Is Efi tuning harder than a carb

[bradleyhamlin123]

Hello, I would like to start this off by saying any and all advice is appreciated. My question is, is tuning efi on gen 3 truck motors (4.8,5.3,6.0) harder than tuning carburetors? I?ve tuned quite a few carbs in my 21 years of life. My dad wants to 6.0 swap his obs and keep the factory fuel injection. He also wants to add a cam and some other things that would make it difficult to drive without a tune. My dad is old school and isn?t a big fan of messing with efi but would like to keep it on the 6.0. I do all the tuning on his carburetor applications and would like to learn on efi as well thru hp tuners. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thank you for your time

[5FDP]

Yes it's harder but most people just make it harder for themselves most of the time.

It's far easier to learn on a stock engine, then add aftermarket parts once you understand mostly what is going on.

Biggest things with swaps is making sure that the main things with the engine are correct. Good battery voltage, no intake or exhaust leaks, a complete exhaust. Fuel pressure must be roughly 58psi and I'll just throw this out there, I hate that everyone uses the corvette filter/regulator on swap cars. They aren't always the best option.

[bradleyhamlin123]

So do you think it?s still pretty easy to pick up coming from tuning a carb? I?m decent with tech being only 21. I just don?t wanna spend $500 on hp tuners to find out it?s way harder than anything else. It didn?t take me long to learn how to tune a carb (especially easy with a Wideband). I am becoming more familiar with lambda and efi terminology.

[5FDP]

I think it would be fairly easy to pick up. I never tuned anything when I bought this stuff over 10 years ago. I learned on a 2000 Grand Prix before doing anything LS related.

With books, courses and even youtube video's there are lots of way to get a general idea of what is going on.

[blindsquirrel]

Install the software (works in demo mode, it's free), download and look through some of the tunes posted here in the forums.

An aftermarket ECU might be easier for a noobie, just depends on the swap being done and what needs to be integrated (if anything). The stock PCM is only going to be easier if it's the stock one for the vehicle that has to be kept for all the other systems to work (ABS, airbag, cluster, etc.).

[2xLS1]

The key to EFI tuning is learning the scanner and knowing what the live sensor data is telling you. If you master the scanner the tuning becomes easier. You have to also not be afraid to change things and then let the scanner determine if that change was right or wrong. You usually can't hurt much if you make small incremental changes. The best way to learn it is by doing it.

[jaz|TUNING]

I learned tuning on EFI, so I hate messing with a carb. I'd rather use my laptop than take a carb apart... Which I've had to do with ATV's when they had issues. So to me... EFI is easier, but that's many, many years of doing it, so I have a pretty decent understanding by now.

[gtstorey]

And you are tuning much more than fuel with EFI, so it's not quite apples and oranges.

[bradleyhamlin123]

I think it would be fairly easy to pick up. I never tuned anything when I bought this stuff over 10 years ago. I learned on a 2000 Grand Prix before doing anything LS related.

With books, courses and even youtube video's there are lots of way to get a general idea of what is going on.

Ok thanks, I?ve been watching YouTube videos on tuning with efi. That is also the way I learned on carbs since no one else I know is good with tuning carbs lol. I?ve became familiar with widebands and air fuel ratios tuning carbs as well. I guess it seems the best way to learn is to jump into it. Seems I?ll be buying another shitbox soon and gradually doing small things to it like a stage 2 cam and maybe some other goodies in the future. I?m glad it seems that if I have any questions I can come to the forums. I don?t know anyone who tunes efi either. Most of my family just took a Holley carb, slapped it on, and went with whatever it was set at from factory. Most of the time it worked but fine tuning is always helpful lol. Thanks for everyone?s advice and confidence boost. Have a good weekend yall

[kingtal0n]

Before tuning EFI, I learned to tune carbs. The year is 1996 I tuned my first Holley which apparently has 144 adjustments if memory serves. I tuned it and an edelbrock over a blower and then blow-through turbo and nitrous from 96-00 before my first stand-alone ECU in 2001, and switching over was easy because you already know how the engine should run and be tuned because of the carb.

I feel learning to tune carb and distributor should be a requirement before attempting EFI. When I teach people how to tune engines I always start with carb and distributor theory, centrifugal advance and idle/cruise circuits etc...

This gives a basic underlying knowledge of (starting) fuel and timing behavior which can be applied to blank slate tuning application.
From there, the power of EFI is superior in every situation, especially now with modern closed loop wideband controls. OEM ecu are a bit watered down, almost crippled in comparison, arguably much more difficult than a stand-alone computer. Really you should learn carb/dist THEN stand-alone and finally move to the OEM ecu, this way you can understand what the OEM ecu is 'thinking' despite the apparent gibberling wordage for some of the functionality.

The way I teach it after carb/dist is we go through the entire manual from Haltech, AEM, Megasquirt, a couple others, and we compare those ECU and software. This gives a broad understanding that all ECU do the same thing and all issues that come up from the same sources, noteably trigger, magnetic, wiring related, solidarity, engine setup. Many people starting out are not yet great mechanics, and to be a great tuner you must be a little of everything: mechanic, computer tech, electronics engineer, software development, and last is experience which counts the least but makes the most fine adjustments for particular situations and applications.

[jaydubb71]

Once you learn how to tune, no. Switching from carb to EFI with no knowledge is extremely hard. Knowing about carbs AND distributors comes in handy. Knowing about the 4 stroke cycle and how engines work helps.

[Tunercharged]

I’ve been told I’m an old guy and I was very involved in many types of racing working as a tuner and engine builder in the 80s and played a little bit in the 90s. My first time using HP tuners was about a year ago and I’ve enjoyed using the program and learning to use it. This forum has been a great help to get started and get any explanations you might need. It is different than tuning a carb obviously, but it is infinitely more rewarding because you can get the fueling and spark so much closer to what you want at any rpm or load. This differs from working on a distributor and carb system where I found myself always having to do custom modifications to the hardware to create an engine where maximum power could be achieved. EFI and Einj is so amazing and wonderful! Totally worth the extra money to make happen, I’ll never use a carb again! Spend the time and enjoy the fact that EFI gives you total control.

[blindsquirrel]

It also depends what 'tuning a carburetor' means. Some people consider adjusting idle mix screws and changing jets as 'tuning', while to someone else carburetor tuning might mean using a wideband and datalogging tools to do stuff like balancing idle feed restrictors vs idle air bleeds, correcting transition slot area, changing the emulsion package to suit a specific application, etc.

If you're in the second group you'll have no problems whatsoever. But if you're in the first, well...

[bradleyhamlin123]

It also depends what 'tuning a carburetor' means. Some people consider adjusting idle mix screws and changing jets as 'tuning', while to someone else carburetor tuning might mean using a wideband and datalogging tools to do stuff like balancing idle feed restrictors vs idle air bleeds, correcting transition slot area, changing the emulsion package to suit a specific application, etc.

If you're in the second group you'll have no problems whatsoever. But if you're in the first, well...

my definition is definitely leaning more towards using a wideband lol. I also know my way around distributors so I have a decent understanding of timing curves, vacuum advance, etc. I've never adjusted carbs without a wideband. I also have a decent understanding of what afr should be around at idle, cruise, pt, and wot.
i definitely don't know it all by any means but I feel I know a fair amount. it seems like a bit of a learning curve (like learning everything else) but I feel like with experience, forums like this one, and goat rope garage, I can learn.