EFI Advice

[Mopar Crazy]

I want to put an EFI system on my 340.  Its a 1970 .40 over with 485 comp cam.

Seems to be 3 main systems everyone talks about  Holley, Eddy, and Fitech.

Any pro's and con's on these systems ??

Thanks
MC

[c00nhunterjoe]

Before we start the which is better debate i will put it simply. If you are GOOD with a carb, it is a waste. If you are NOT good with a carb, consider it. Based on some of your previous posts, i would assume you fall into the not category. So of the 3 you listed, they are all self contained electronic throttle body carburetors. Nothing more. Its 1970s tech but it works. Buy whichever is on sale at the time and do not skimp on the accessories over a "basic" kit. Get the intank fuel pump setups and do it right.

[Mopar Crazy]

c00nhunterjo

Thanks for the reply.
As far as the carb, your spot on, never was a carb guy, and at this point I just want to turn the key and cruise.
I do have an external electric fuel pump, should I still change it to the intake pump ?

Thx MC

[c00nhunterjoe]

The external pump you currently use is most likely not compatible with the efi requirements. I highly recommend going to an in tank setup even if it is.

[INTMD8]

I went with Edelbrock as it's port injection rather than TBI.

Not that I've received it yet but I only ordered it back in November 

[myk]

I went with Edelbrock as it's port injection rather than TBI.

Not that I've received it yet but I only ordered it back in November 

They're back-ordered that deep?

[c00nhunterjoe]

I went with Edelbrock as it's port injection rather than TBI.

Not that I've received it yet but I only ordered it back in November 

Edelbrock makes both multiport and throttle body set ups. I assumed the op was refering to the tb kits. Myself personally, i would get the multikit if i were doing fuel injection but the op seems to be looking for a more plug and play cruiser then the advancements multiport can give you.

[INTMD8]

Didn't know Edelbrock made tbi setups still.

The pro-flo 4 which I ordered seems to be similar in terms of installation/use.  "self learning" ecu and comes with everything along with intake manifold and distributor.

Looks like small block system is in stock ready to ship. For whatever reason the 2x4 hemi setup has been on backorder for forever.

[69Chrgr]

I've installed all 3 brands. I prefer Holley, however all 3 are very good. My opinion is that it is a great improvement over a carb. Especially if you get into aggressive cams. I did the timing control on the Edelbrock for a customers 440, and the dual sync distrbutor on my own Sniper setup on my 440 stroker. The fine tuning of timing for start, cruise and WOT are awesome as you can dial it in so easy. Letting it sit for a month, going out and turning the key, walking away for a few minutes as it warms up. Takes it to a whole different level. I've installed 3 Holley Snipers, 1 Edelbrock and 2 Fitechs. I prefer the Holley as it has the best customer support. Just my .02. Good Luck!

[TexasStroker]

Fitech probably has the most installs and therefore the best documentation on good and bad.  It and the Sniper will likely be the lowest price point.  The Pro-Flo 4 has a lot of value considering the step up from TBI and what all is included.

Ultimately, figure out what exactly you want and what your goals (short term and down the road) are and proceed accordingly.

As Joe said, do it right though.  In tank fuel pump, good lines, and I would highly recommend you run a return style setup.  It all costs a little more up front, but you save time, money, and headache in the long run.  I'm not a big fan of the surge tanks, but it is an easy solution for a lot of people and you should have plenty of room for it.

A slight buzz kill depending on your intended time frame for install, but...
-Holley's best prices are almost always during "Holley Days" which will essentially put you off until Christmas time.
-Edelbrock runs pretty frequent promotions and they can save quite a bit during the EFI ones. They typically rotate monthly.
-Monitor Summit and Jegs etc. for rebates on any of the 3 systems.

[Paul G]

Fuel injection is great. I just put an older E street system together on my 383 and it works great. Now realize, EFI systems must still be set up by the installer, they are not perfect right out of the box, except on TV and Youtube. You still have to set up the basic parameters and then fine tune them to what works best for your engine, just like a carb needs to be tuned, so does the EFI, except EFI is easier. Self learning does not mean self tuning. 

If the ignition system and the timing curve is not dialed in just right, installing EFI alone wont fix that. If timing is causing a burp or stumble with a carb, it will be there with EFI. If your installing an EFI with timing control, the distributor must be locked out and the advance curve dialed in using the parameters in the EFI tuner. Much easier to dial in the timing curve with the EFI system.

[AKcharger]

I've had a sniper on my 72 for about a year now and can't get get it to work right, I'm about to go back to a carb.

The shop that put it on did a crap job, my fault for letting a "reliable" place do it.

[armor64]

I had bad luck with my initial FITech purchase when I first got the car on the road. cold starting and running was a dream. but, I had a hot starting issue. It turned out for whatever reason, the injectors would not squirt at key-on, nor when cranking if it was over a 160deg thresh-hold. Nothing i could do did anything to get it to start without intervention. If i sprayed starting fluid in, it would come to life and run like a top no problem.

Contacting FITech, they said it was too far outside the initial purchase date for warranty coverage (had bought the 600hp easy street version when it was first released but sat till car was built years later), and shipping to California from Ontario Canada was shockingly pricey. I gave up, put a pressure reg and a old carb on it to enjoy for 1 month before snow hit.

The following spring, while visiting my local speed shop, he had a Holley Sniper for a good price so i went for it. I Unbolted the carb and reg, reconnected to sniper, setup the basic settings for no timing control, and its been rock solid ever since. I've put 3000 miles on it this year so far alone, never a stumble nor starting issue.

Im may add the timing control stuff this winter, but so far I'm super happy with it. I believe he newer Sniper 2 system doesnt have a reg built in (like the classic carb style version)? so may have to plan around that if you are getting one.

[AKcharger]

Update, ok my sniper system seems fixed the wiring was completely jacked. I need to get the system to "learn" before its optimal. Stand by for final opinion

[AKcharger]

final opinion in..I don't like it

[INTMD8]

final opinion in..I don't like it

I've driven a few of the throttle body efi setups and I agree.


I never recieved the pro-flow Edelbrock system so I switched to Holley HP efi, port injection and flex fuel.  It's perfect.

[John_Kunkel]

final opinion in..I don't like it

[AKcharger]

Well, got wiring figured out and it runs and is learning but now it sometimes starts...sometimes not. Talked to Holley tech rep and seems as though the radiator fans are drawing too much power on start. So had to buy a $60 adapter to now run fans through EFI. This is the absolute last straw if this doesn't make it safe and RELIABLE it's coming off.

[armor64]

I hope the power draw change fixes it for you, i know its super frustrating when stuff doesn't work, but it looks like it was the installs fault not the sniper itself causing the issues. the voltage requirement can be annoying if on cranking it drops below whatever the min is, but so far for me, if I'm looking at the screen on cranking after a while or lower battery, I've seen 10v warning on it and still cranked to life just fine. managed to get over 5000 on the car this year, a personal best. Hopefully you get years of fun drives out of the system if all goes well.

[John_Kunkel]

quote author=AKcharger link=msg=1756739 date=1701281549]
So had to buy a $60 adapter to now run fans through EFI. This is the absolute last straw if this doesn't make it safe and RELIABLE it's coming off.

From your previous posts on this subject it seems you had somebody else do the initial installation and they fouled up the wiring but your posts about correcting those problems have been cryptic.

If the EFI controls the fans, I would hope it will kill the power to the fans during cranking, if not, a simple ISO relay can be installed to prevent the fans from running while cranking. A voltage drop during cranking is to be expected but, if it drops low enough to affect the EFI, you can't blame the EFI...blame the installation.

[marshallfry01]

The few people that are local to me that have tried any of the fuel injection stuff hated it and went back to a carb. I was planning on using it but after reading multiple bad reviews on all 3 brands, I just went ahead and bought a new Holley 750 with electric choke and vacuum secondaries. I can tune a carb but i'm not good with electronics.

[John_Kunkel]

The few people that are local to me that have tried any of the fuel injection stuff hated it and went back to a carb. 

Did they say why, specifically?

[marshallfry01]

The few people that are local to me that have tried any of the fuel injection stuff hated it and went back to a carb. 

Did they say why, specifically?

The most common complaint was that it ran too rich. Hot starts were an issue too. Normally I would blame it on user error but these were nice cars with neat wiring and the guys are pretty good mechanics.

[John_Kunkel]

Any EFI system controls the mixture by input from the downstream oxygen sensor. Running too rich suggests a fault there...either improper location or a faulty sensor.

[375instroke]

I put a Holley Sniper on my '69 383 5-speed Charger with their in tank pump and no return line.  Also have an Edelbrock RPM intake which people say you can't run, but here I am.  Started right up first time.  The learning function is ok, but human fine tuning is better.  I think it tries to go too rich in some areas, so I just watch a few YouTube videos on how to tune, read the manual, and tune with a laptop.  Drive a little, part throttle, full throttle, whatever, see if it's rich or lean, and adjust that area on the fly while running.  If you like to tinker, it's great.  Super easy.  If you don't, then just run it a bit rich and call it good.