More Spark, More Control: FuelTech’s New GEN3 MAX2000 and PRO HV Driver Explained

EFI engines that make big horsepower numbers require a lot of spark and precise control over the fuel injectors. FuelTech has engineered new driver boxes designed to ensure the right amount of fuel and spark make their way into an engine’s combustion chamber. The FTSPARK GEN3 MAX2000 ignition system and the PRO HV Injector Driver are the results of those creative efforts.

FuelTech’s FTSPARK GEN3 MAX2000 produces a massive spark current with increased spark duration, improving combustion stability. At any energy level, this unit maintains a high output voltage, even at just 150mJ. The FTSPARK GEN3 MAX2000 is capable of supporting eight independent ignition channels. This provides engine builders and tuners with a great solution for numerous multi-cylinder engine platforms.

Flexibility within engine control integration was a key area that FuelTech wanted to address. That led to the FTSPARK GEN3 MAX2000, including the following features:

• Advanced individual-channel diagnostics via CANBUS
• Operation with a single ignition output, freeing ECU resources for additional strategies
• Motorsport-standard ignition input compatibility for seamless use with any ECU brand

Racers are hard on equipment, so there was a push to make the FTSPARK GEN3 MAX2000 extremely durable. The case is made from machined aluminum and carries an IP67 waterproof rating. Additionally, the case’s structural design provides mechanical resistance to vibration, shock, and extreme G-forces.

Howard Tanner from FuelTech adds some detail as to why the FTSPARK GEN3 MAX2000 was brought to market.

“One of the challenges we have in high-power alcohol engines is to ignite extremely rich air/fuel mixtures with consistency. This is why these controllers are an ideal solution for high-boost, high-compression, alcohol-based, or nitromethane applications where reliable combustion is critical,”

The biggest innovation the FTSPARK GEN3 MAX2000 possesses is its Multispark mode. Previous ignition systems fired a single spark during the combustion cycle. This system can be set up to provide a rapid series of sparks. That rapid series delivers a dramatic improvement in ignition reliability.

The big benefit is reliable ignition for very rich air/fuel mixtures, which can be a challenge for tuners working with engines that run on alcohol or nitromethane and produce large amounts of boost. This is also done while simultaneously performing like a high-energy inductive system on lean mixtures.

Fuel injector control solutions are important for modern high-performance engines. The PRO HV Injector Driver was developed by FuelTech to provide high-level peak-and-hold control, high-voltage actuation, and diagnostic capabilities in a single package.

High-pressure Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) systems are the norm in OEM applications and are becoming more popular in the high-performance aftermarket. The PRO HV Injector Driver works with GDI applications right out of the box.

“Direct Injection requires very precise actuation of the injector. The injection window on GDI is about a quarter of the time you have with a port fuel engine. This is why very high pressures are used and injectors that need a large amount of current to open. This is an ongoing struggle with OEM GDI applications that we improve by being able to drive the injector with more precise current control. The PRO HV driver significantly reduces injector opening time, delivers much better stability at high RPM and high load, and improves combustion stability when an ECU is operating in Stratified or Homogeneous modes,” Tanner explains.

Now, the PRO HV Injector Driver will also work with engines that use port injection setups with large and low-impedance injectors. It can make a big difference in reducing injector dead time. This reduction will create better fuel atomization at low load levels, smooth out the engine’s idle, improve transient fueling, and help create a more linear fuel map. This means you can run a large injector on a street car without having drivability issues.

“When you’re running an 820 lb/hr injector and asking it to idle at very low pulse widths, you end up running the injector in a very bad area we refer to as dead time, or the ‘nonlinear’ part of the curve. This makes the injector less stable and sometimes tricky to control. Much of this is due to the mechanics of large injectors and the time it takes to fully charge the windings of the injector. The PRO HV driver really nails the power at these lazy areas and can clean up the injector’s stability,” Tanner says.

The PRO HV driver uses the FuelTech CAN system to provide diagnostics if there are injector issues. It will scan for open-load conditions, short circuits, overcurrent and overheating, abnormal voltage behavior, and injector performance deviations during boost, peak, or hold phases. This will help tuners troubleshoot any issues quicker and with a higher degree of accuracy.

You can learn more about the FTSPARK GEN3 MAX2000 ignition system and the PRO HV Injector Driver right here on the FuelTech website.