Holley Sniper EFI : Tips / Tricks / Modifications (3 Viewers)

[knuckle47]

PLEASE….POST ANY THOUGHTS YOU MAY HAVE.


Now that my Holley sniper fuel injection is installed on my FJ40 I have discovered why I enjoy it a lot. And that is ….the ease of starting is remarkable compared to my stock experiences over the last 50 years. I will admit fuel injection technology is something I am completely blind to. I have mentioned this before but as an avid vintage motorcycle rider since I was 20, everything I ever rode was a kick starter and they really really well tuned kickstart motorcycle starts on the second kick a poorly tuned motorcycle while you’re on your own and the quality of your knees. When I had purchased a new 1995 fuel injected ultra classic it was a simple press of a button and the engine was running …that impressed me to no end. Remember in 1970 vintage motorcycle was 1920-1930 and some of those bikes were a monster to tune to try to ride and to keep started and running. In fact, that may be why my knee replacement was such a pain in the butt.

The Holley Sniper kit is a pretty straightforward install basically following any standard mechanical assembly procedures. On the other hand, it can be modified significantly using computer software and other updates which I am interested in, but I will not try them without some reasonably good guidance.

Obviously, there are quite a few Holley sniper users here on the forum that have substantially more experience And technical capabilities so my question to you guys as what mapping modifications or adjustments have you made in the ECU to improve the performance of the system.

I still chase that IAC number as mine routinely and eventually winds up at zero my question becomes is there some other part of the software responsible for that because mechanically I have not been able to find anything. So in this post, I guess I am looking for some ideas on updating firmware which they show and explain on some YouTube videos….that of course passes right over my head as my computer skills are MINIMALLY acceptable …

I would love that a few will chime in here on their experiences

 

[cstav86]

FWIW my IAC is zero at idle at temperature. Cannot get it to show what they spec.

 

[knuckle47]

@cstav86 hmmmm. Good to know. Thanks for that. My truck runs great. Starts well so besides that, I’m happy with this and the new spark plugs and wires smoothed out the idle even further

 

[knuckle47]

@cstav86 and other Sniper EFI users….. decided I was anal enough to go thru each step with painstaking care and spent over 3 weeks installing the EFI, I could not live without having tortured myself by waiting 22 minutes on the phone waiting for Holley Tech Support. Gotta say that after 6-8 minutes that 4 bar beat “music on hold” has to be designed to make you hang up. At about 18 minutes you start not to hear it.

Believe me I am happy to have a way to get in touch with them…they are always nice, easy to deal with and are sure you understand their information… but at my age maybe I don’t want to kill time waiting for some things so I become cynical with MANY things during the day.

So…what happened…. He told me to start the engine, bring it up to operating temperature. Remove the air cleaner and block off the little triangle on the flat part of the throttle body with strong tape. Back out the “carb throttle screw” to about 50 rpm less than the setting you have in the initial setup file screen. Remove the tape and your IAC will respond differently. Restart.

EDIT: 2:27am. Forgot to add….re-adjust the carb screw accordingly

 

[knuckle47]

I plan on doing this tomorrow so I can happily report back. I don’t know much about the processes involved for the EFI making decisions on fuel delivery so, I will go thru this and see what happens. Either way it is running nicely, starts instantly and is very responsive to throttle. I got the passenger seat all bolted up and cut the existing heavy carpet so I can remove it in The future by lifting it out and not having it bolted under the seat supports


Just noticed I missed a Bolt on the fuel fill cover…using stainless on each bolt I removed

 

[mrboatman]

Here’s what is under those side covers. Solid state electronics (firewall side), and a look at the injector's on the other side.

 

[knuckle47]

@mrboatman thanks for these pictures. It makes a lot more sense seeing this. Especially when @POTATO LAUNCHER and @cruisermatt posted about replacing injectors with Bosch ones and just changing o-rings. Lots more to it than I figured. My goal is to be trouble free for a few years…by then I’ll be older than I would want to be and probably need a cushier ride, like a La-Z-Boy.

If I do run into issues, it’s nice being able to do a few parts changes to correct it. Granted the guys who preach carburetor have valid points but… this does pave new avenues for me and some really good ones at that. For the 10th time….it starts like magic for a truck I use 2-3 times a month currently. I have T-birds…when I don’t start them monthly, it’s a task getting gas into the fuel bowl for 2-3 minutes. They start and run great and if they were run every 3-4 days…perfect. Thank goodness for battery maintainers. I even keep one on the 6 volt 1947 Ford tractor and that starts like the EFI Land Cruiser with an old Schebler carb

By the way, this knee replacement has made it impossible to get in a 57 t-bird with the hardtop on.

 

[mrboatman]

@mrboatman thanks for these pictures. It makes a lot more sense seeing this. Especially when @POTATO LAUNCHER and @cruisermatt posted about replacing injectors with Bosch ones and just changing o-rings. Lots more to it than I figured. My goal is to be trouble free for a few years…by then I’ll be older than I would want to be and probably need a cushier ride, like a La-Z-Boy.

If I do run into issues, it’s nice being able to do a few parts changes to correct it. Granted the guys who preach carburetor have valid points but… this does pave new avenues for me and some really good ones at that. For the 10th time….it starts like magic for a truck I use 2-3 times a month currently. I have T-birds…when I don’t start them monthly, it’s a task getting gas into the fuel bowl for 2-3 minutes. They start and run great and if they were run every 3-4 days…perfect. Thank goodness for battery maintainers. I even keep one on the 6 volt 1947 Ford tractor and that starts like the EFI Land Cruiser with an old Schebler carb

By the way, this knee replacement has made it impossible to get in a 57 t-bird with the hardtop on.

Yes replacement parts on the are really pretty easy to change. I hear ya on the knees I did both of mine about 6 years ago and it’s a little rough getting on the ground and crawling around.

 

[knuckle47]

Still? Ouch! I cannot yet get on the ground… my brain sees soft tissue on the good knee and skin against steel on the other…it hurts just thinking about it.

I accidentally ran over a steel guy wire cable with the lawn tractor so it got wrapped up in the triple blades. Under any other circumstances I would crawl under it and reach under the cutting deck to un-wrap it…. It’s still jammed up! Maybe next month?

 

[wngrog]

Why did you start another thread?

 

[knuckle47]

My search for one never revealed anything… gladly delete this one

Frankly, searching seems to bring up some completely different results. I have gotten more defined and refined but I still get some very odd results

 

[wngrog]

I don’t really care one way or another but isn’t this what your other thread is about?

 

[knuckle47]

My assumption is, now that my install is complete, I am actively looking to try some changes other may have found to make a difference with the adjustable features in the EFI . I know it’s not a performance vehicle…but, even my 44 year old rototiller has benefitted from discovering things others have tried or had success with. My other install thread was only to post the problems and show the install I was able to do. As I was concerned , beyond any major developments, it was done.

When I search for things, I never have gotten a direct look for what I searched for …in fact 50-60 posts pop up that may have a word match but not the topic.

For the Sniper installs I keep a page in the computer that has all the links listed of guys who, like yourself whose posts I relied upon heavily beyond the Holley instructions , have a series of posts related to install. But if I search for Sniper installs… get a very confused list …some which have no relationship to the search

My goal was to discover things about this EFI system that I still remain clueless. If you know of another source, please point it out.

 

[wngrog]

It’s not as smart as you think it is. It’s really a very dumb system.

90% of sniper issues are input issues.

For a 2F it can be a few things

Vacuum leaks

Improper valve lash

Poor O2 placement

Fuel delivery

I’ve also seen lots of issues using old Igniton and distributors that don’t work.

Just my .02 on the thread.

 

[mrboatman]

@wngrog What distributor have you prefer for a sniper on a 84 era 2F totally desmoged with stock exhaust system

 

[knuckle47]

@mrboatman I am using the Performance Distributors D.U.I. and their Livewire wires on a 1975 2F desmogged

Toyota Landcruiser DUI Distributor – Performance Distributors

performancedistributors.com

 

[mrboatman]

Yeah I was looking at that. I was thinking about sending my big cap dizzy to @FJ40Jim for a refresh and recurve.

 

[wngrog]

@wngrog What distributor have you prefer for a sniper on a 84 era 2F totally desmoged with stock exhaust system

DUI here. No other chinese knock off.

The main reason I do it is to remove a lot of old problems out of the system.

Recently I sent 4 60 distributors to JimC for him to use as cores for recurve work.

All 4 came out or running trucks. All 4 had issues of some sort that would have bit me on the ass tuning on the back side.

 

[MOTOV8R]

Now that my Holley sniper fuel injection is installed on my FJ40 I have discovered why I enjoy it a lot. And that is ….the ease of starting is remarkable compared to my stock experiences over the last 50 years. I will admit fuel injection technology is something I am completely blind to. I have mentioned this before but as an avid vintage motorcycle rider since I was 20, everything I ever rode was a kick starter and they really really well tuned kickstart motorcycle starts on the second kick a poorly tuned motorcycle while you’re on your own and the quality of your knees. When I had purchased a new 1995 fuel injected ultra classic it was a simple press of a button and the engine was running …that impressed me to no end. Remember in 1970 vintage motorcycle was 1920-1930 and some of those bikes were a monster to tune to try to ride and to keep started and running. In fact, that may be why my knee replacement was such a pain in the butt.

The Holley Sniper kit is a pretty straightforward install basically following any standard mechanical assembly procedures. On the other hand, it can be modified significantly using computer software and other updates which I am interested in, but I will not try them without some reasonably good guidance.

Obviously, there are quite a few Holley sniper users here on the forum that have substantially more experience And technical capabilities so my question to you guys as what mapping modifications or adjustments have you made in the ECU to improve the performance of the system.

I still chase that IAC number as mine routinely and eventually winds up at zero my question becomes is there some other part of the software responsible for that because mechanically I have not been able to find anything. So in this post, I guess I am looking for some ideas on updating firmware which they show and explain on some YouTube videos….that of course passes right over my head as my computer skills are MINIMALLY acceptable …

I would love that a few will chime in here on their experiences View attachment 3648619

Well, I had honestly never looked at IAC. Setup the sniper a couple months back. Been starting it regularly and letting it get to temp but not driving (still finishing some things up). So I gave it a check yesterday. After I started it was around 12-13, as it warmed up and rpm came down so did IAC to about 6-7. Then i revved it a few times and it settled in at 3 at idle.

 

[knuckle47]

@MOTOV8R well, from everything I have been able to extract from reading, video and telephone calls…your setup seem ideal . Doing mine today based on the recommendations from Holley and I hope to wind up accordingly. Of course, I’ll post those results