Ok, im thinkin about goin over to fuel injection....but if i do...i want to know which one is more effective powerband and gas mileagewise....Are there really any noticeable gains from CARB to EFI? My truck sees more highway miles than anything right now....and Im trying to make it as "healthy"as possible without getting gallons per mile...Its a 351w with a longer rod ratio setup.Can you guys give any ideas and or tips ? Aftermarket ideas welcome also...i am open ears guys....

 

Been thinking about this myself when rebuild time comes, and I've been leaning toward GM TBI. I'd really like to hear from someone who's done this. The reasons (for me) are obvious, although I know many would balk at ANY GM parts on their Ford. I come from a Chevy background and am pretty familiar with the systems. The engine doesn't know (OR CARE) what's providing its fuel and air. They are cheap, plentiful, dependable as hell,(at least in it's stock incarnations) and it's been hacked to death. The last is the most disappointing thing to me about Ford's factory EFI. I'd really like to go with a factory late model EFI intake, etc., but the cost of the setup is prohibitive, not to mention with planned mods to the engine, I'd have to change out the computer and change to MAF. More money. Also, the Ford intake doesn't flow that well, and Edelbrock gets an arm and a leg for their intake. The GM systems are usually going for less than $200 on Ebay, less a few parts like fuel pump/lines etc. A new programmer for the chips is about $150. I'm figuring approx $600 total, and endless programmability. Aftermarket systems seem pretty cool, but out of my price range. They also don't really control things as precisely as the stock GM can, with the possible exception of the Haltech system. As far as the differences from a carb, I guess I've gotten spoiled from 15+ years of driving injected vehicles, but I'd throw rocks at any carb made after having EFI. Two GM's, one Ford truck, an Acura, and a Chrysler, nearly a million miles all together, and not one minute of trouble from an EFI system, EVER! I'd probably put something like a Performer RPM intake on my 351, topped with the throttle body. That's what I think would be cool about it, using relatively cheap, old-school speed parts, and be able to re-tune to compensate. Should help mileage, power, drivability, cold starts, etc. I've only seen one article about doing this on a Ford, specifically, an it was more of a "sales article". Here's a link: http://www.4wdandsportutility.com/tech/03064wd_efi/

 

iOn
You might consider rebuilding your carb or having it rebuilt then take your truck and have it tuned on a chassis dyno. This way they would get every ounce or should get every ounce of efficiency out of your combination, just make sure they have mpg in mind and not performance, and it would be a lot cheaper than efi. If you have the money the universal efi multipoint systems that run around 1100 or so look pretty good given you know someone who can weld bungs to your aluinum intake, the edelbrock units are nice as well if 2500 is burning a hole in your pocket, obviously the only down side to any efi unit is tuning it, however a lot of manufacturers offer programs based on different engine combos so check to see if they have one close to yours for you to down load to make your truck run right otherwise it will be a little hit and miss. Have you priced a efi unti from a junkyard with all sensors and injectors etc including harness and computer intake? later and good luck



200000+F150
I looked at your link, I will admit tbi setups wouldn't be my first choice but turbo city does appear to have a good thing going. Their name does seem to pop up quite a bit. later

 

EFI is much better than any carb setup for smoothness, economy and emissions. My first EFI was an '88 Ranger and it started and ran better, especially in the mountains, than anything I had driven before. However, those systems are very complex and the componenets expensive. Retrofitting an older engine is a bigger project than I would want to tackle.

Jim

 

It's possible to get near identical fuel economy with a carburetor, but you have to do some tuning work to get it perfect. You can make a lot more power with a carburetor than with a factory EFI setup, and it's always cheaper. I will admit that EFI is much nicer to deal with in the mornings.

The GM TBI is a fantastic system, that is the most dependable FI setup I've ever seen. I have 240,000 miles on a GMC suburban that weighs 6,000 lbs and I have done nothing to the TBI, and it works marvelously. I think it's a great idea to retrifit that system to a Ford, even though I'm usually a puritan when it comes to such things. TK

 

I thought I would throw out there my reasoning for recommending having your existing setup tuned on a dyno. I knew a fellow who had a BB with a farily big cam (very rough idle) the engine was tuned on a dyno, it fired everytime the first time cold or not at the touch of the switch and his truck was choke delete, daily driver, 10 degree weather or 100 snow or shine. Just make sure your fuel pump and ignition are in good condition and you should be good it is all about the tune. Later

 

I'm surprised to see all the comments about lack of programmability or information on Ford EFI systems. Besides a wide array of EPROM setups that plug into the J3 service port on your EEC-IV or EEC-V PCM, there are several good supplemental computers that also plug into the J3 port and provide unlimited user reprogrammability for virtually every factory parameter. The Ford EPEC system is one, but far less expensive and more readily available options include the EEC-Tuner from Shiftmaster and the Tweecer.

I have an EFI 351W with an A9L processor and a Tweecer, a Victor 5.8 intake, a big solid roller cam, and 11:1 compression in a Mustang which runs great, and starts easy.

A supplemental system like the Tweecer only costs a few hundred dollars and basically gives you control of every factory parameter. In my opinion, you are much better off to use the more sophisticated Ford engine management system with a supplemental computer than to switch to a GM TBI system on your Ford motor.

By the way, as you might have guessed I would use fuel injection over a carb any day. One of the key advantages that an EFI system with adaptive control has over a carb is that it does not need reconfiguring for optimal performance when the elevation, barometric pressure, ambient temperature, or engine component conditions change. This is not the case for a carb.

-Matthew