hard in general. Remember the fuels available when these were designed was much higher in octane and had lead. Hope this helps.

[NorwayCorvair]

To the OP, NorwayCorvair-your fuel is rated at the pump on RON (Research Octane Number), whereas in the US it is (RON+MON)/2, so it is the average of Research Octane Number and Motor Octane Number. 95 RON is comparable to US 89, and 98 RON is comparable to US 93 (Which we consider Premium Unleaded fuel)

As previous poster have stated, being an air cooled and boosted engine, I would put all the octane in the tank I could if you plan on running in the hills or driving hard in general. Remember the fuels available when these were designed was much higher in octane and had lead. Hope this helps.

Thank you very much for that information
Then I'm switching over to 98 (the best octane we have) in the spring!
To get higher octane than that, I need a Octane Booster of some sort, what you think?

Gotta love this forum!

[miniman82]

Race gas, if you can get the no-lead stuff. When I lived in CA, there was a Valero station which sold 100. Perhaps there is a station near where you live doing the same thing? I don't recommend additives now, I had a bout with my spark plugs turning orange and fouling out...

[NorwayCorvair]

Race gas, if you can get the no-lead stuff. When I lived in CA, there was a Valero station which sold 100. Perhaps there is a station near where you live doing the same thing? I don't recommend additives now, I had a bout with my spark plugs turning orange and fouling out...

Unfortunately no
Best around here is 98 no lead.

Race Gas is nearest from here some 310+ miles away

[miniman82]

Some weekend racers I know have taken to ordering the 50-gallon drums of C-12 VP fuel, and keeping it in their garage till they need it. Fire hazard warning of home storage goes without saying.

[notched]

Here in New Jersey we have E85 and can get E98. Here is what can be done on E98. This is a car using Pro EFI with the GM flex fuel sensor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YERYkUKAsf0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Reindeer]

Lots of good information in this thread.

AND DON'T TRUST THE PRESSURE RETARD! I have yet to come across one that did what it was supposed to do 100% of the time, they are far to inconsistent for me. That (and breaking starter noses from overly advanced base timing) was enough for me to put a programmable ignition system on the car, and I haven't looked back since.

As a new turbo Corsa owner, this interests me. I'm assuming this is something along the lines of eliminating the points and switching to a HEI type setup, and having some type of sensor and ignition box that adjusts the timing based on vacuum/boost?

Something along the lines of this:
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=6198" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[notched]

No the system that miniman and I use is an EDIS 6 system that is crank triggered and uses a small box programmable box called a Megajolt to map timing. It eliminates the distributor and uses a coil pack to fire the plugs.
I run the system on my turbo Corsa and can't say enough good things about it. It is not a bolt on, but once you get the gist of the wiring and location of the crank sensor in relation to the crank you will never look back.
There is another system that I do not have experience with yet that looks promising and that is the MSD 6AL2. But it is very expensive at approx $400. But that is the only way you can keep a distributor (if that is your thing) and have a programmable ignition. It does not include any kind of breaker-less/electronic parts to eliminate the points. So you can be in to it for a much larger chunk of change.
The Megajolt/EDIS system uses commonly available Ford parts that can be had from the local auto parts store or salvage yard.
I think I have well under $300 into mine and that is everything.

[miniman82]

There is another system that I do not have experience with yet that looks promising and that is the MSD 6AL2. But it is very expensive at approx $400. But that is the only way you can keep a distributor (if that is your thing) and have a programmable ignition.

Well, there are other MSD boxes but not at a price that's enticing to low-buck Corvair people. A company out of CA called CB Performance sells a unit they call the 'Black Box', which gives you map based control over the distributor if you care to have a look at it:

http://www.cbperformance.com/ProductDet ... tCode=2013" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

At $199, it's priced under even what I was able to do with EDIS. I however maintain that the degree (pun intended) of reliability and accuracy you get with a crank trigger system like EDIS 6/Megajolt far outstrips a simple conversion box like this, but if you haven't got the time to figure out EDIS or the money for a Safeguard, this might be a good in-between compromise sort of thing.

[notched]

Wow Nick, That looks like a great option for people who want to keep a distributor. Of course, it is just the programmable controls. Those who want to stick with a distributor still have deal with points or fork over more money for some kind of breakerless conversion but that is still a great option. Thank you for posting.

[Scott V]

it looks like a good low cost option. its got fixed dwell so its best if its run/a msd or some other ignition amp.

-Scott V.

[miniman82]

Those reasons among others are what led me to pick EDIS over something like this, my main gripe of course being timing scatter. But like I said, you have to pick modifications that you feel comfortable with. That's probably what keeps more people from doing EDIS conversions- that and fear of what people will think when they don't see a distributor.

[notched]

Yeah I am very happy with my set up. No need for an MSD box either. No spark scatter. It just plain works. You should have seen the local Corvair guys calling each other over to look at it and try to figure out how it works. :)

[miniman82]

Funny how those guys over on the 'other forum' just wanted to argue with me about it, glad at least one person latched on to it. I figure if I can reach at least 5-10 people and get them to see the light, I've done my good deed.

[notched]

I will have it at the convention in Knoxville in June so plenty of others will see it. I might also have some EDIS and other Corvair specialty goodies for sale.

[miniman82]

At one point I was looking at doing a run of conversion pulleys and brackets (to mount the sensor), but no one was interested in making their engine better.