Many resales of the Holley (Sniper) & other aftermarket Fuel Injection Systems
Does anyone have experience installing these systems?
Speculation as to why so many resales? (Do they suck or can it be attributed to owner operator failure?)
1) Yes. The Sniper in my Coronet works great and has for three years. My car runs better than it ever did with the Edelbrock 750 carb that was on it when I bought it. Gets slightly better mileage too but that was not intended. Before the EFI, the carb and ignition were both tuned, meaning I put the effort in to it and had it running about as well as it could have. Does it make more power with EFI? Probably not but it's a mostly stock engine so max power was not a concern, just better overall drivability. Granted, some of the 'better performance' has to do with using their digital ignition system and letting the ECU control timing but overall, it runs noticeably smoother and cleaner. No gas smell or anything after sitting for a few days, no changes in performance with different weather, no need to pump the pedal and it starts right up, blah blah.
2) 99% of resales are installer error. If you look at parts on the Holley refurbished sales page, that's literally the first thing they tell you in the part description. Carbs or EFI, doesn't matter, they all get returned for the same reasons.
"This is an official Holley Performance Factory Refurbished Carburetor. Factory Refurbished carbs are NOT old worn-out carbs that have been rebuilt. They are carbs that were returned under warranty. When these carbs are returned, we check them out and most of the time there is nothing wrong with them. Generally, they were simply adjusted out of working range by the installer."
I remember reading that and being completely astonished by that statement. Their marketing department uses polite language to get that across but it's pretty clear that what they're saying is most of their customers don't know what they're doing and will blame the part for a failure rather than their own laziness or lack of understanding. If they're saying this about basic, 600 cfm 4160 carbs that have been around for 200 years it stands to reason that they'd get more EFI returns since the setup is a little more involved than bolting a carb on an intake.
It's true that their marketing tends to be a little rosy so understand installation is definitely not as simple as bolting a carb to an intake but lets face it, it's not rocket science either. The concepts are all the same, they're just packaged differently. That said, if you're one of those guys that don't need instructions, has an aversion to wiring or think you can tune your car better than an electronic device connected to a laptop and software, don't bother with it.
YMMV
