Getting a clean crank signal usually involves hanging a heavy steel wheel and a clumsy bracket off the front of the engine. At the PRI Show in Indianapolis, ATI Performance Products showed builders a better way to handle modern engine management. The new Lightweight Modular Trigger Shell system cleans up the front accessory drive by integrating the timing grid directly into the damper assembly, rather than treating it as an afterthought.
J.C. Beattie Jr., CEO and president of ATI Performance Products, said regarding the shift away from heavy steel add-ons: “We make a full steel trigger, but it’s heavy. So now we’ve got our three-ring aluminum shell damper with a modular design to bolt any trigger combination you want, and we’re gonna stock all the popular ones, Big Stuff, AEM, Holley, and then 12 teeth, 24, 36, you name it. And it just bolts on the aluminum shell. So you’re saving about 3 pounds overall.”
The logic here is simple: replace a fixed, heavy part with a modular aluminum setup. Tuners can pick the exact tooth count they need for their specific EFI strategy, whether it’s for MoTeC, Haltech, Holley, BS3, or AEM. Because the Lightweight Modular Trigger Shell bolts right to ATI’s standard 7-inch, three-ring dampers, you don’t need to fabricate custom mounts. It works with a matching aluminum outer shell, making it a straightforward retrofit for existing engines or a standard part of a new build.
Beattie noted that the aesthetic improvement is just as important as the function. “We have so much nice stuff, just a hunk of steel bolted to the front,” he added. “It seems like a spot for something to go wrong, so why not make it nice and integrated?”
ATI also handles the specific timing needs for different ECUs. Instead of stocking a dozen different missing-tooth wheels, they ship the shells solid. You tell them where the missing tooth needs to be for your top dead center offset, and they machine it out and rebalance the wheel. This ensures the Lightweight Modular Trigger Shell provides an accurate signal without vibrating or adding unnecessary stress to the crank snout.
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