FI Tech in '56 C cab w/ 259

[what huh]

How long does it take to learn, and while in the learning curve wouldn't you want to be using all the gears?

I started to be satisfied with the tune after 50 miles of self tuning. And I felt it was finished with tuning around 150 miles. But remember that this is a constantly learning system. If it was 50 degrees yesterday and 20 degrees to today it will make fine tune ajustments that you probably won’t even notice but it makes me feel good.

As far as using every gear? Yep.... I would also encourage using all the rpm range after the full 10 miles or so. It learns very quickly.

Put it though what you are going to use it for.

Rich I guess you forgot this thread you read and commented on?

He he he

[Buzzard]

OK Paul & others,
I Road tested the '49 Chev (383 Stoker, big roller etc) FiTech experiment yesterday for about 1/2 hour. First impression is that the throttle response off idle and up to about 1/3 throttle is fantastic. Very few carbureted motors I have ever driven have been this responsive at initial use. There is still a whole lot of learning required, both on the part of the Fitech AND us, but initially I am super impressed. This could be OUR wave of the future in Studebakerland. There was some detonation as throttle was loaded which can probably be eliminated by fattening up the fuel curve and backing off some timing. I'll keep you all posted on our progress. (sure nice to experiment using someone else's checkbook!)
Cheers, Bill

[r1lark]

Good reporting and feedback Bill, keep 'em coming. I'm seriously considering a FITech unit for one of my Studes. Still debating as to whether to step up to the one that controls the timing, but I'm still not sure if there is an available Stude distributor that will integrate with the FITech to do that. I keep getting conflicting information.

The other system I'm considering is a Hamilton FI setup which is based on a GM TBI system.

[JoeHall]

I started to be satisfied with the tune after 50 miles of self tuning. And I felt it was finished with tuning around 150 miles. But remember that this is a constantly learning system. If it was 50 degrees yesterday and 20 degrees to today it will make fine tune ajustments that you probably won’t even notice but it makes me feel good.

As far as using every gear? Yep.... I would also encourage using all the rpm range after the full 10 miles or so. It learns very quickly.

Put it though what you are going to use it for.



He he he

So how many miles are now on the FI-Tech system in that truck?

[Buzzard]

Unfortunately progress has stalled for the weekend due to my pal going to a big car show in Indian Wells(Palm Springs). Back at her early next week. Also other issues with the truck are slowing motor/tuning progress but yes, I will post all progress. I can't help but wonder if this FiTech was mated to a Jeff intake on a properly built Stude motor????
Mileage wise, less than 30 at this point but more due to the truck than the FiTech. I'll share a strange thing though, you have to turn the key to "on", then off, then start. I'm not sure what this cycling has to do, but when I didn't do it, it did not find the correct idle speed, only far too low loading more fuel than necessary. Once sorted I'll share our findings.
Bill

[what huh]

So how many miles are now on the FI-Tech system in that truck?

Eh...500-600miles ... sold it recently to get another studebaker. Running good when I sold it and started up quickly everytime. Running local erranding and such

[Dan White]

There are tons of reviews out there about the FItech system, as well as others. The only one that I have read really bad reviews of is the FAST system. Bottom line this is the way to go. Only thing you need to decide is if you want to mod your dizzy to have it controlled by the unit or not, otherwise this is a no brainer.

Here are reviews from Summit & Jeggs:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fif-30002/reviews/

http://www.jegs.com/i/FITech-Fuel-Injection/546/30003/10002/-1#reviewTab

[Ron Dame]

No plans for it here, but how would it work on an R2? Is it by designed sealed, or would you need to seal it?

[r1lark]

There are tons of reviews out there about the FItech system, as well as others. The only one that I have read really bad reviews of is the FAST system. Bottom line this is the way to go. Only thing you need to decide is if you want to mod your dizzy to have it controlled by the unit or not, otherwise this is a no brainer.

Here are reviews from Summit & Jeggs:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fif-30002/reviews/

http://www.jegs.com/i/FITech-Fuel-In...2/-1#reviewTab

Interesting comments. One review said he had problems with the unit not sensing the rpm correctly with his point-type distributor. Then I came across this comment: Make sure you have a low resistance coil 0,7 to 1,5 ohm. If not, the computer can't get a steady rpm signal. 2. Measure your Hg (vacuum) in your intak manifold at idle. I had about 9, so i chosed the "3" on camshaft. Under 8 is "4". 10-12 is "2" and over 12 is "1". My car runs great now

I guess like anything that is made to fit a wide range of engine sizes, cam profiles, compression ratios, distributors, etc, etc, it might take some work to get to the best combination. Apparently the initial settings you put into the FITech regarding engine size, cam profile, etc may need to be tweaked to zero in on the best settings

[what huh]

No plans for it here, but how would it work on an R2? Is it by designed sealed, or would you need to seal it?

Don’t know if things have changed since I bought my set up but if you are talking about sealed as in a boosted application then you need to get the “Power Adder” model.

[Buzzard]

Yes I already inquired regarding using the FiTech under "boost" conditions and this is what they sent me:
Go EFI 4 – 600 HP System – Power Adder

Part No: #30004

PRICE: $1,195.00

Bill

[JoeHall]

There are tons of reviews out there about the FItech system, as well as others. The only one that I have read really bad reviews of is the FAST system. Bottom line this is the way to go. Only thing you need to decide is if you want to mod your dizzy to have it controlled by the unit or not, otherwise this is a no brainer.

Here are reviews from Summit & Jeggs:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fif-30002/reviews/

http://www.jegs.com/i/FITech-Fuel-In...2/-1#reviewTab

Before impulsively buying, I'd recommend reading Summitt and JEGS' reviews, starting with the bad ones first. They provide real world feedback, you might want to be aware of first. As for the reviews' complaints about tech support, over the years I have read many threads over on the HFI (Hamilton Fuel Injection) web site, where folks who bought aftermarket kits came there looking for tech assistance. Bill Hamilton always helped them, but I am not sure I would have.

Also, it is unfortunate there is nobody out there with feedback on any of the aftermarkets after several thousand miles on them. Apparently, most folks who buy them only drive them a few hundred miles at most, so maybe it really doesn't matter that much to them.

Collectively, I have about 57,000 miles on the two GTs with HFI. They have been pretty much trouble free. When I installed the first kit, in a few thousand miles the coil went out. But it was made by an aftermarket company, designed to look like an OEM Stude coil. I learned the hard way to stay away from aftermarket parts, and just go with GM Delco. If a GM epoxy coil it does not appear, "correct" no big deal to me.

Just my 2-cents

[StudeNorm]

I have been looking for info like Buzzard just supplied (thread #27) but need to know what the installed height will be. My R2 carb bonnet just contacts the insulation liner I installed under my hood so with the AFB carb on a couple of extra gaskets for heat insulation there is actually NO more room to go up under there. I tried getting this info from the previous thread but the pictures with that info seem to have been redacted... or maybe it is my system.
http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...ghlight=Fitech

[ndynis]

I have been looking for info like Buzzard just supplied (thread #27) but need to know what the installed height will be.

Would this help?

[StudeNorm]

Would this help?
[ATTACH=CONFIG]70385[/ATTACH]

This is perfect... Thanks!