You may have heard the term Fuel Injection or what most people talk about today, the modern version, EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) but have never messed around with it. Most automotive enthusiasts start out learning about carburetors rather then fuel injection mainly due to the fact that their first car of truck is something old where the carburetor was the profitable application that the auto manufactures equipped their engines with. Yes its true, fuel Injection or “FI” has been around a lot longer than most people think as the first mechanical style fuel injection systems made their debut in early racing applications of pre-World War II models. These early mechanical “FI” systems worked well and produced good results, but were temperamental, expensive, and puzzling to the average garage mechanic. Fuel Injection remained an exotic type of fuel delivery for most of the time during and after the war until General Motors introduced their version on the “Fuelie” Corvette’s of the late 1950’s. These systems worked well but where still viewed as temperamental, expensive, and puzzling to the average garage mechanic.
The funny thing about Fuel Injection is that most people still have the stigma of the early systems which draws out the worst fears to the average garage mechanic. On the flip side of things, auto manufacturers have fully embraced Fuel Injection as if it where a gift from the gods turning the carburetor into a museum piece in their eyes. Just like everything that we seem to use in todays modern world the use of the computer has made our lives easier, or to what most analysts would say efficient.
Efficient, that is the best way to describe what EFI really is. By simple definition a carb and fuel injection perform the same duties, they mix air and fuel and deliver it into the engine, however a carburetor is less precise, and only has static tuning functions. Yes the early versions of Fuel Injection had static tuning functions as well, but the efficiency was much greater to the engine’s performance. Even the engineers back then knew that FI atomized air and fuel better than a carb, thus creating more efficient fuel consumption in the combustion chamber. Simply put, more efficiency, more power, better fuel economy, better engine, only one problem, tuning.
What the early engineers lacked was on the fly tuning and adjustments. This was solved with the advent of the computer, where they could load variables based on readings taken during operation of the engine from sensors that read certain parameters. The dawn of EFI was born when its pioneers placed sensors to read data from the exhaust, similar to the old school method of reading the plugs. The difference being that data is read on the fly, while the engine is running. They pushed even further as the engine’s temperature, and even the atmospheric pressures, such as humidity and altitude could all be monitored and adjustments to the air/fuel ratios made on the spot.
What does this mean for the hot rodder who just wants his weekend project to run better? In today’s world, its possible to have your ol’ trusty small block Chevy, or 302 Ford, run just like your wife’s brand new car. Yes, EFI will allow you to start your creation up on a cold snowy morning, drive across a region with mountain views time and time again. If that’s not enough for you, or maybe too much here’s another reason why EFI is so cool, efficiency! Yes the word is back, and if you’re a carb kinda guy, you know first hand that tuning is everything. Wouldn’t you like to have a personal tuner on hand to monitor your air/fuel ratios, read O2 sensors, and adjust to engine temps, that in turn makes more power, and save’s fuel to boot. People the time is now to convert to EFI.
Bringing modern performance and reliability to your classic car or truck ensures that you can maintain your old school styling while keeping your sanity. Professional Products has spent years developing the original self-learning electronic fuel injection system that essentially replaces your old carburetor with a self contained throttle body fuel injection system complete with self-learning computer.
The throttle body contains four ports that delivers the air/fuel mixture into the intake manifold. The P3 looks similar to a standard 4150 style carburetor, which means the mounting flange is set up to fit most common square bore intake manifolds. There are four electronic injectors, an idle control circuit, and vacuum provisions for power brakes as well as ports to assist automatic transmissions vacuum requirements.
The P3’s ECU is located on the passenger side of the unit. The self-contained integration of the P3’s ECU makes it one of the easiest self learning EFI systems to install. It comes calibrated from the factory for engines ranging from 289-360 cubic inches or for engine with a targeted range of 300 horsepower. If your engine exceeds these variables, the help of a professional fuel injection tuner, and the use of a vehicle dyno may be required to meet your desired target horsepower number and ensure the efficiency of your engine. The throttle body linkage is also the same style as the 4150 as it allows most common throttle cable and transmission kick down cable applications to simply bolt on. Chances are, you can reuse your existing linkage. A vital component that helps the ECU adjust your engine’s air/fuel ratio is this wide-band O2 sensor that easily installs right into your existing exhaust system. Simply drill the hole 6-8 inches from the header collector and install the clamp-on bung.
The other key to success when converting to EFI is a balanced fuel delivery system. Professional Products has included the key components for such a system in the P3 kit. All modern style EFI systems require higher pressures to maintain the supply requirements that the electronic injectors rely on for smooth operation. This means ditching your mechanical fuel pump in exchange for an electronic pump. The provided fuel pump maintains around 45 lbs. of pressure while under operation. This is compared to the standard 7-9 pounds of pressure needed for carburetors, its easy to see that a well rounded fuel system is very important. A post-filter needs to be installed after the fuel pump. This insures the system runs smoothly by filtering out any unwanted sediment or debris from the fuel tank.
Engine coolant temperatures are monitored by the P3’s ECU which makes adjustments during cold starts and when proper engine operating temperatures have been achieved. This again increases fuel efficiency, and significant gains in horsepower can be felt. The P3’s ECU is more than just a fuel monitoring unit, it has built in features including ignition or spark controls. The system works with conventional distributors, and most ignition control boxes, including Professional Products Powerfire 6 CDI system.
Included in the kit is a installation CD that will load the dashboard software onto your PC laptop to interface with the P3’s ECU. The Dashboard software will also load several base calibrations for various engine combinations. Installing and interfacing with this software is simple, as several different engine scenario’s are constantly being uploaded. This will save you tons of time when configuring your basic set up and ensure you get the most out of your engine. Plus the simplicity of the adaptive learn software gives a beginner the same results of an advanced tuner saving you hundreds if not thousands of dollars in dyno-time.
The fuel efficiency and adaptive learning capabilities of Professional Products Powerjection3 EFI system ensures that no matter the climate or conditions, your engine will start and running as efficiently as possible.
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