Hey! I recently purchased a new walbro fuel pump kit through RGS and the website said something about bypassing the FPCU, but other places on the net are saying you only want to bypass the FPCU temporarily. What’s the best approach here? I’m thinking I’d like to retain the FPCU so the pump isn’t having to work overtime and rely on the pressure regulator, but I wasn’t sure if a new walbro pump is compatible with the FPCU?
On my Z, the Walbro was installed normally by UAS many yrs ago. I saw this when I replaced it with the OEM unit. In my case, the Walbro pickup strainer had caused a fuel restriction due to whatever was inside the strainer had swollen up and really restricted the pickup. I think new Walbros just have a normal strainer nowadays on the pickup. Some people say to connect the Walbro straight to battery using a thicker cable, so that it gets full power, especially when running higher boost, to ensure good fuel pressure and flow. If running say mild boost, it should just be connected as normal.
The walbro pump requires a constant 12v supply, which is why I note that the FPCU should be bypassed when installing it. You will not do yourself, or the warranty on the fuel pump, any favours by running it with the FPCU enabled (which will not supply 12v all the time).
Spot on Rob, this is what Toshi said when doing the tune on my car, he suspected the fuel pump was causing fuel starvation and kept mentioning contant 12v straight to battery for constant flow/pressure. The alternative to the Walbro is the OEM 2 seater unit but the pickup will have to be modified to be as per the 2+2 unit. The pick up is different on both items. New 2+2 fuel pumps seem to be no longer available.
