Phil@PnP Tech
09-19-2014, 07:09 PM
In my quest for more fuel and to run E85, I'm upgrading my fuel pump. I decided to go with the ZL1 pump mainly because of cost but it seems to closest plug and play option out there.
I picked up a complete 1400 mile ZL1 tank assembly for the cost of what just a pump/sending unit goes for new.
23348
I now have the wire harness, cross over tube, secondary sending unit, fuel feed line, and the main pump/sending unit.
I realize I was in for some additional labor removing the fuel tank rather than cutting a hole in the car. It was a pain getting the tank out but I could probably do it again in under 2 hours knowing what I know now.
I know there is some issues even with the ZL1 sending unit and the correct fuel calculations. The first thing I did was tie some fishing line to the stock level arm and record the resistance of the fuel stroke of the sending unit. I did it with the unit in the tank just in case the body of the tank itself limited the travel. The main sending unit was right on the full sweep... 248.2 ohms empty and 40.9 full. Almost the same for the secondary sending unit... 248.4 empty and 40.4 full. Next I put the ZL1 pump in with some fishing line tied to it. 240.1 ohms empty and 50.2 ohms full. On the empty, the float was sitting on the bottom of the tank but when full, it wouldn't reach the top of the tank like the stock unit would. I set both pumps side by side and measured the stroke. At empty, the stock rod as 1-1/8" above the ground and the Zl1 was 7/8". At full, the stock 7-3/8 and the ZL1 was 7-1/8". The stroke is the same, just the Zl1 pump need bent about 1/4" up to even out with the stock pump.
23349
I put the ZL1 pump back in and this time I got consistent readings with the fishing line as I did with stock. To my surprise, the secondary unit did not need any adjustment. It gave the same readings at stock.
23350
An interesting part of the ZL1 crossover tube is the addition of a third winged pickup that sticks up into the corner of the tank. I don't know if this is a Camaro thing or ZL1 thing but I guess it helps with fuel pickup in high lateral G's.
23351
23352
The next thing I like about the camaro tank is that there is a fuel pressure sensor in the feed line and the wiring already in the harness. I plan on using this fuel pressure sensor to run the PWM controller. The only hurdle I face now is that the ZL1 feed line does not "Y" like the V6/SS camaro line does. The ZL1 line wraps around the side and into the hardline. The G8 tank is a bit more bulged in that corner and it does not hug it as well. I think if I had the regular camaro line, it would snap down into the grove and I could tuck the FPS away a little bit better. The Zl1 line does seem to be a bit larger though. Here is what I'm referring too.
23353
The last part is the harness. The Zl1 harness does plug right into G8 body harness. It has 4 additional wires though... 3 for the FPS and 1 extra ground. All other wires match up withe the G8. I will be modifying the Zl1 harness though. I will be running 12GA wire from the pump connector to the body connector for future BAP needs and also the purge solenoid plug is different. I will have to swap the pigtail over on that too. The last piece of wiring I will have to do is a jumper harness. I will make a small jumper harness to plug in between the body harness and the fuel pump harness. I will be able to break out the pressure signal and power feeds to and from the PWM controller.
I am waiting on all the connector piece parts to show up in the mail. I will keep the updated as I progress.... All in all, I will have less than $500 bucks in this setup and that includes 52lb injectors.
I picked up a complete 1400 mile ZL1 tank assembly for the cost of what just a pump/sending unit goes for new.
23348
I now have the wire harness, cross over tube, secondary sending unit, fuel feed line, and the main pump/sending unit.
I realize I was in for some additional labor removing the fuel tank rather than cutting a hole in the car. It was a pain getting the tank out but I could probably do it again in under 2 hours knowing what I know now.
I know there is some issues even with the ZL1 sending unit and the correct fuel calculations. The first thing I did was tie some fishing line to the stock level arm and record the resistance of the fuel stroke of the sending unit. I did it with the unit in the tank just in case the body of the tank itself limited the travel. The main sending unit was right on the full sweep... 248.2 ohms empty and 40.9 full. Almost the same for the secondary sending unit... 248.4 empty and 40.4 full. Next I put the ZL1 pump in with some fishing line tied to it. 240.1 ohms empty and 50.2 ohms full. On the empty, the float was sitting on the bottom of the tank but when full, it wouldn't reach the top of the tank like the stock unit would. I set both pumps side by side and measured the stroke. At empty, the stock rod as 1-1/8" above the ground and the Zl1 was 7/8". At full, the stock 7-3/8 and the ZL1 was 7-1/8". The stroke is the same, just the Zl1 pump need bent about 1/4" up to even out with the stock pump.
23349
I put the ZL1 pump back in and this time I got consistent readings with the fishing line as I did with stock. To my surprise, the secondary unit did not need any adjustment. It gave the same readings at stock.
23350
An interesting part of the ZL1 crossover tube is the addition of a third winged pickup that sticks up into the corner of the tank. I don't know if this is a Camaro thing or ZL1 thing but I guess it helps with fuel pickup in high lateral G's.
23351
23352
The next thing I like about the camaro tank is that there is a fuel pressure sensor in the feed line and the wiring already in the harness. I plan on using this fuel pressure sensor to run the PWM controller. The only hurdle I face now is that the ZL1 feed line does not "Y" like the V6/SS camaro line does. The ZL1 line wraps around the side and into the hardline. The G8 tank is a bit more bulged in that corner and it does not hug it as well. I think if I had the regular camaro line, it would snap down into the grove and I could tuck the FPS away a little bit better. The Zl1 line does seem to be a bit larger though. Here is what I'm referring too.
23353
The last part is the harness. The Zl1 harness does plug right into G8 body harness. It has 4 additional wires though... 3 for the FPS and 1 extra ground. All other wires match up withe the G8. I will be modifying the Zl1 harness though. I will be running 12GA wire from the pump connector to the body connector for future BAP needs and also the purge solenoid plug is different. I will have to swap the pigtail over on that too. The last piece of wiring I will have to do is a jumper harness. I will make a small jumper harness to plug in between the body harness and the fuel pump harness. I will be able to break out the pressure signal and power feeds to and from the PWM controller.
I am waiting on all the connector piece parts to show up in the mail. I will keep the updated as I progress.... All in all, I will have less than $500 bucks in this setup and that includes 52lb injectors.