Swap to different ignition system... - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

97camryman · 03-20-2006, 10:59 PM

In the 4th gen Camry's the ignition system is a distributorless wasted spark with the coil and igniter as a self contained unit. This makes it impossible to retard timing under boost without going full standalone. I would like to try and convert my car to an older setup that uses a seperate igniter so that I can intercept the signal with an msd btm and pull some timing under boost. Do you guys think this is possible? What about changing the ECU to OBD1 and changing the necessary sensors and such? I am very skilled at working with wiring but the setup has me a bit frustrated...

Ok it seems like I would need the distributor, wire, ignitor, coil, and ecu at the least... Any ideas on whether or not I can bolt up a distributor on my current head?

touringcamry · 03-23-2006, 12:15 AM

Try asking a mod to move this thread to the hardcore forum and see if you get any responses there.

97camryman · 03-25-2006, 02:05 PM

Well any mods wanna move this thread for me, I appreciate it!

terrastrife · 03-25-2006, 03:43 PM

even if it was possible to convert to a distributor (not sure, i have a 3vz :P), the ecu will no longer be able to control it and you will end up needing a standalone anyway =)

97camryman · 03-25-2006, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by terrastrife

even if it was possible to convert to a distributor (not sure, i have a 3vz :P), the ecu will no longer be able to control it and you will end up needing a standalone anyway =)

I have a 5SFE. I do not think that a standalone is necessary though, If I grabbed a ECU to match the head that has a distributor then it should work fine right? Basically I would chop the ECU and connector out of a 94 Camry, grab the head or possibly just dizzy, wires, igniter, coil and then rewire my wiring harness to fit the plug that plugs into the 94 ECU which of course is meant to run that particular engine with a distributor. The blocks are basically identical its just the ignition system that is different. Then I wire a MSD BTM in with the igniter and I can retard timing per pound of boost without having to retard timing across the whole range (base timing). I can get an ECU for $50, whole head with dizzy, igniter, coil and wires for $150. Why would I need a standalone?

terrastrife · 03-25-2006, 05:32 PM

hmm thats sound smuch better, for some reason i was thinking you had a coil packed 1mz or something =\

i suppose the msd system will be able to correct and variance that an older ecu wouldnt be able to handle, but as for the rest of the electronics i dunno. did the air metering/fuelling set up change over the 5sfe years as well?

97camryman · 03-27-2006, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by terrastrife

hmm thats sound smuch better, for some reason i was thinking you had a coil packed 1mz or something =\

i suppose the msd system will be able to correct and variance that an older ecu wouldnt be able to handle, but as for the rest of the electronics i dunno. did the air metering/fuelling set up change over the 5sfe years as well?

Not sure about the air and fueling changes that was something I was hoping someone could shed some light on. My guess is yes but not much. The displacement and bore and stroke is all the same so with an older head it would theoretically be the same.