[Schwany]

I put the FiTech Go Port back in its box and placed the box on the same shelf in the garage where the FiTech Go EFI box sits. I then installed an Edelbrock Pro-Flo 4 (PF4). The PF4 is more work than installing a FiTech product because the PF4 harness, ECU, and weatherpak connectors are huge, sensors are external, and it's a little difficult to hide all the wiring. I actually gave up on trying to hide the ECU and just screwed it to a flat sheet of aluminum I screwed to my heater fan box in the engine bay. Looking into the left corner of the engine bay from the front of the car it looks like the inside of a service box for a commercial laundry. Not doing a restoration, so even though it is a rookie move, I figured I could live with it. Besides it's a '65 Chev El Camino.

All in all the design, performance, and ease of use with an android tuning device over Bluetooth is a very welcome improvement over using the half baked FiTech MPFI setup and credit card sized tuner. If you haven't tried both versions of MPFI, you won't ever know what you are missing settling on what FiTech provides.

Edlebrock is working on support for forced induction in the Pro-Flo 4 and 4 XT products. Nitrous support won't be included. So if you need nitrous support, you have to come up with another solution or use another EFI system that does provide software support for nitrous.

For a NA street only ride, the PF4 checks all the boxes including the price performance box. I plan to leave this setup on unless it dies, in which case I will go back to carburetion, and get a new heater box. YMMV

 

[-SS454-]

I thought the Pro-Flo 4 looked very good. Will you do any dyno tuning?

How's the software, can you get really detailed in the tuning?

What about timing control?

 

[rel3rd]

I don't even know who you are anymore...
















:grin2: :wink2:




Why the change?

 

[Schwany]

I don't even know who you are anymore...

:grin2: :wink2:




Why the change?

I tried keeping the faith, but my FiTech tolerance meter maxed out. The system started getting real flakey and never ran right after a long trip where it acted like it was shutting off and restarting about every 8 minutes or so. Did that for 107 miles heading home. Never thought I'd get home, but I did. I got it close to running right again just before I bought the Pro Flo 4, but really lost my trust in the system, and it was time for it to go. If I were 30 years younger and living paycheck to paycheck I might have put up with it some more, but I'm done putting up with stuff that makes me work too hard to keep it running.

The Pro-Flo 4 is impressive. Edelbrock did their homework.

 

[Schwany]

I thought the Pro-Flo 4 looked very good. Will you do any dyno tuning?

How's the software, can you get really detailed in the tuning?

What about timing control?

The PF4 has enough user tuning features to make just about anything run well. AFR, pump shot and duration, timing control, overall fuel, crank fuel, yadd yadda. Edelbrock has 32 base fuel maps to choose from, and you can custom tune from those base maps. If you want to edit VE tables and dig deep into EFI, you should probably look at systems that support HP tuner.

It is a sequential firing MPFI system that relies on timing control. It comes with a distributor that is a locked, and you drop it in at 12 degrees BTDC. Then verify base timing with the handheld tuner and a timing light. So yes indeed it supports timing control. You can modify the curve in the software.

The tuning software looks really dumbed down intentionally, but it isn't dumbed down internally. The ECU in the PF4 is quick. Small tuning changes in the right direction get implemented and integrated instantly. It's a winner if you don't want to spend endless days trying to make the system work.

If you want more information about installing the system and the tuning features, you can download pdf documents from Summit racing and other places.

 

[.183953]

I thought the Pro-Flo 4 looked very good. Will you do any dyno tuning?

How's the software, can you get really detailed in the tuning?

What about timing control?

The PF4 has enough user tuning features to make just about anything run well. AFR, pump shot and duration, timing control, overall fuel, crank fuel, yadd yadda. Edelbrock has 32 base fuel maps to choose from, and you can custom tune from those base maps. If you want to edit VE tables and dig deep into EFI, you should probably look at systems that support HP tuner.

It is a sequential firing MPFI system that relies on timing control. It comes with a distributor that is a locked, and you drop it in at 12 degrees BTDC. Then verify base timing with the handheld tuner and a timing light. So yes indeed it supports timing control. You can modify the curve in the software.

The tuning software looks really dumbed down intentionally, but it isn't dumbed down internally. The ECU in the PF4 is quick. Small tuning changes in the right direction get implemented and integrated instantly. It's a winner if you don't want to spend endless days trying to make the system work.

If you want more information about installing the system and the tuning features, you can download pdf documents from Summit racing and other places.

I want to add to this(although mine is a 3 and slower sadly)...
Honestly I don't feel a dyno tune is necessary as the system works awesome without it. No weird bogs, issues at high rpm, or idle. Once it starts learning it's pretty much set and go--if you know what you really need for afr you are set to go.

 

[darksky]

Two years with the FiTech and absolutely no problems. The previous owner had it professionally installed by a high end restoration shop right before he sold it.
Maybe that's why it works so well, it was professionally installed and set up.

 

[paul bell]

Same here.

A year with Fitech's most complex system, the Ultimate LS system, that I hacked up and modified to work on a Mk IV 496. No problems here.

Steve, shutting down every 8 miles, I would think that was a fuel supply problem.

 

[Schwany]

Two years with the FiTech and absolutely no problems. The previous owner had it professionally installed by a high end restoration shop right before he sold it.
Maybe that's why it works so well, it was professionally installed and set up.

Professional installation doesn't hold water for me. Doesn't matter if it's a high end shop or not. The FiTech 4150 mount throttle body system is the easiest to install out there.

The FiTech Go EFI 600HP I installed originally worked fine for over a year. I took it off to try out the FiTech Go Port MPFI setup. I'm sure the Go EFI I have still works fine, it just happens to be in a box now. The Go Port I installed worked well for about 18 months, but out of the blue took a crap. It's got nothing to do with the install, and FiTech system failures are not that uncommon. I'm sure the overall percentage compared to units sold is not that high, but it does happen.

 

[paul bell]

...FiTech system failures are not that uncommon.

I haven't seen this. I follow (and participate a lot) in the Ultimate LS Facebook page and I also follow the Holley Terminator-X (LS) page.


Many Fitech users are good at first start up, some have had issues, a ver few had bad ECUs. But I haven't seen anybody say over time things go bad. As time goes on, the product seems to had become more reliable. Many problems are installation/user caused.



The Holley system is the same, they have their issues, mostly with components not communication.

 

[Schwany]

Steve, shutting down every 8 miles, I would think that was a fuel supply problem.

Yeah, I thought that and about 40 other things.

It didn't shut down and die. It stopped firing for a tick, nose dived a little, and started running normally (if you can call it normally) again. I never had to pull off the HWY, and restart the car. 8 minutes is an approximation guess at the frequency. It was random and more frequent, since it happened about 40 times in 107 miles.

Not a fuel supply problem. More than likely it was something noise or poor connection related in the electrical system. Could have been in the car's electrical system, the ignition system, or the ECU itself. It definitely confused the hell out of the ECU, and the next day the motor would run and die idling, which is usually a loss of RPM signal.

I went through the entire electrical system, rerouted the main harness and had to re-flash the ECU and start over with the calibration to get the motor to run reasonably well the next day. I also tried different distributors, coils, plugs and so on and so forth while troubleshooting. I did get it to run again, but the system never worked as smoothly as it did before the incident during the cruise. It still hauled butt from a stand still. The Go Port's greatest strength for me was that it always took full throttle without a hiccup. Regardless, I had been looking for an excuse to take off the FiTech and try sequential firing MPFI designed by a mature company that had been working with EFI since 1979.

I'm running the same fuel system I was using with the Go Port with the Edelbrock Pro-Flo 4 and zero problems. The Edelbrock reads fuel pressure (which the FiTech does not do) and it matches the adjustable bypass fuel pressure regulator gauge exactly. Never a hiccup.

I'm not here trying to hurt the feelings of satisfied FiTech users. I'm just reporting an experience.

 

[Schwany]

I haven't seen this. I follow (and participate a lot) in the Ultimate LS Facebook page and I also follow the Holley Terminator-X (LS) page.

Several users in the "FiTech owners group" on facebook have reported ECU failures. FiTech replaces some of the ECUs at no cost, and some ECUs the users have to pay for. Since you don't belong to that group, you wouldn't have seen those failure reports.

 

[Schwany]

I want to add to this(although mine is a 3 and slower sadly)...
Honestly I don't feel a dyno tune is necessary as the system works awesome without it. No weird bogs, issues at high rpm, or idle. Once it starts learning it's pretty much set and go--if you know what you really need for afr you are set to go.

Yep, compared to the Go Port the Pro-Flo 4 system is a dream so far. Must be all the installer errors I made that makes it work so well. >

 

[paul bell]

Steve, here in the Chevelles Forums, one has to be tough and not let their feelings get hurt! :wink2:

And I'm certain you performed a quality install.

 

[.183953]

Yep, compared to the Go Port the Pro-Flo 4 system is a dream so far. Must be all the installer errors I made that makes it work so well. >

Yep, I have let mine sit for a year(moved out of state) came back and it fired up like I was driving it every day.

 

[Tom Mobley]

Steve, here in the Chevelles Forums, one has to be tough and not let their feelings get hurt! :wink2:

And I'm certain you performed a quality install.

Gee, and here I've been thinking this was a pretty mild place.

 

[Schwany]

Steve, here in the Chevelles Forums, one has to be tough and not let their feelings get hurt! :wink2:

And I'm certain you performed a quality install.

Install is adequate. Lots of ways to do it. If I wanted to take 6 months on the install, I could have made it look better and replaced more of the old car electronics under the dash this time around. It's just a frame on restomod hot rod toy. That reminds me I need to find a way to get my hand up in there above the steering column and pull the full time hot wire off that damn old original analog clock that runs 24/7. The adjustment knob doesn't work anymore, so the clock is useless and using voltage.

Don't need to be too tough to be yapping anywhere on the interweb at my age. Being delusional helps a lot though.

 

[Tom Mobley]

>>>Being delusional helps a lot though.

Dementia is good too. You can get by with about anything if people think you're in early onset Alzheimer's.

 

[Schwany]

>>>Being delusional helps a lot though.

Dementia is good too. You can get by with about anything if people think you're in early onset Alzheimer's.

My wife is living in fear of what I will become when all that not so fun stuff actually takes place. She's afraid I'll become the version of myself she doesn't like. Dang, that is my favorite version of myself. Funny how that all works out.

I finally put the pedal on the floor from a dead stop with the PF4. It did not disappoint. Can't see myself going back to carburetion after that nice burnout.

 

[StevenS]

Steve

Havent been here for a while. Suprized you switched over. Yep PF4 is a good system. No issues here. Glad you like it. Edelbrock has the best customer service IMO.