Fi for a 502 BB

[CanuckHoss]

Sounds sweet

It does..once we get the idle down to 650 or so instead of 800 to 850 even sweeter!!

It sounds way better / crisper with the FI...I don't think the Holley is going to dissapoint..

[Jack]

I have found that the EFI likes to idle a little higher than my carb did, by at least 100rpm, probably more. Hopefully you can drop it way down and let it lope!

[CanuckHoss]

I have found that the EFI likes to idle a little higher than my carb did, by at least 100rpm, probably more. Hopefully you can drop it way down and let it lope!

We had it at 650 before I let for Daytona...it was MEAN!! they bumped it a bit for the next few hundred miles and I forget the reason BUT it will be back to 650..very easy to set idle.

The neat thing with EFI is idle is idle all the time..in gear or not. A carb idles at a slower speed once in gear with a load at a stop.

[Jack]

I could select 650 in my dashboard, but that didn't stop the bike from stalling.

[CanuckHoss]

I could select 650 in my dashboard, but that didn't stop the bike from stalling.

hmmmm...wonder what the issue was??

[CanuckHoss]

Did 40 miles today on the highway...runs really really good. First highway miles

Found out though that someone got the wrong thermostat...I told them a 160 and I am 100% sure it is a 180

A 180 won't work because my ON / OFF fan switch is ON at 185 and off at 165...so it would never be OFF.

Overall it seems to be running warmer in stop and go..it was only about 55 F today so it should not have run warm. We will change the thermostat and go from there.

[CanuckHoss]

Out today again for a highway romp to Calgary..intown for coffee then highway home.

Outside temperature was about 40 to 45 tops.

This EFI runs really really nice!!!

BUT:

In stop and go where you are stopped at lights even in these temps it does not cool..it slowly warms to the 200 to 205 if at a light for a few minutes with fan running. Totally not normal.

Even with a 160 I am not sure it will change what is happening. It should easily cool from 200 down to the 180 thermostat in these temps just sitting idling at a light yet it gets warmer.

There are a few things different from last year.
- thermostat last year was a 160
- I got the rad fixed this winter and blocked off a small bit of each top corner..I don't beleive this is the issue because as soon as I start moving even 10 mph the temp starts going down.
- intake was changed to the lower height / single plane...the stock intake had a coolant crossover from front to back that we thought about for quite a while and never drilled and tapped the new intake to be same as the old..that might be my issue??
- I had an additive in the coolant last year...supposed to be a really good. When I added it last year I did notice a small difference but I can't see that if I added it now it would solve my problem.

Will be interesting to find the answer..as simple as a 160 thermostat fix?? we shall see.

[502wingman]

I am not the expert here but as far as I know a fuel injected engine runs hotter than a carburated one.

On my Chevy Tahoe the temp gauge is centered at 210 and it shows 210 normally.

[Jack]

I am not the expert here but as far as I know a fuel injected engine runs hotter than a carburated one.

On my Chevy Tahoe the temp gauge is centered at 210 and it shows 210 normally.

If I had to guess, that isn't because the motors are EFI, it is because they were designed as a system to run hotter. Hotter engines pollute less. The OEMs don't care about the extra heat because they have BIG radiators, and they aren't sitting on top of them like us.

EFI prefers to run hotter only because that is where the engineers wanted them to.

I will add this - if your EFI is controlling your timing - or if it is running leaner than it used to - that could explain the warmer engine. A lot of variables at play now that you've changed quite a bit.

[CanuckHoss]

I am not the expert here but as far as I know a fuel injected engine runs hotter than a carburated one.

On my Chevy Tahoe the temp gauge is centered at 210 and it shows 210 normally.

If I had to guess, that isn't because the motors are EFI, it is because they were designed as a system to run hotter. Hotter engines pollute less. The OEMs don't care about the extra heat because they have BIG radiators, and they aren't sitting on top of them like us.

EFI prefers to run hotter only because that is where the engineers wanted them to.

I will add this - if your EFI is controlling your timing - or if it is running leaner than it used to - that could explain the warmer engine. A lot of variables at play now that you've changed quite a bit.

Yes...the EFI could be adding to the issue in chatting with my techs today.

It was brought up that maybe the fan was running backwards...hmmmm??..that scenario would totally account for what is happening and I was really hoping that was it. I went home and started it up to warm up until the fan cut in..nope...fan is correct.

We are going to do simple stuff first as in 160 Thermostat and the additive to the rad. That is 2 out of the 4 things that changed eliminated...go from there..

[CanuckHoss]

It looks like the crossover that was on stock intake and we never put back onto new intake is NOT the issue as Gerry took it off his 502 BB bike a bit ago with no cooling issues noticed...

[CanuckHoss]

Could it be the new intake itself??

Old stock one was a dual plane and this new is a single plane?

Thinking out side the box and brainstorming?

[Orlando606VetteTrike]

You might want to give Curtis Pyatt a ring. He's got extensive big block experience and is a super nice guy.

Also, what did the water passages look like in the new manifold vs the old? Maybe they don't flow the same volume of fluid??

[Ron Radulski]

Barry, what about asking Marv in Minnesota?

[CanuckHoss]

You might want to give Curtis Pyatt a ring. He's got extensive big block experience and is a super nice guy.

Also, what did the water passages look like in the new manifold vs the old? Maybe they don't flow the same volume of fluid??

I never looked Gerry....I did some searching and did not find anything to say the flow or cooling is less with a single plane

I definitely seems like it has to do with flow, volume etc as in a restricted 180 thermostat or a water pump that is close to shitting the bed...

[CanuckHoss]

More thn one knowledgable person has said that the single plane intake NOR the elimination of the crossover in the intake are the problem.

One of my hotrod friends who has a motorcycle shop said today..dump the 180 and see what happens. Suggested it could be as simple a thing as we are too lean at idle...and a bit high at idle.

Short a mechanic this week so no thermostat change..

[Jack]

The intake has nothing to do with it, I agree 100%.

If there is even a small chance that the fan is wired backwards... that takes about 2 seconds to check.

I can tell you from my own experience, my bike runs hotter with the EFI than it did with the carb and the only thing I changed was the carb to an EFI.

Right now you don't know how rich or lean your carb combo was running. You do know, however, what your EFI combo is running at because you have a wideband. If you're running leaner, that is hotter - to an extent. Timing can also add/remove heat.

Check the fan.

[CanuckHoss]

The intake has nothing to do with it, I agree 100%.

If there is even a small chance that the fan is wired backwards... that takes about 2 seconds to check.

I can tell you from my own experience, my bike runs hotter with the EFI than it did with the carb and the only thing I changed was the carb to an EFI.

Right now you don't know how rich or lean your carb combo was running. You do know, however, what your EFI combo is running at because you have a wideband. If you're running leaner, that is hotter - to an extent. Timing can also add/remove heat.

Check the fan.

We were brainstorming at the shop last Saturday and one of my guys says "is the fan maybe wired backwards??" and I thought..THAT IS IT because that is exactly how it was behaving...my tech went.."pretty sure I wired red to red and black to black but go home and check". So I did..let the trike warm up to fan coming on and it was the right way..that would have been an easy solution to the issue..

The carb I had was quite rich at idle which means it was somewhat cooler condition than an EFI running at optimal settings...

[Jack]

Are you under the impression that the bike is considerably hotter though? What have you done with the timing?

[CanuckHoss]

Are you under the impression that the bike is considerably hotter though? What have you done with the timing?

As I had described above my impression is that I could NOT sit in traffic...not moving...on a 40F day without heating past 210 if I sat there for 10 minutes.....previous years I could be in 75F to 80 F for an hour and then be getting very close to 210...big difference in my mind...

[Jack]

I'd say that is considerably.
I know I read that earlier, hard to navigate around on the phone.

I'd forget the EFI and timing stuff and look at thermostat, fan, radiator, waterpump stuff.

I know I have issues, mine was about 230* on the way to work last year before I crashed it.

[CanuckHoss]

I'd say that is considerably.
I know I read that earlier, hard to navigate around on the phone.

I'd forget the EFI and timing stuff and look at thermostat, fan, radiator, waterpump stuff.

I know I have issues, mine was about 230* on the way to work last year before I crashed it.

Next week back to 3 Techs..hopefully one can tackle the thermostat...then need some decent weather to test..spring has been an asshole this year..lol...

[CanuckHoss]

Well...the "ASSHOLE Spring" we were having just left and we are having weather in the 70's starting today...

Gwen and I are off to Calgary in a bit for a ride and checkout the 160 Thermostat and something else interesting we found along the way.

I will update when I get back home tonight and hopefully have some GREAT news regarding the suspected overheating.

[Jack]

Good luck, can't wait to hear feedback about your overall impressions, regardless of the heat.

[CanuckHoss]

Just back from the ride to Calgary..70F and stop and go traffic...

Do I have a heating problem like I thought?..ABSOLUTELY NOT!!

WTF you ask??

I did not realize that the Holley Fi display had an engine temp display in it. When I was describing a heating issue on here, that I thought I had, it was based on the Boss Hoss temp gauge.

A week ago Monday Jason , who did most of the work on the trike, changed the 180 to 160 and added the coolant additive for me. Then idled the trike and sent me pictures of the Holley reading and the Boss Hoss reading. They were out by 15 degrees. The Holley showed 185 and the Boss Hoss showed 200. He said I probably had a sending unit problem with the Boss Hoss gauge.

I noticed just the bit I rode in town last week that the 160 made a difference and today before I went to Calgary I got Jason to show me with an Infrared temp gun what the temp was on the intake beside the Holley sender and then beside the Boss Hoss gauge sender...the Holley reading was bang on and the Boss Hoss reading was 15 or so out showing higher.

So today when I rode into Calgary I went mostly by the Holley reading for turning on the fan in stop and go traffic. Rarely had to turn the fan on!!!

I am assuming that the trike was running cooler last year than I thought too and I ran the fan more than I needed.

So ALL is WELL in the cooling department for now.

I attached a pic of the reading when I go into the garage tonight. Engine temp is top centre..showing 205

And now a review of the Holley Sniper EFI...it is FUCKING AWESOME!!! I have never had any 502 run like this 502 does...crisp..throttle response in unbelievable..don't get choked out when getting stuff from the trunk at idle...lay rubber all over the place...etc etc.

if you have the coin and find an EFI that works and performs like this one it is money more than well spent.

Tomorrow or Friday I will do a road trip, 160 miles round trip and see the results. The EFI has not had one hicup on the highway or in town...not one.

I could not be happier with the way this has turned out...not one bit.