1G Dynatec ARC-2 IGNITION for 91-94 cars,, INSTALL and RESULTS

[Kapok6]

I have blowby and just a stock restalled converter right now. That being said, on the dsm76, if I brake boost it, I think I saw 13psi at 4000rpm with a 100% stock ignition, and studderbox/2 step set at 4k. That being said, I am thinking the spark cut and timing retard would allow boost to build faster, and also make a lot less torque due to the retarded timing, creating less stress on the trans. I absolutely intend on running it off a relay activated by the brake switch. I also want to incorporate a toggle switch as I don't want timing/spark messed with during regular braking.

Now I just need to see if I can find a unit in my price range, as I can't really float the $370 right now . Just an idea I have been kicking around in my head a while. I really don't want the trans to take a dump any sooner than it has to.

 

[94allwheeldsm]

Why not wire it to the E-brake lever?

 

[SonySlave]

Why not wire it to the E-brake lever?

There's no reason why you couldn't. Just personal preference.

 

[94allwheeldsm]

Just seems a hassle to wire all that into a toggle switch to on/off to the pedal, just my opinion.

 

[Kapok6]

When you have worked on these things for a decade, things like toggle switches and relays aren't usually that much hassle.

My reasoning for the brake pedal as opposed to the e-brake is that I don't want to f with the e-brake while brake boosting, would rather have both hands on the wheel as this car gets squirley from a launch. It really just comes down to personal preference.

 

[SonySlave]

When you have worked on these things for a decade, things like toggle switches and relays aren't usually that much hassle.

My reasoning for the brake pedal as opposed to the e-brake is that I don't want to f with the e-brake while brake boosting, would rather have both hands on the wheel as this car gets squirley from a launch. It really just comes down to personal preference.

Exact same reason I tied mine into the brake pedal switch as well. Both my DIS-2 2-step and my vacuum pump activation are tied to relays activated by the clutch pedal. It may sound boring but all I have to do is put my car in 'Drive', stall up the converter, and go. Never have to take my hands off the steering wheel.

Again, though, personal preference. I know a couple people that use the aftermarket steering wheels with the red buttons in the center to activate the 2-step. Another person I know uses a ratchet shifter that has a button on top. They all work!

 

[Kapok6]

Exact same reason I tied mine into the brake pedal switch as well. Both my DIS-2 2-step and my vacuum pump activation are tied to relays activated by the clutch pedal. It may sound boring but all I have to do is put my car in 'Drive', stall up the converter, and go. Never have to take my hands off the steering wheel.

Again, though, personal preference. I know a couple people that use the aftermarket steering wheels with the red buttons in the center to activate the 2-step. Another person I know uses a ratchet shifter that has a button on top. They all work!

I have an audi vac pump as well hooked to a relay that is activated when set parameters are met based on rpm and vss.

The timing retard and 2 step will be activated by the brake pedal. I am very interested to see if things work out as I plan them. ha ha.

I just ordered the arc 2 from a member on here. I doubt I will have it on or before saturday, but if I do, I plan on installing this weekend and giving it a whirl.

 

[serviceguy]

Since I have a number of spare coil pack connectors available I was thinking it would be worth buying the universal harness and wire it myself. I believe I just need confirmation to the following points?

a - Are the two black coil ground wires that are going to the coils shorted within the unit (thus needing only one to be brought to the coil connector) or they need to be shorted on the harness?

b - Is necessary to keep the condenser originally on the coil pack and if so does it have to be connected to the +12V originally shared by the two coil and rerouted to the orange wire on the harness? (I was thinking to use a 4 pin connector and reroute the wire from the condenser to the spare 4th pin for a stock looking appearance).

I am referring to the wire color as documented on installation instruction for the unit as found on RRE website.

 

[Kapok6]

Arc-2 arrived on Friday. I got it installed on Friday and cruised on Saturday and Sunday. I have the studder box and timing retard set to ground through a relay based on the brake pedal. Studder box is set to 4000rpm. With the DSM ECU's fuel cut for the studder box, I could build 13psi at 4000rpms. With the arc-2 spark cut studder box set to 4000rpm, I now launch at 18psi and brake all 4 loose, spinning through 1st gear.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

At what point do you usually need aftermarket ignition? I havent done any research about it but I'm about to read through this thread.

 

[SonySlave]

Arc-2 arrived on Friday. I got it installed on Friday and cruised on Saturday and Sunday. I have the studder box and timing retard set to ground through a relay based on the brake pedal. Studder box is set to 4000rpm. With the DSM ECU's fuel cut for the studder box, I could build 13psi at 4000rpms. With the arc-2 spark cut studder box set to 4000rpm, I now launch at 18psi and brake all 4 loose, spinning through 1st gear.

That's great that it worked out so well! Sounds like you just need to turn the 2-step down a few clicks to maybe the 3600RPM range to pull out a few pounds of boost and gain back a little traction and you'll be ready to rock!

At what point do you usually need aftermarket ignition? I havent done any research about it but I'm about to read through this thread.

The stock DSM coils are known to be pretty stout. I couldn't put an exact number to when an ignition box is needed but I was making well over 500HP with stock coils before I got my MSD and I wasn't having any spark blowout issues at that point yet. A lot of the automatic crowd are really just looking for a good ignition-based 2-step (instead of the fuel cut-based 2-step of ECMLink) and end up going with an MSD DIS-2 or Dynatek ARC-2 boxes. They just get the added ignition amplification as an additional benefit. That's what happened to me.

 

[Kapok6]

At what point do you usually need aftermarket ignition? I havent done any research about it but I'm about to read through this thread.

Couldn't tell you. I didn't get it because I "needed" it per say. I got it as an "extra", not necessity. I had no spark/ignition issues before this. It was just an easy way of getting spark cut instead of fuel cut and timing retard. I don't know how much HP i'm at..never been on a dyno or down a track, but I run 30psi on a 59lb.min turbo w/ e85, so wherever that puts me.

Sony's response above is spot on.

That's great that it worked out so well! Sounds like you just need to turn the 2-step down a few clicks to maybe the 3600RPM range to pull out a few pounds of boost and gain back a little traction and you'll be ready to rock! .

Yeah, I'm going to turn the studder box down and see where that leads me. 18psi is waayyy to much without slicks.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Interesting, i havnt had any issues with my stock coil yet but if drivability is improved why not!

I would use ecmlink for 2 step and timing so i guess it would be pretty simple if i wanted a stronger spark.

I'm gapped .019 and 133mph traps no issues.

Gonna look at prices right now, probably still other things i could use before this though (smim)

 

[Kapok6]

some may see improved drivability, some may not. I personally have not really seen a difference in putting around town. The main advantage I noticed was boost building capability due to spark cut instead of fuel cut.

 

[DSMReviver]

"Spark Restrike up to 4500 RPM" does it mean after 4500 its gone?

How is it compared to AEM, MSD and etc..?

On AEM it said multi park "Multi-Strike capability of up to 10 sparks per ignition trigger (20
degrees)" what is this mean compares to Dynatek?

 

[DSM4LIFE-AWD]

The 90 four pin square connector is to provide the extra pin needed for the tach adapter output on the 90 coil pack since it's not part of the power transistor like it is in the 91-99 cars. So it's not an extra power wire.

On a 1G you should watch out for the condenser that's part of the coil pack. Most of the CDI boxes run the coils at a much higher voltage than the stock ignition (the ARC2 uses 500v instead of 12v) and the condenser will pretend it's a firecracker at that voltage. It should be disconnected from the power to the coils and attached to the 12v power to the CDI.

I just started my car after 2 years with the arc-2 and 300m COP setup. My rpm doesn't work. I'm not using the condenser/capacitor. Should I ?

RPM is working in DSMLink ...

 

[RvlutionMtrsprt]

No you shouldn't be. Unplug the arc2 and just run the cop if possible and see if your unit had a failure while sitting. I'm gonna guess you need a new tach adapter box or everything is working as it should and it's a problem with the instrument panel.

 

[DSM4LIFE-AWD]

Wow I totally forgot about that box since I can't see it ...

I'll give a try without the arc-2 but since it's working on my laptop using DSMLink I'm pretty sure it's my cluster.

Thank you very much for the reply !

 

[Devilsfutbol17]

Is this unit still plug and play for the 1g? I presume we need both the module and the universal harness, but with it being a universal harness its got me wondering if its still as simple as this 7 year old thread says it is. Splicing wires isn't difficult, but I want to make sure we need the universal harness.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

I plug and played mine on my '90. I had to put '90 connectors on the ARC2 box and rewire the tach adaptor but it worked first time I plugged it in and I built it on my livingroom floor.

 

[aguiga]

how are people hooking the 2 step (purple with white stripe) wire to their dsm. are ya using the clutch switch or the brake switch?im wanting to hook mine up to. wanna see how the 2step compares to the dsmlinks 2 step?

 

[OH91awd]

how are people hooking the 2 step (purple with white stripe) wire to their dsm. are ya using the clutch switch or the brake switch?im wanting to hook mine up to. wanna see how the 2step compares to the dsmlinks 2 step?

depends on your setup. 5spd guys will use the clutch switch/ auto guys(like myself) use the brake switch. the nice thing about the dynatek 2step is it being an ignition cut rather than fuel. much smoother operation imo

 

[aguiga]

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so hook up the purple with white wire from the dynatek arc-2 to the red and black wire coming from the clutch switch ? what if i have the clutch switch disconnected to start the car without having the clutch depressed. would i have to connect the switch back?

 

[aguiga]

or is that a a different connector that gets disconnected to be able to start the car without the clutch pressed

 

[aguiga]

I wanna hook up my dynatek launch control purple /white cable to the brake pedal switch like most autos. Which wire on the brake switch do U tap on a 2g??