Holley EFI systems

nubf14 wrote: About 50 hours. I can honestly say I will never go back to anything else.  I will also say that an ignition upgrade to a Marine (https://performancedistributors.com/product/marine-dui-distributors/) performance distributor had a large boost. Great performance but even better starts/stops etc.  I can idle in the 500s now.  My old distributor was showing its age so I replaced both at the same time. BTW it was very difficult to find a right rotation which my boat required (special order so special PRICE!!)..

If you have never seen Project Farm on YouTube, he does some really good tests. He did one on SeaFoam.

Sea Foam and other additives always spark a lively discussion...everything from sworn statements regarding miraculous results to “a fool and his money are soon parted”.  I have tried various additives over the years and have had good “anecdotal” results from Lucas Fuel Treatment and Klotz Octane Boost.  I did try Sea Foam on an older Chevy Suburban once. It blew a lot of white smoke for 5 minutes following treatment, but it was difficult to determine what, if any, improvement there was.  And, yes, I agree that ethanol fuels in certain applications is bad ju-ju.

Back in June you mentioned finding out from Holley whether the fuel pump in the kit (a Holley 12-920) met USCG regs. 

Darrell, have you accumulated more running time on your EFI conversion?  More details on pro's / con's and performance impact?  thx.

Interesting, so does it allow you to run it off your map in open loop as a full time option? Because I spoke with edelbrock, holley, and fitech about their systems, and all 3 told me i could not set the map to run open loop all the time. They pretty much only run open loop during WOT. and everything between there and idle, is based off O2 feedback. Noone mentioned anything about engine temps though.

How long have you been running the sniper? Overall happy with it? Prices are getting more and more reasonable now.

FFImarine wrote: Putting modern tech like EFI into an old carbureted boat in my mind is kinda like a resto mod. We have gotten so use to the modern technology in or daily driven vehicles but when it comes to our boats or old cars all of use cling to what it’s suppose to be not what it could be, it’s like going to a new car dealer and asking for a new car with mechanical drum brakes all around, no a/c and crank windows, it doesn’t exist anymore an it shouldn’t have to in the marine world. I my self fully support the change to EFI cause it’s just better in every way possible

First i apologize for lack of punctuations and spelling. Im using my phone to post.

They both have their pros and cons, the issues arrising from ethanol in carbs can easily be snubbed with some preventative measures like not leaving fuel sit for long. Draining bowls and tanks over winter etc. Additives is another one people swear by but i have yet to see any of them make a lick of difference in my experience.

Which holley efi are you installing? They have many systems available.
Im curious how you plan to deal with fuel delivery and running an O2. I think they use high pressure in the tbi units.

The O2 seems to be the fail point on many of these kits installed into boats since none of the bolt on systems have the ability to run in open loop. In order to do that you need to invest in the more expensive controlers by someone like haltec or motech, where you would tune it using an O2 but then you can lock it and remove the O2 after mapping is done.
Sounds like a fun project, i plan to eventually efi mine. I feel it would help lower my blood pressure a little when i let others drive

Putting modern tech like EFI into an old carbureted boat in my mind is kinda like a resto mod. We have gotten so use to the modern technology in or daily driven vehicles but when it comes to our boats or old cars all of use cling to what it’s suppose to be not what it could be, it’s like going to a new car dealer and asking for a new car with mechanical drum brakes all around, no a/c and crank windows, it doesn’t exist anymore an it shouldn’t have to in the marine world. I my self fully support the change to EFI cause it’s just better in every way possible

I don't have a problem with carbs as I have a quadrajet in my 1972 C20 and it runs fine but I only run premium in that truck (more HP). But the whole TBI process as made me rethink my truck as well. Maybe a fuel issue I don't know.

Here is what I do know:

Before TBI - ran ok had rough idle (kept screwdriver handy) and hesitation on starts (5% of the time) and a long period of no-wake would be hell on the other side.

After TBI - runs great (but it is new so time will tell). I have idled for very long periods now because it just runs better at idle (lots of future house shopping for my wife).

About $500 difference in price between a new carb and TBI system. The replacement took about 8 hours (fuel lines 7 TBI 1)

Not trying to bash carb was just providing feedback on the Holley EFI I installed in my boat. I would guess for 85% of boat owners TBI is better as there are not many wrench turners in the ski/wakeboard boat owners I know (maybe need to change my circle).[

1972 C20

I only use non ethanol fuel in my boats and small 2 cycle engines. No problems at all. Maybe it’s the higher humidity levels in the south? In any case folks down here have nothing but problems if they use e 10 in their boats. Life is too short to have to fool with fuel problems. By the way my Subaru and Acura run great on E 10.

I've had problems due to ethanol. Mostly when it started being available, but even recently when running boats that had not been used for along time. Real easy to determine by looking at the gas you pour out of the tank.

Nope

In my experience the fram cartridge filter system seems to do more harm than good.
Seems when that gets taken out of the system and replaced with something competent most anything can work well.

Not really octane in my case (low HP) but ethanol. In my experience ethanol is not a friend of carburetors. My boat is run regularly so the issues for me are winter sit and possible water in the fuel. I did experience inconsistent idles on ethanol vs non-ethanol before I make the switch to TBI.

Here is a recent article.https://ridermagazine.com/2020/03/26/carburetors-and-ethanol/

https://www.onallcylinders.com/2014/10/29/ethanol-effect-understanding-ethanol-can-protect-classic-ride/

The O2 sensor plate was the hardest part. I found one on ebay that was close so I drilled out the holes a little larger and it worked.

Took a 3/8 drill to the holes and needed a treated rod for the rear bolts as there was not enough room for the extra inch of bolt.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/OXYGEN-SENSOR-PLATE-VOLVO-PENTA-1993-older-OUT-DRIVE-V-6-V-8-CHEVY/322489476520