[DeTomaso] retrotek speed - long

Mon Jul 26 07:29:19 EDT 2010

retrotek is the original company I think.  they were recently bought by proffesional products.  Professional products makes a nice, very well priced harmonic balancer that I bought.  looks very pretty in person.  no probs so far.  justin

I got the last of the polished powerjection 2 systems for a good price, but the powerjection 3 systems are more compact, and cost less.  defintely one of the more economical ways to do electronic fuel injection.  I think the whole system can be done for under $2000 (throttle body, computer, sensors, fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator, fuel lines), but it is possible I am blocking part of the expenses out of my brain given how much overbudget my car already is.  

> From: doug351c at gmail.com
> To: justingreisberg at hotmail.com
> Subject: RE: [DeTomaso] retrotek speed - long
> Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:11:16 -0700
> 
> Justin,
> 
> Thanks for taking the trouble to post this. Please let me know what success
> you end up having with the Retrotek's self tuning capability.
> 
> What was the total system cost?
> 
> Is Retrotek a reseller of this? I thought the Powerjection Systems were
> manufactured by Professional Products?
> 
> Doug Braun
> blue 73L #5505
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com
> [mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com]On Behalf Of Justin Greisberg
> Sent: Sunday, July 25, 2010 5:48 PM
> To: detomaso at realbig.com
> Subject: [DeTomaso] retrotek speed - long
> 
> 
> 
> Someone asked about the system, so here I go...
> 
> 
> 
> i have the powerjection 2 system, I think
> 
> 
> 
> long message for those interested in this.
> 
> 
> 
> when it comes to electronic fuel injection, there is mass-flo (most modern
> cars) and speed density. Mass flo is very sensitive to pressure changes,
> and old fashioned radical cams (lumpy idle) are notorious for messing up the
> mass flow readings. to do mass flow correctly, you have to have long intake
> track (look at any modern car with long air snorkel), which I think does not
> look right on old car. One company, mass-flo EFI has a very nice slim mass
> flow sensor, and basically adapts 87-93 ford mustang system to any engine.
> they do not offer any self-programming option, so I did not go for that
> system. They say it is fine for any cam, but everyone else says it cant be.
> who knows? i wanted to program myself a little (maybe just fooling myself,
> as these systems dont seem to need my input)
> 
> 
> 
> I think all other retrofit fuel injection systems are speed density. Not as
> good for compensating for changes in air pressure (altitude), but most of
> these systems these days seem to be self learning, constantly looking at
> wide band AF readings to adjust fuel mixture. Port fuel injection is what
> is on all new cars (one injector for each intake port). There are plusses
> and minusses to this for the engineers, but for me, these systems require
> either buying a modified intake manifold, or modifying it yourself.
> Forgetting about the fact that it may not be ideal to reverse engineer a
> carb intake manifold this way (that is why the same engine will always
> produce a few more peak horsepower with carb than with port fuel injection),
> these systems tend to be more expensive. retrotek and FAST make nice
> controllers for these systems, and many modern intakes can be converted.
> 
> 
> 
> However, if you think about it, we should all be tuning our carbs with jet
> changes, and accel pump changes, and thinks like that to have optimized
> power and efficiency. I have never done that, only bought a carb and put it
> on and hope for the best. And those cars run like old cars -- hard to start
> in cold days, sometimes bogging when you hit the accelerator...
> 
> The retrotek powerjection (and the FAST EZ EFI) are both throttle body fuel
> injections, so the throttle body contains 4 injectors, and it is basically a
> computer controlled carb. I mounted an electric fuel pump under the gas
> tank, used the tank drain to provide fuel to the pump, added a fuel pressure
> regulator, and a return line to the original tank output. I had to add a
> few sensors as well, but really easy to do.
> 
> 
> 
> The powerjection 2 system has a self contained computer which I mounted
> behind the passenger seat. lots of wires right behind the bulkhead cover
> panel. I wanted to put it in the glove box, but the wiring harness was not
> big enough. The powerjection 3 system from retrotek has the computer
> mounted along the throttle body, so less wires to deal with, but otherwise
> the same.
> 
> 
> 
> The retrotek system allows you to hook up a computer and play with all the
> settings idle mixture, accelerator enrichment (like an accel pump on a
> carb), and fuel map. If you use a ford electronic distributor from a 460
> truck engine you can even control spark, although I am not doing that. The
> FAST EZ EFI only has a handheld controller, and does not offer as much
> personal control. I am not sure you need it, since you just start the car
> and let it self tune. It has taken some time for me to get my car to self
> tune, so the jury is still out on it for me. BUT, when I remember to put
> fuel in the car, it starts right away every time. And I have far more
> control over the engine than I would with a carb. And I got to make a lot
> of AN fuel lines!
> 
> 
> 
> I still think this is the best system available for this purpose currently.
> I am surprised the EZ EFI from FAST cant be hooked up to a computer, but it
> cant. I hear Accel has something new that might be better, offering more
> control over disributor, but I dont know.
> 
> 
> 
> And the polished retrotek throttle body looks real nice! better than ugly
> old fashioned throttle bodies.
> 
> 
> 
> For those interested, I got the 1200cfm unit with four 75lb/hr injectors
> because I am running CHI heads and intake. If you have stock heads (esp 2v)
> and stock displacement, can use their smaller unit with 60lb/hr injectors.
> For stroker, or bigger heads, bigger unit seems right. For those really
> interested, the computer has had to do a lot of adjusting from the base map
> that comes with it -- my cleveland combination seems to have very different
> needs than generic small block V8.
> 
> 
> 
> Of all the glitches I have had trying to get my car to run the last year,
> the fuel injection has not been one of them.
> 
> 
> 
> i hope this has been helpful. justin
> 
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