Holley sniper on engine dyno

[treyrags]

Jack you have to admit hitting the key and the engine firing right up without ever touching the throttle is pretty cool in an old car or truck.

We built a barely streetable 540 Chev, on the dyno with a big Dominator it sounded like something Warren Johnson used to run. I pulled that carb off and bolted on a Holley Dominator EFI throttle body. A few minutes of tweaking and run time, a couple of pulls and it beat the carb, and it fired up effortlessly when dead cold.

We can only hope that as technology marches on that these EFI systems last a good long time.

Nobody will argue the convenience of efi cold starting, but if it "beat" the carb after a couple of pulls the carb wasn't tuned to its potential.

[PackardV8]

Jack you have to admit hitting the key and the engine firing right up without ever touching the throttle is pretty cool in an old car or truck.

Nobody will argue the convenience of efi cold starting, but if it "beat" the carb after a couple of pulls the carb wasn't tuned to its potential.

Agree, EFI is great for cold starts, maintaining A/F across the operating RPM range, adjusting to changing altitude, meeting emissions, fuel economy.

Also agree, if a carburetor and intake is tuned to its potential, it will usually make as much or more power than most EFI.

As to support, how long would one last as an engine builder if they all failed after a year or two and couldn't be repaired and had to be completely replaced?

[jmarkaudio]

Problem is that the cheap EFI systems are that, cheap. If it fails you a year or two or five down the road its a complete replacement, and you are down until then. The Holley can usually be fixed the same day and relatively cheap if you learn enough about them. Wide temp swings require a choke and a thermostat to keep engine temps consistent. And I've built custom Dominators up to a 2.800 throttle blade, no problem making them start and idle well. Tuned correctly they will be a little cold natured until the engine gets heat without a choke, but even then manageable. Power will almost alway be better with a carb.