[Twin cam head for the L6 from Derek at Datsunworks]

Location doesn't change the accuracy - it's the resolution of the encoder. The stock Nissan optical wheel has 360 slots on the outer track. It's actually too high of a resolution for a lot of stand alone ECUS.

 

If you were going to put the encoder on the cam you wouldn't want to put it inside the valve cover. How to interface to the cam is the challenge. If the sensor could be mounted to the head itself rather than the valve cover it would make lining up the interface a lot more precise.

 

Location has everything to do with it! If the cam is rotating @ ½ the RPM of the crank, then 1° out @ the cam is, 2° out @ the crank, that's halved your resolution right there, and that's not counting lash and chain stretch.

 

Like Derek said in post #721 the crank is where you should be timing everything, all the resolution in the world isn't going to help you if what you're reading is wrong to begin with.

[Twin cam head for the L6 from Derek at Datsunworks]

I am thinking of using the distrbutor only for the single sensor for TDC on #1, then a crank sensor for the sequential needs.

I thought the the same, crank sensor because it's the most accurate, and modified distributor for TDC reference. No messing with the cams or valve cover unnecessarily, why would you when you already have a distributor hole and mounting setup that you would block off if not in use? and if you're worried about looks I'm sure it could be made a lot smaller and neater than a stock distributor.

[Twin cam head for the L6 from Derek at Datsunworks]

Sorry about the wall of text that I had first put up.

 

Like most people, I tend ramble when I'm drunk.

But in a sober light, I still think my points are valid.

 

Chris.

[Twin cam head for the L6 from Derek at Datsunworks]

This is what I call an "Epic Build", the one thing that has truely perplexed me with my 25 year love affair with S30 2 seaters is why would they make a car with styling that is timeless, physical dimentions that make it handle like no other car can equiped with MacPherson struts at the front and Chapman struts at the rear (yes most people think that they have MacPherson struts all round but there is a difference!).

 

And then equip it with an engine that is serverely let down by the design of the head? Single overhead cam is one thing, but it's not even a cross flow?!!! When so much of the car is a forward design for it's time (even though strut suspension was a compromise), why would they settle for a head design that is way behind the rest.

 

The '432' was cool to say the least, and yes the American market would need a larger capacity engine, but to restrict it in such a way was just incredibly short sighted.

 

Thank god Derek is doing something about it because I don't have the 'conections' or the '$$$' to get an S20 engine or an OS Giken exravagance.

 

I was seriously considering an RB26 build and if power and performance was all that I cared about then that is probably the way I would go, but it is my honest opinion that the best engine for an S30 is a Nissan L2X, twin cam 24v crossflow head with a modern 4vcc design.

 

Keep up the brilliant work Derek, I can't wait to see this in action, and I know I'm not the only one.