What is that thing? Honda B Series Sensor Block
Logging engine information can be an important part of efficiently running a race car. With our Honda B18c5 engine we liked the idea of keeping track of import pressure data. Oil Pressure, Fuel Pressure and Coolant Pressure were the first sensors to be added to the engine bay. But where to put them?
Our Integra Type R engine bay is packed to say the least finding proper mounting locations for the various components can be testing. Since we eliminated the distributor with the T1 Cam Trigger and Coil on Plug conversion we had extra mounting space on the side of the cylinder head. The idea of the sensor block was born. Sensor blocks are nothing new, they have been used throughout racing for years so we took what we knew of them and adapted to our needs.
We sourced the actual sensor block from a company called Hyperaktive. Most sensor blocks are just rectangular pieces of aluminum with holes drilled in them. The Hyperaktive unit has style. To mount it to the cylinder head we built a double ply carbon fiber plate and utilized the OEM distributor bolt hole locations. The carbon allows flex during engine movement. We have had no pressure reading issues. AEM pressure sensors have been used and with an extra 4th location on the sensor block available we mounted a fuel test port (required by many sanctioning bodies that we race with).
Now that all the sensors are mounted in a central location we fed the sensor block the proper fluids. Utilizing the back of the cylinder head to pull the Oil PSI from, the fuel rail for the Fuel PSI and the rear water neck for the Coolant PSI we routed -3AN lines. Another nice thing about the centrally located sensors is ability to run a single wiring harness to them. The guys at KSV Looms built a sensor wiring loom for our engine to Motec M130 ECU. Simplifying the number of wires running around the engine bay can always help with efficiently working on components.
So, there you have it. That is what the thing on the side of the cylinder head is and why we are running it. We don’t sell this kit but with the information we have supplied and information already out in the world you should be able to replicate it as you see fit for your needs.
