I used to have the TPI setup and it was a pain in the ***. Everythin on the damn intake was expensive as all hell and all the damn sensors liked to break and cost me even more money. But it does look real nice. So i am thinkin of gettin the TBI and am wonderin what u guys like about it and why u chose to get the setup for urself

 

I love my TBI cause it is extremely easy to tune in comparison to TPI, parts are much cheaper/interchangable, it is far less fussy that TPI, and with a little help can support just as much power as TPI can. Yeah, TPI looks cool, but TBI kinda has that retro look to it, a muscle feel

 

alot less hassels, perforance parts are cheaper and easier to tune, and to me its easier to work on.

 

I think on a 305, a TPI is better if you have one. On a 350 or bigger I think the cost is a big issue and you don't "need" to fork out $1000 for good performance aftermarket TPI system.

 

easy to tune, speed combo's are cheap, and it produces a nice long flat torque curve liek a carb(tpi tends to make very peaky power), all while getting great mileage.

later
tim

 

I dunno about that gas milage - I mean, my L03 gets 11mpg when I take it easy...

 

might be a bad o2 sensor.

 

Maybe - but wouldnt it set a code? Or would it just give incorrect data??

 

id say my lo3 with 103k miles still gets 18 in town easy and 25ish on the interstate...after completely tuning it up with new plugs, wires, coil, cap, rotor, and new o2 sensor its not bad at all my dads 95 GT uses more gas and isnt muich faster

 

TBI is one of the easiest systems to work on, tune, and mod. It can make as much hp as TPI and has numerous benifits over carbs (namely that the computer can automatically tune for elevation, temperature, and makes cold starts easy). It's also a LOT less expensive!!! :lala:

 

Because thats what i got lol :lala:

 

FINALLY...someone with some sense.

TPI is a pain in the ***. I have an '85 IROC and an Astro van (see sig). The van is much easier to work on. Sooooo simple. It doesn't have any damn runners to get in the way of everything. Plus, you can get an after market intake (among other things) for the TBI for $200. Try that with TPI...$500 for base plate, $350 for runners...they think it's made of gold or something.

I'm about to do a TPI to TBI swap on my friends T/A because TPI sux when it comes to working with mods like heads and cam.

It's great on my IROC because it's bone stock....with 70k original miles.

 

Cool, thought so,

I knew people liked this system, the more i hear about it, the more i like it...plus i love tht nostalgic look without the pain of a carb. Sad that everyone dogs the RS even though it can be just as fast as all the other third gens.

 

I wouldn't say people dog the RS. Besides IROC-Z's, Formula's, Trans-ams could all get the same TBI engine.


I got 17mpg once when kept my foot in all the time. I get 18-22 usually, that's a mix of country backroads and city.

 

*sad*

 

TBI is better cuz it came with my car ! haha

 

TPI sucks because mice can hide under the plenum. A few sensors and an EGR valve also live under there.

 

when my carbed camaro died, and i saw this across the street for 1800, i didnt care what it was. It was a v8 and a 5 speed .. and thats all that i wanted. Couldve been a carb, tpi, ford whatever. But, I love it, i get better gas milage than my friends 4 cylinder cars that cruse 3500rpms@80 mph compared to my measely 1900 rpms.

1)It has the carb look with more power and less vacuum lines.
2)Starts up and idles when its like -5 here
3)Has that old school round air cleaner look, and no hidden items under the fuel plenum.
4) I drove 4 hours straight in less than a 1/4 tank. Booyea!
5)had a carb backfire nearly in my face, and it flooded the engine so bad i couldnt start it for a few days.
6)Its my car and i love the thing that i wish it was small enough to put near the foot of my bed. HEHE

 

It is nice to see so many people supporting TBI, do you think people will start accepting CFI? Hmmm.. probably not, oh well, it will be cool to have the only 91' RS with CFI.

 

Yeah, buck. 11mpg is TERRIBLE in a 3rd gen. I get 12-13mpg in city driving with a 350 TBI in a jeep Wrangler! 17.5 mg highway in OD, 14.75mpg on the highway in 3rd. You got something wrong there, code(s) or not... Or maybe you forgot to tell us about the blower and 5.13's???

 

I've got a friend who loves the look of CFI. He wanted to put it on his '91 RS. I think he'd rather just get an '82 pace car that has it though.

 

Yeah I like the look too. I also like the fact everbody thinks I'm stupid. See they think I'm swapping in an unported intake run by the retarded CFI computer, so everybody thinks my car wiil be slower than it is now. Hahaha . I'll actually be running it with the TBI computer with all the porting goodies and some other healthy mods.

 

Stock for stock, on the same exact motor, TBI cannot put out the same amount of power at TPI. There's a guy on this board that is proof....he switched from TBI to TPI on his 305, yes he had to spend a lot, but that's cause he went about it the wrong way (he'll be the first to admit that), but he got 10RWHP and 40 ft/lbs of TQ at the rear wheels....that is a HUGE improvement, and all he did was swap a stock TBI out for a stock TPI, and that's on a 305, the same swap on a 350 would produce larger numbers. To get TBI to be able to put out the same kind of power as a stock TPI you'd have to......(assuming you can't burn a chip, buy everything new) buy a 670cfm unit ($300), an edelbrock intake ($200), a TBI spacer ($50), injector spacer ($20), custom eprom ($200 professionally), AFPR ($65) is the holley one adjustable? I dunno?, and all the Ultimate TBI mods (time and miscellaneous costs)......(all these prices off the top of my head.) So why put $850+ dollars into a TBI unit to just be able to make is perform as well as a stock TPI unit?? That's insane. You can buy a TPI unit for $450, and still have $400 left over to buy AFPR, air foil, and runners. Add those, and the slightly modified TPI will be kicking the hell outta the maxed out TBI, and still have room for improvement (intake, larger TB, port plenum, siamese intake, etc. And if you already have TPI, why switch to TBI? The $800 or so dollars it would cost to get the TBI to TPI standars, you could use to get runners, intake, air foil, and an AFPR....you'd be whoopin *** then....and who says TPI is complicated? Going fast has never been complicated for me, it comes quite natural =)

Now why would you wanna lose the TPI for TBI?

 

lol - i wish!!

 

The TPI setup does make more power than the stock TBI setup, mainly because of it's torque making ability. An L03 doesn't need the modifications you just said to get that power/torque. I'd say the manifold(200 new), cam(200 new), and headers(350 new) would do it. The manifold can be had for (135 used), cam(60), and if you wanted to you could find a set of used headers& ypipe for $80.

So new that's a total of $750 for new parts and with those parts you'll be able to go higher in horsepower with other mods. Or you could go the used route and pay $275 for the same parts used. Compare that to what at least $400 now for a stock USED TPI system, and when the time comes for more power you'll still end up buying headers, cam, manifold, runners, base, TB, or porting the heck out of the stock stuff(the way to go) either way it's more work.

Have you ever worked on a TPI system? I'd much rather loose a few ftlbs of torque that will be made up in horsepower later in the RPM range anyway, than have to pull of of those stupid systems apart again.

You wouldn't need that Holley TBI for a long while. That's the downside to TPI at the time TBI will need the Holley TBI, the TPI will need bigger a bigger TB, runners, base..

 

True, upgrading your TBI would be cheaper (if you buy all used) and easier than getting TPI if you ALREADY have TBI, but what I was mainly trying to say was that switchin FROM TBI to TPI wasn't logical. That may not be a bad move if you really don't plan on having lots of HP and simplicity is a big issue, but most of us get into cars to go fast....not for simplicity. I admit that I was a bit unfair before....i really didn't think about the fact that the entire TPI unit would be used, so it wasn't fair to compare it to buying all NEW TBI products. And keep in mine I'm riding on TBI, and have whooped many stangs, hondas and such, so I know they're not shi++y....but I just dont think switching FROM TBI to TPI is logical. And as far as you saying that for the TPI you'd eventually have to buy runners, manifold, and TB.....that's really only when you get up to 350+HP....and how many of us plan on, or actually will get up to that much HP?? A stock TPI unit can support 325HP....can a stock TBI?

 

You kept saying TBI to TPI, did you mean TPI to TBI?

A stock TBI unit can handle 300+.

 

I have to agree with ir0cz on this one. While i have nothing against tbi and think it's a great system. After you've done all the mods to the tbi to keep up with the tpi all you have to do mods to the tpi and the tpi again, is one step ahead. For a price, but what doesn't cost $$$$$$ these days, as far as tpi being a PITA to work on, have you looked in the engine compartment lately??.....Just changing the spark plugs in it is a PITA, everything about working on cars is a PITA so what's the difference.