I have a lu5 with the cfi system but I keep reading that the cfi is not very good and a lot people convert to a carb setup. My car isnt running because of the fuel pump and has a few vacuum leaks too. Is cfi worth fixing or should I just convert to carbs?

 

CFI is a very reliable set up, very similar to tbi. The intake is restrictive, so to make any power out of it you'll need to port it or replace it w/ something like a renegade intake. On my 84 vette that had cfi, I switched over to single 2bbl. tbi (like the 88-92 tbi camaros), used my stock wiring harness & ecm to run it. Now I can run any 4bbl. type intake w/ a tbi adaptor that will fit under my hood. I switched over about 10yrs ago.

 

yup basically. they were known to not be the greatest. but thier are people out there who absolutely love them

 

Alright thanks for the info. So do carbs give more power and cfi is more about better performance?

 

Crossfire is just a really neat and novel version of TBI. I think it is more efficient than a carburetor, but it needs to be properly tuned to get max power and its more difficult to make power with than a carb.

So the REAL question is, what do you want from your car?

If its me, I 'd put a TTA fuel pump in it, tune it up, and run it as is for a while...

 

I think that's what I'm going to do. Thanks for the help.

 

Certainly, but it depends on how much you like to work on your car. It takes some effort to get it running right when you buy the car. Usually, all of the vacuum lines need to be replaced and the throttle bodies need to be rebuilt (the throttle shaft bushings wear out). Once you get it running well, its only a matter of maintaining it.

I would suggest buying a 1982 Chevrolet Camaro Shop Manual. These were used as reference books at the dealership when the mechanics were working on the cars. There is a lot of good info and once you read through it, the CFI is much easier to understand. It's really not much different from a single 2-bbl TBI, but it looks a whole lot cooler!

There are also guys out there still supporting CFI with aftermarket parts, so you can modify your system to handle as much power as any of the 2-bbl TBI guys. I just installed a new aftermarket CFI intake. Before the intake swap, the engine made 240 RWHP and 270 ft lbs of torque.

Here is a pic of my modified CFI:

 

Ok thank you. gheatly where did you get the fuel line between the throttle bodies with the guage on it?

 

Gheatly, that is a great looking setup! I love that cross ram intake you used. Does it allow you to use the factory air cleaner to hook to the hood?

jolly, that is the setup I would try to emulate if I were you. Just put yours back to stock good working condition first, and then work your way up. Its really a cool setup.

 

Yea that is going to be my new goal, to get my setup like that. I cant wait to get started and get my T/A back on the road

 

The company is called Dynamic Crossfire Solutions (DCS). They sell several parts including the polished SS fuel line with fuel pressure gauge and the Renegade intake. They sell several other parts you might find useful in addition to rebuilding and boring throttle bodies.

The Renegade cross-ram fits within the form of the stock crossfire intake, so everything bolts up. The stock air filter housing does fit to the hood. Unfortunately, the HAM board I have does not have the ability to control the hood flapper solenoid. I am planning in using a throttle actuated nitrous switch when I get around to it.

Get the shop manual - you will be glad you did. Start by doing repair and replace of old parts. If your car is high mileage, I would get throttle body bushings replaced. Runs around $125 IIRC. Will help maintain a stable idle.

 

I swapped my originally carbed '82 z28 to CFI back in
'94(tried it in '93 too,but didn't do it right-ran like crap
LOL)tried again in '94 with a complete '84 vette 350
after a few glitches got it running good,then in '95
modified for a major horspower increase
been running great and very reliable ever since
BTW most of the major horspower increase was from
modification and porting of the intake manifold

 

Here is the website for dynamic:

http://crossfireinjection.net/

Its got me thinking about using a renegade on my TBI car, and replacing my single TBI with two one barrel units. Hmmm.......

 

I seriously thought about getting another Renegade and converting my '69 Camaro to Crossfire since I have extra parts lying around. Tough decision, but went LS instead for more,easier horsepower. I still think a '69 with a good, modified Crossfire system would be awesome.

I didn't want to put the link to DCS; didn't know if it was allowed by forum rules.

 

If you are a user of EBL a better safer idea is to use it to activate solenoids. you can set for MPH and RPM paramenters. I am at 3200 rpms and 35 MPH. I have run N20 now for one season.

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I don't think posting a link to more parts or tech is a no-no; its helping people out and that's what this place is all about.

I think using a crossfire TBI system anywhere an original cross ram style carburetor setup was used (like vintage racing stuff) would be really, really cool.

 

It has its CFM limitations. There is an extrude hone available at significant cost to max the CFM. That being done with a 283 CID would be cool. IMO.

 

Should I get the 82 camaro shop manual even though I have an 83 T/A? I know they are very similar and had the same engine and cfi setup but would the manual help me with other things besides that?

 

When using the HAM with an EBL set up you can use pin BLK-16. That pin is activated when the ECM goes into PE mode (WOT mode). It will pull low when activated. Can use that to drive a relay that then drives the solenoid.

RBob.

 

Ronny - I'm not planning on using the switch for N20, only to activate the hood flapper soleniod. I know it's juvenile, but those flaps opening up are freakin' cool!

Jollythought - The Pontiac manual may be harder to find, but I would get one if you can. The manual covers everything about the car, so there will be other stuff you want. If you can't find one, go for the Camaro manual. The crossfire and other engine stuff should all be the same.

RBob - That is great to know. IIRC, when Ken at Speedtronics assembled my HAM, some resistor that was required for the flapper solenoid circuit was no longer available, so he said that it wouldn't work. What do you mean by BLK 16? I looked at EBL pinout and on the black connector C16 is bat + and D16 is INJ #1 driver.

 

Juvenile, shmuvenile. Those flaps opening are probably my favorite part of having a CFI!

 

It would be pin 16 of the black connector to the CFI harness. It is pin C1 on the ECM side.

If the resistance of the solenoid is 60 ohms or more, can drive it directly from the ECM. However, being a solenoid to open the flaps it is likely lower in resistance to provide more mechanical power. So I mentioned the relay to be on the safe side.

RBob.

 

the value of your KARR is in the eye of the beholder

I have the 1983 firebird shop manual

 

So, how much to reproduce it so that we can have copies?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1983-...sQ5fLiterature


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1983-...sQ5fLiterature


this is the same guy I bought it from back in 2008

 

Thanks for that. Its now marked in my list of stuff to get next payday!