Fuel Injection System
DUAL FUEL (PUMPS) 04.15.09
Thinking ahead to the first runs of Banks' new Top Dragster ... All of a sudden comes the realization that the engine will run with a new twin-fuel pump configuration that's just this side of untested.
The 6.6L Duramax in the S-10 Sidewinder pickup runs two CP3 fuel pumps: one in the stock position between the cylinder banks at the front of the engine, and one set up like a dry sump oil pump, driven by a belt alongside and in front of the engine. Because the stock-located pump is, both pumps were driven at engine speed.
On the other hand, the Dragster's twin fuel pumps will both be located external to the engine block in a stacked configuration on the right side of the Duramax's auxiliary component drive package. Here both Bosch C3P pumps will be driven at the same speed, but in this location they'll run at a predetermined percentage of engine RPM, letting them do their work more in a speed range that they were designed for and where they are the most efficient. Remember, Banks is taking these highly-refined Duramax DIESEL engines (don't try this at home) to engine speeds upwards (and maybe a few beyond) of 5,800 screaming revolutions per minute(!).
Where the above "realization" comes in is that there won't be time to dyno the engine using the new external twin fuel pump configuration before the first on-the-ground/at-the-dragstrip test runs coming up in a few weeks.
Of course that's where experience and prior testing makes all the difference with this seasoned team. They have the data that they need, and the Banks-developed Bosch engine control module is fully ready to take advantage of the fact that the pumps will now be running in their "sweet spot" (if you will) where they're putting out plenty of pumping power without straining.
And, oh yes, we'll need a "driver" (electronic control unit) that will tell both pumps to work in unison. Not a problem for the folks in "North Engineering" (still in Azusa, but at the North end of the Banks 7-acre campus). They design, build, and test a new fuel pump control module that will run two pumps in record time.
That's just a small reminder of how things work in the ACE shop at Banks. There's a lot of unspoken confidence that's born of experience and hard work. The only true substitute for experience is more experience.
There's good news and better news here. The team effort that getting a completely new competition car from bare frame to race ready in a matter of few weeks is an integral part of the culture at Banks (that's the good news) and it works well. The even better news is that here untried ideas and theories all have a good deal of practical experience behind them ... And a very good chance of working exactly right the first time.
