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what do you guys think of this efi kit?

wetoolowdingbangow said:
I could see the self learning deal not bein as optimal as other systems but for what we're doing I think it's perfect.
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If optimal driveability isn't the goal, why not just slap a carb on there?

I can understand the desire in this society for everything to be fixed easily. But if idle suffers, or power suffers, because the self tuning stuff isn't "smart" enough to get it as good as even factory, whats the point?

I'm not saying this to attack anyone. But step back and think about it. If you get a half-ass fuel injection setup, is that really any better than a carb that is working right?
 
dyeager535 said:
If optimal driveability isn't the goal, why not just slap a carb on there?

I can understand the desire in this society for everything to be fixed easily. But if idle suffers, or power suffers, because the self tuning stuff isn't "smart" enough to get it as good as even factory, whats the point?

I'm not saying this to attack anyone. But step back and think about it. If you get a half-ass fuel injection setup, is that really any better than a carb that is working right?
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Who says it's half ass and where is the proof or are you just making the assumption that all of the self learning systems are the same?

Where are you coming up with the idea that it will suffer greatly in some way?

It says clearly on the fitech site you can change the settings. The self learning portion is just to provide base tune.
 
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I didn't say suffer greatly. Team208 already weighed in on this, and it is NOT the first time I've heard that the self tuning EFI setups are not as good as factory or not self-tuning stuff.

I just don't understand the mentality of going with easier as opposed to something that works at least as good as factory.

People are taken in by "easy". Easy doesn't mean better. It normally means there are compromises. There are alternatives to compromising. That's all I'm saying.
 
dyeager535 said:
I didn't say suffer greatly. Team208 already weighed in on this, and it is NOT the first time I've heard that the self tuning EFI setups are not as good as factory or not self-tuning stuff.

I just don't understand the mentality of going with easier as opposed to something that works at least as good as factory.

People are taken in by "easy". Easy doesn't mean better. It normally means there are compromises. There are alternatives to compromising. That's all I'm saying.
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So you don't have proof?

What I'm most interested in is getting a gen 1 motor on an efi setup. I guess I should have specified that and I assumed that's what op had in mind. Given that, this is a huge step up from a carb. I sure as hell wouldnt try to bolt it up to a ls or lq series motor and expect it to be beyond my wildest dreams.

There's no doubt that a tuner guy could get an optimal tune for the situation...all I'm saying is some of us don't need that as much as we'd like that.

I don't believe that this is an easy way out for gen 1 stuff, it's a massive upgrade. Anything beyond that is a step backwords.
 
Gee. Somebody posted up a review of how well this system worked on a mild driver. I recommend it for a mild build. Easy to tune. He is still driving it with no issues. And we are at 7000 feet. He drove it up pikes peak just to see how it would do. Ran great.
 
You guys both have very valid points!

I have a well tuned Q-jet on my big block and would like something that may bring more out of it.

I guy that I work with is looking at this exact kit because he doesn't want to mess with the carb on his $300 '78 K20. He figures this kit will fix it with the mechanical fuel pump.

So it would be awesome if someone has some real experience with this system! !!
 
6872xtc said:
You guys both have very valid points!

I have a well tuned Q-jet on my big block and would like something that may bring more out of it.

I guy that I work with is looking at this exact kit because he doesn't want to mess with the carb on his $300 '78 K20. He figures this kit will fix it with the mechanical fuel pump.

So it would be awesome if someone has some real experience with this system! !!
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Im going to think about it a bit and get my engine installed...I may become the guinea pig. Ill report back.
 
Z71paramedic said:
Well, we took a week hiatus and went to the Bahamas. Night we got home we ordered a new intake, FiTech 800hp capable efi, new fuel tank, line and accessories. We're going to start really making progress here soon!
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You might not have to be the ck5 guinea pig after all, if you count Z71's corvette build.
 
From this thread:
http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=295324&page=6
Post #87 states:

Spoke with Fi Tech over the phone earlier today and I gotta update some important information. Fi Tech offers 3X3 fuel/spark tables and 10X12 fuel/spark tables depending on the model you have.


Fi Tech 600 hp (#30001/30002) offers only 3X3 fuel/spark table control. This is done through the handheld unit. There is no option to hook up to a personal computer (PC).

Fi Tech power adder versions 600 hp (#30004) and 1200 hp (#30012) offer up to 10X12 fuel/spark table when programmed through a PC....but when you access the TBI onboard computer through the handheld unit you can only change 9 points (3X3) even though the unit is capable of 10X12.
 
wetoolowdingbangow said:
So you don't have proof?

I don't believe that this is an easy way out for gen 1 stuff, it's a massive upgrade. Anything beyond that is a step backwords.
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1990 GM ECM's (MAP TPI for one) ran 12x17 timing tables. Some had two 12x17 tables IIRC.

Don't need anymore proof than that.

Couple of posts

http://www.camaros.net/forums/3233881-post2.html

http://www.camaros.net/forums/3284361-post10.html

No doubt there are people who will be pleased with it, but most of the aftermarket systems have been playing catchup with OEM EFI from the 80's.
 
All im saying here is this is a great step up from a carburetor for those of us who arent going to the mall :thumb::thumb::thumb:

Itll deal with the power plans that I have for my 350 unlike tbi, it wont stall out on an incline like a carb and I can get some feedback from it. In fact thats what the pitch is. I can tune carbs decently and if I was running around on the street with an na motor I wouldnt see the reason to jump to this but a carb will and has hindered me on trails.

I think its perfect for someone like me, or any guy who doesnt want to deal with a carb. If you want to run the quarter mile, maybe its not the best choice but its price vs what you get here.
 
You can certainly run it, all that really matters is that it does what you want it to do, right? It's probably nothing like the earlier aftermarket EFI stuff that had enough problems that people would take it back off.

If you have to get into tuning something anyway (which makes me scratch my head about self-tuning), I don't see why something like Megasquirt or EBL wouldn't be a draw instead.

The summit linked one doesn't control timing apparently, IMO that's another huge step back. As I understood from the quick glance at the manual, it depends how you set it up whether or not it controls timing?
 
I wouldn't trust any self learning system without a standalone wideband for monitoring.

Then again I prefer a chassis dyno and skilled engine tuner no matter what the application is.
 
So cliff notes that I gathered....

-Self tuning systems are perfect for boring engines.
-Wade installed one and its still working nice (it was this exact same brand wade?)

So my 408 sbc with probably 8:1 compression and tons of vacuum at idle sounds like a good candidate... 400 hp kit kinda sounds cheap and appealing......

On the other hand.... An LS already has EFI.....
 
I believe if you run an hei there's no choice in timing. The 600 hp kit will do timing but not on the 400.

I think this system is ideal for me. For me it's the fact that tbi won't deal with what I want to do and a carb is awful for inclines.

I found a really good write up on a corvette that had a hot motor and a carb, guy threw the fitech on it and picked up 10ftlbs and similar hp without even tuning it. I'll have to post it up.

There was another good one in a goof that put a carb on an ls then swapped to fitech...

I'm not sure if there's wideband going on here but I think it might have it. I'm still new to this so I'll look and see. The damn thing comes with a sweet readout monitor.
 
So it does actually use a Bosch wideband.

That's part of the beauty in this unit, you don't have to buy proprietary parts at some astronomical rate.
 
Is having timing tied to the efi system really a big necessity?

Keeping HEI instead of some electronic controlled dizzy seems most simple to me, even if you cant get as much out of the motor. Im all about simplicity in drivetrains.


Why do none of these kits include a fuel pump? Looks like that is about all you really need to get the system up and running?
 
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