SureFly Electronic Ignition

[MarkA]

I asked my mechanic to re-gap them based on SureFly's recommendation when it was installed but honestly don't know for sure that he actually did it. I wouldn't be surprised if he just left them all at the standard fine-wire gap .

[mysands]

After installing the SureFly, per above and doing preliminary testing, I decided to swap out the UREM38 fine wires driven by the SureFly for the new UREM37HS massives that come factory gapped at ~0.036. I confirmed the gaps myself because someone posted a comment on Spruce to the effect that their 37HS arrived gapped like conventional plugs. All of mine were between ~0.035 and ~0.036 out of the tube. I also tested the resistance of the new plugs and found that they clustered around 1.2K ohms, virtually identical to my 450 hour fine wires.

Testing conditions were limited by circumstances today but I was able to do an A/B at 1500, 1600, 1700, 1800, and 2000 RPM. All RPMs were leaned for MAX RPM. At 1500 RPM the SureFly and Slick performed and sounded identically with a 100 RPM drop. From there, the Sure Fly with the high performance plugs pulled ahead of the Slick, ending up with a ~20+ point differential and the SureFly dropping only 80-90 RPM at 2000 RPM. So far, I am very happy with this performance. Another clear difference is that the engine will idle smoothly at least 100 RPM lower (~600 RPM but I didn't check carefully this time).

The next test is at altitude. Sometime this week, I'll fly over Hells Canyon to Joseph and surrounds for lunch. This will give me a look at how the SureFly performs at 8-10K MSL. If I feel comfortable, I might do a mag check at altitude and see what LOP performance looks like.

Thanks to all who recommended the SureFly. One question for early adopters: how does the SIM perform near the DA40's ceiling? Occasionally on flights to Phoenix, I am able to catch a 100+ kt tailwind at ~15,000 MSL. Otherwise, I fly most of the way at 9000 MSL except through the Grand Canyon corridors. I would hate to give up those short, non-stop flights when the opportunity presents itself. The Slick mags always performed well at altitude but then I had nothing to compare them to. I wonder if I will need a new harness even though the factory harness is in excellent condition.

100kt tailwinds. Wow! Would love to see a picture of the groundspeed.

[blsewardjr]

My maintenance shop refused to re-gap my fine wire plugs, citing concern over breaking them.

[dmloftus]

My 2008 DA40XLS is in for its annual with a new SIM4N waiting for installation. I'm curious what other shops charged labor-wise for the installation. For R&R my left mag for IRAN, and installing the SIM4N in place of right mag, I'm being quoted 10 hours. Seems high compared with comments about installation simplicity in this thread. Rich mentioned around 2 hours for his A&P.

[Rich]

My 2008 DA40XLS is in for its annual with a new SIM4N waiting for installation. I'm curious what other shops charged labor-wise for the installation. For R&R my left mag for IRAN, and installing the SIM4N in place of right mag, I'm being quoted 10 hours. Seems high compared with comments about installation simplicity in this thread. Rich mentioned around 2 hours for his A&P.

That was straight-up replacement of the left mag only. This is easier to get at than replacing the right mag (which also requires ignition switch work). Right mag and ignition switch untouched.

[blsewardjr]

I only have the labor cost, but it translates to around 10 hours. As I recall, it didn't work well at first so part of that was checking and correcting work, some, but not all of which was charged. My Surefly as a replacement of the right mag.

[Rich]

The original version of the SF was incompatible with 28V systems. This did involve various troubleshooting sessions. This is no longer the case, so there are unlikely to be problems - UNLESS you buy an older one on eBay or something. Don't do that.

[rwtucker]

My IA and I installed the SIM4N and a remanufactured right magneto at the same time. He installed the mag and timed it on his own. I installed the SureFly at the same time and then we timed it together. I wasn't keeping track of the exact job time but I would say no more than 3.5 hours for the SureFly, excluding installing a new oil filter, removing and replacing the cowlings, etc. These things were done separately at the beginning and completion of the annual. A significant portion of the SureFly time was dealing with the cramped space, picking up washers I had dropped for the fifth time, and removing and replacing hoses and cables that were in the way (I have a Tannis installed and the wiring is invasive). The actual timing was easy, although unconventional. The instructions are excellent. If I were to remove and replace the SureFly again, I think I could do it much faster. I'm also very happy with its performance and noticeable increase in power at altitude.

[dmloftus]

On Tuesday I picked up my DA40 from its annual with Southtec and installation of a Surefly in place of the right mag. I had forwarded the DPA article and given direct email instructions to remove the ignition switch jumper (that grounds the right mag during start) to allow the Surefly to improve start up. To my surprise, when I picked up the plane, Southtec had not removed the jumper. They explained that they could not remove it without explicit instructions from Surefly or Diamond as it needed to be included in the 337 for the install. I was not happy and had spirited discussions with them for over an hour. I even got Surefly technical support on the phone and let them talk to their staff directly. Surefly said it is perfectly acceptable to remove the jumper, and that most owners did so when replacing the non Slickstart mag. But they did not offer any official documentation to Southtec to motivate them to do so. So now I am in a bit of a Mexican standoff with my shop. They are saying they will investigate a possible field approval with the FAA, but that seems to be a time consuming and uncertain process for such a minor mod. For those that have installed the SIM4N and removed the jumper, did your A&P give you any pushback on such a simple step?
Otherwise, the Surefly runs great, idles more smoothly, and runs a bit further LOP. But I want that jumper removed.

[MarkA]

In my case there was no pushback from the installer about removing the starter switch jumper.

With the jumper in place, the right mag is grounded so that only the left SlickStart mag is active (1/2 of the plugs fire) when the starter is activated. In other words, it will operate the same as it did before the Surefly replaced the right mag.