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Installing an Aeromotive Fuel Pressure Regulator
Hopefully after this I can get some of you to understand how important of an upgrade this is. My car is almost all stock with the exception of stage I mods, and an AFPR made a huge difference in the torque and power delivery of power. Its also one more tool you can use for tuning.
The Aeromotive AFPR may not be the best AFPR on the market now, but it is by far one of the more proven for DSM's. I have seen way too many DSM's around running them which made it the obvious choice. Luckily I scored a used one through the classifieds here with a SS line. From what i understand the Aeromotive AFPR can come as a kit for our cars, and mine was just that, a 5 minute bolt on. Just make sure to unbolt your stock FPR when your engine is cold to elimninate the chance for a fire to start.
Basically you just unbolt your existing FPR from the fuel rail that has 2 small 10mm bolts. Make sure to grab a rag and watch your eyes. Safety glasses are recommended for this step since the fuel is under 30 or so PSI. put the rag around the area underneath the FPR, remove the main fuel hose, drain it onto the rag, and slowly pull the stock FPR out exposing the bottom first. This way the fuel that is under pressure in the regulator will drain out towards the bottom and not spray all over your face.
I used some vasoline on the O-ring of the AFPR and it basically slides in place of the old FPR (for the kit only). You then can either replace the bolts or reuse them, no gaskets are needed. The SS hose is then bolted onto the adapter plate and that hose threads onto the AFPR. DO NOT USE Teflon tape! These are crush fittings that don't need to be sealed so you just bolt it on and go. I drilled holes in my drivers side upper strut mount to mount my AFPR although I've seen them mounted just about anywhere.
Now comes the guage. I chose the B&M since it too is also proven. You can use a liquid filled, although the B&M doesn't vary at all. I did choose to use teflon tape for the guage since the threads looked a bit cheaper then the SS fittings. I only wrapped it twice though just enough to seal and not find any left over plugging my lines.
I then pulled my MPI fuse out and turned the engine over several times to check the pressure. You'll need the proper sized allen wrench and box-end for the adjustment procedure. This is where it gets tricky. From what I understand 37 is for 1G's whereas 43 is recommended for 2G's. I ran 37 PSI and noticed an increase in knock so I adjusted it to 43 and took it for a drive. I went from barely breaking loose upon launch to getting totally sideways! the overall increase in low-end torque was incredible and the power is much more linear than it was before.
Of course your experience may vary since I was already overiding my stock fuel system with a 255 Walbrough. I also noticed an increase in mileage and now I'll have to retune it since all I can smell is gas!
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