thinking about the new msd atomic efi system

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ValerianMagnum

the little car that could
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thinking about the new msd atomic efi system ... im wondering if they are as good as they say for realibility ... tired of heating my car up in the morning ( chokeless carb ) and im scared of the big road trips ,since im not a mechanic at all and i dont know how to fine tune my carb myself , the car runs good but im looking foward to something more simple.

what do you guys thinks about this efi system ?
 
Seems to me that most all the aftermarket EFI systems are bit expensive. What are you expecting to spend on this MSD setup?

Wouldn't a brand new carb with a choke be the simplest and cheapest by far?
 
I agree,if you can not work on the carb than a efi system will really leave you out in the dark.If you drive it away from home and have a problem I would say you will have a better chance of finding parts at a store for your carb.I don't think there are any off the shelf parts for the efi system.

I would buy a new carb or adding a choke to the carb you have now.
Lots of books and articles on tuning your car,I can but a lot of tools and books for what they get for an efi system.:glasses7:
 
I agree,if you can not work on the carb than a efi system will really leave you out in the dark.If you drive it away from home and have a problem I would say you will have a better chance of finding parts at a store for your carb.I don't think there are any off the shelf parts for the efi system.

I would buy a new carb or adding a choke to the carb you have now.
Lots of books and articles on tuning your car,I can but a lot of tools and books for what they get for an efi system.:glasses7:

The OP said he's looking for something more reliable for a long haul. Fuel injection would be best for what he's looking for. Also, those MSD Atomic systems are self learning. All you have to do is install the throttle body, fuel line, and ecm. Then go drive the car. The ecm will automatically adjust and tune in the system for your application. There are limitations to how much cam it can handle though.
 
The one that looks good is the new Holley system the terminator. Fult adjustable and can use with boost or nitrous systems. But if you don't want to tune then the new fast EZ efi looks best. You can run e85 or gas with just a push of a button, but no nitrous or boost.
 
Sorry terminator will self tune itself

I thought so but I wasn't sure. Most of the new throttle body injection systems are self tuning now. MSD, Holley, Edelbrock, and FAST all make self tuning systems now. It's the way to go. Makes me buddy cringe when I tell people about them. He owns an engine tuning shop with a chassis dyno lol.
 
i have a mopar 380 hp crate engine : and i have a chokeless 700 cfm my set-up is better with a 750 but since i have 3.23 gears jet changes had been done to reduce the cfm ... the car runs very good but its too bad that i have to nurse it the morning and late at night i feel bad too to heat it for few seconds-minutes .... maybe im better off Learning about carbs a little more and learn about them myself, im not very rich and i try to do whatever i can to have some money to run my cars ...
 
What your car came with can be diagnosed and serviced on the roadside and in most cases parts sourced in the nearest town. If aftermarket crap fails on the roadside, you might tow it all the way home.
We're not supposed to blast off with a cold engine anyway, even with EFI.
Lots of folks do it and the mfgrs appreciate it since it shortens engine life.
 
What your car came with can be diagnosed and serviced on the roadside and in most cases parts sourced in the nearest town. If aftermarket crap fails on the roadside, you might tow it all the way home.
We're not supposed to blast off with a cold engine anyway, even with EFI.
Lots of folks do it and the mfgrs appreciate it since it shortens engine life.

Most parts stores don't have carburetor parts in stock, Most EFI systems use common factory style sensors, and I don't know about you but if I was to manufacture a car I would want my engines to last as long as possible to uphold a good reputation.

If I was gonna buy a new vehicle and had a choice between a manufacturer who's rep shows engines that last forever or a manufacturer who's engines only last 100k, I'm going with the one that lasts forever.
 
Most parts stores don't have carburetor parts in stock, Most EFI systems use common factory style sensors, and I don't know about you but if I was to manufacture a car I would want my engines to last as long as possible to uphold a good reputation.

If I was gonna buy a new vehicle and had a choice between a manufacturer who's rep shows engines that last forever or a manufacturer who's engines only last 100k, I'm going with the one that lasts forever.

You missed my point. Stuff like allow time for engine to warm, replace timing belt every 60K miles, etc.. doesn't come from their advertising or the sales person. Its found in the owners manual which seldom reviewed by the owner.

my next concern would be the self learning aspect of these aftermarket systems. My car is often parked for months at a time so I disconnect the neg' battery cable. Would a self learning system also self forget ? If so how long would it need to relearn ?
This might be a good choice for the original poster but not for me. I don't even bother to reset the radio stations and clock.
 
That MSD set up is just around $2000.00 , Holleys are very easy to work on and set-up. I would put a 670 CFM Street Avenger on it with a electric choke and be done.
I would bet you would be very happy with it.
 
The funny thing is......the main complaint here is a driveability issue, caused by no choke, AND a fear of reliability. A new carb that is jetted for this combo would come in under $600, I would think. And I don't think there's really a justified fear of reliability with a brand new carb.


You should check out these Battery Tender chargers, Redfish.....keep your battery connected and fully charged 24/7 without cooking it.

http://batterytender.com/

p475.jpg
 
I have the 390hp engine and have been playing with my carb quite a bit. I believe you have the same intake as I do, the m1 single plane. Mine def. needs to warm up for quite some time before it starts behaving. EFI would make things easier i'm sure, but I also wonder if these crates have more cam then the Atomic can handle.
FWIW i'm thinking of swapping my M1 out for a Air Gap since my car is 100% street and I know the drivablility of this engine could be improved.

i have a mopar 380 hp crate engine : and i have a chokeless 700 cfm my set-up is better with a 750 but since i have 3.23 gears jet changes had been done to reduce the cfm ... the car runs very good but its too bad that i have to nurse it the morning and late at night i feel bad too to heat it for few seconds-minutes .... maybe im better off Learning about carbs a little more and learn about them myself, im not very rich and i try to do whatever i can to have some money to run my cars ...
 
My opinion, tough call

If you don't (yet) know much about fuel systems IE carbs, then if the EFI quits you will be in worse shape. "We" used to drive these cars thousands of miles, with little attention except the usual street/ drag experimentation.

Biggest single problem with carbs nowadays is alcoholized fuel.

If you DO get some fancy high dollar aftermarket EFI on there and working and it quits, few mechanics will want to mess with it.

This is from a guy who currently runs Holley Commander 950, experimented with Pro-jection, and is thinking of going with Megasquirt.
 
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