I see that some other systems are now claiming to be plug and play. Are they?

No we won't. I'll explain, but first, for those that are not clear on the different types of EFI, let me explain the differences between throttle body injection (TBI), and port fuel injection. As with our system, TBI systems use a throttle body on top of a conventional carbureted style manifold. The difference is that a TBI system has the fuel injectors located in the throttle body (hence the name), and a port fuel injection system has eight individual injectors, one located at the base of each intake runner. All existing TBI systems are also speed density, unlike our system, which is Mass Air. We've covered that extensively on the "Mass-Flo Systems" page. If you have not read it, you should.

So... Why won't we develop a TBI system? Simply because we won't sell anything that I do not personally believe in, and a TBI system just cannot perform up to our standards on too many applications. Blame it on my upbringing, but if I can't do better than the rest, I won't do it at all. I suspect our customers will appreciate this extra attention to detail!

A TBI system would offer a slightly easier installation, but at too great a sacrifice. If we were to offer TBI, you might be able to bolt it onto your existing manifold, rather than changing it, so there is a little less work, but the little bit of time you save will cost you...

(1) Chances are, the manifold you have is not the best choice, and should be changed anyway. It may be too restrictive, and holding back your engines potential, or it may simply be a bad choice for your application. Which brings us to number 2...

(2) Your manifold may not be well suited to TBI. This can be difficult to overcome since you are right back where you were with your old inefficient carburetor. Since the air is being mixed with fuel in the throttle body, intake manifold selection is critical to performance. Too small a runner will result in a restriction, sacrificing power. Too large a runner will result in low velocity at low RPMs, and fuel pooling in the intake. This will cause very poor idle quality. With our port EFI system, the fuel is introduced at the base of the intake. Since there is no fuel traveling through the intake, there is no potential for pooling, so we simply use a large runner. For more on this, see "Which intake manifold should I choose?" above.

(3) TBI systems are speed density. Speed density relies on a MAP (manifold air pressure) sensor as it's primary source for determining how much fuel to add. If your camshaft produces poor, or erratic vacuum, the speed density system will have no effective way of determining how much fuel to add. Our Mass-Flo system does not read manifold vacuum. This allows you to use whatever camshaft you want. The speed density vs. mass air issue is covered extensively on our "Mass-Flo Systems" page. Again, if you have not read our "Mass-Flo Systems" page, you should.

(4) TBI systems use two injectors. Sometimes they use four injectors. Our port EFI system uses eight injectors. To illustrate why this is important, lets use a pretty typical horsepower figure for a performance V8 engine. 450hp is fairly easy to achieve, and is a realistic figure, so that is what we will use for this example. A 450hp V8 engine, using eight injectors would require 30pph (pounds per hour) injectors. The same engine with four injectors would require 60pph injectors. The larger the injector, the sloppier it gets at low RPMs, and the less efficient they become. Poor idle quality and poor fuel economy are the result. For you power hungry fellows, lets consider something more extreme. Lets say the engine is supercharged, and makes 800hp at the flywheel. With eight injectors, you would use 60pph injectors, and those 60pph injectors would work just fine, since this engine will suck up a little sloppiness without issue. But the TBI system would need 120pph injectors. Also keep in mind... at idle, the supercharger is not producing any boost, and the engine is not producing any more power than it would without the supercharger, so it cannot use all that extra fuel. Now that's sloppy! I'm sure you can do the math on the two injector systems...

Also worth mentioning, is the progression the auto makers have made over the years. We started with carburetors, then electronic carburetors, then TBI, then batch fired port EFI, then sequential fired port EFI. Each replaced it's successor for a reason. The Mass-Flo system is a sequential fired port EFI system.

That's a good question, and a tough one to answer accurately, since every engine will be different. What we can tell you is this... You are almost assured of an improvement. We've sold systems to customers who were previously using other brands of aftermarkrt fuel injection, and seen large gains in economy (as much as 25 percent!), as well as gains in drivability and power. You can expect HUGE gains over a carburetor. Customers have reported gains of over 75 percent over their carburetor!

We routinely hear of MPG figures in the area of 21 to 25 MPG on engines making well over 500 horsepower!

Another tough one... Whether or not you pass will be determined by your combination of engine components. No induction/management system can make an absolute fire breathing gas hog pass emissions. However, we have NEVER had a customer fail emissions! Not even on engines that SHOULD have failed! What we can say is that the Mass-Flo system will make it as clean as possible, and if there is a chance, the Mass-Flo system is your best shot.