[DeTomaso] powerjection fuel injection

[Asa Jay Laughton]

Justin,

Thank you for the great write-up.  I have experience with a very early 
Holley 2V Pro-Jection unit from the late 90's.  It wasn't very hard to 
dial in, but it's an analog system with five dials on the box.  I have 
it pretty close but not "the best."  It starts the engine right away and 
the idle is good.   This is on my 1986 Jeep Grand Wagoneer Limited.  
Ever since then I've wanted to put EFI on my Mach I and my Pantera.  I'd 
been leaning toward the Retrotek system.  I don't think this has 
deterred me but it certainly has given me some insight.

Were there different fuel maps you could have chosen to start with?  
It's been my experience selecting the small block is never the best.  
For example, the engine I have the Holley system on is a 327, but as I 
recall I set it to Big Block, 350's and above.  Were there any other V8 
maps available to choose from?

Keep at it, you're probably really close to killer performance,
Asa Jay

Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
&  Shelley Marie
Spokane, WA
******************************
http://www.racingagainstautism.com
http://www.teampanteraracing.com
http://facebook.com/racingagainstautism


On 3/22/2011 17:05, Justin Greisberg wrote:
> here is a summary of what I have learned for anyone who is interested:
>
> i decided to use a computer controlled fuel injection system because I am tired of my carb'ed cars not starting when they sit for a while, and I thought it would be fun to set it up myself.  I now wish I had used a carb.  but all is not lost.
>
> FAST makes EZ EFI which self tunes but does not allow you to go into the fuel maps, etc, with your own computer.  i am the ultimate do-it yourselfer, so I went with retrotek, which was recently acquired by professional products.  I have the original powerjection system, with a holley-look alike throttle body with 4 injectors in it.  The unit is beautiful, and has 4 75lb/hr injectors.  it requires a MAP sensor which I mounted on the firewall, a computer, which I mounted behind the passenger seat.  I welded an O2 sensor in the passenger header, and used the plug on the waterpump to mount the temp sensor, which works perfectly fine.
>
> for fuel, i used the original fuel outlet on top of the gas tank as a return line.  I used the drain plug with a giant banjo fitting, then added a large diameter filter below the tank and then ran to their fuel pump, mounted on the frame below the tank.  then ran up to a fine fuel filter on the firewall, then to the pressure regulater, then to the 2 fuel inlets on the carb.  lots of AN fittings, and used an aeroquip (or could have been earl's) line braided with a black nylon sleeve rather than stainless steel outer braiding because easier to put together myself.
>
> So, when ready to go, you select a V8 program from database (small block chevy) and start it up.  It is supposed to just start, but usually I have to apply part throttle to get it to catch.  It does not idle properly at all when cold.  (my cleveland has CHI heads and intake and a bit of a hot cam, but nothing too crazy).  once warmed up, does better, but frustrating to get good idle.  When driving around, computer is learning the fuel map, but just not getting great.  After a few phone calls, get in touch with Cody at retrotek, who seems to be the owner/designer.  After a few frustrated conversations, he tells me the secrets.  By clicking on a certain part of the screen that you could never find on your own, you open all the secret options.  he helped me adjust cold idle, hot idle, and a bunch of other parameters to get it to run better.  he also showed me how the computer had maxed out the learning, and I had to reset the settings so that it could learn more, because the ini
>   tial fuel map was just WAY off.
>
> now it is running better, but still finessing cold idle and starting.  it may actually work out really well in the end.  dont have enough miles to know for sure.  Unfortunately, Cody has left professinal products and is no longer reachable.  The tech guys at professional products are nice but they have upgraded the software with the new powerjection 3 (same design just some packaging changes) and no one at the company knows how to run the old software (all of 2 or 3 years old).  So I am on my own.  Not sure what I will do if there are problems.
>
> Not "set it and forget it" simple.  i dont think it ever would learn the starting and cold idle by itself.  but the system has a ton of adjustability if you know how to use it (not in any manual or any web forum).  i dont regret choosing it at this time, but I will let you know once I get more time behind the wheel (have not left my neighborhood yet).  It is really neat to be able to set cold idle based on air temp, and to adjust how fast the idle comes down, all with your computer.  it sometimes even seems to work.  justin
>
> i have learned a lot about electronic fuel injection.  And I conclude an out-of-the-box holley carb is really not so bad, so long as you can get the fuel inlet fittings to stop leaking (i bet some of you have been through that).   		 	   		
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