Someone talk me out of ditching my TBI setup

[wb292]

I was planning to build a Gen VI for my 90 454SS. Then I stumbled upon the ZZ454. So I’m saving up for one. I don’t think the TBI will work well with it and was planning on going with a sniper. Kinda wondering how reliable they are after reading some reviews online. I’d like to keep the factory ignition intact if possible. Just because it’s been dependable. Along with not cluttering up the engine bay with more boxes and wiring. If not I may have to use old school HEI. I have Harris chips in both my trucks and they have worked well. He was very helpful and both trucks run much better now. I may end up with one of my coworkers 95 K2500 burb with a 454. If so I’ll probably get another Harris chip to delete the smog garbage. Any recommendations other than the sniper for a 454?

 

[Erik the Awful]

I don’t think the TBI will work well with it and was planning on going with a sniper. Kinda wondering how reliable they are after reading some reviews online.

I've been running a Sniper for a while. The truck runs great, but the original TPS was garbage. The oxygen sensor stopped working, but unlike a TBI, once the Sniper has a fuel strategy it can run without it. Still, I have the new one to swap in when I get a day off. I thought the IAC was acting up on it, but I discovered the throttle blades weren't aligned quite right and it was binding up with the throttle slightly open. When it runs, it runs great, though. When you turn the key on, wait two seconds to crank it and it will fire right off, every time.

The major downside of the Sniper is all the stupid add-ons you have to buy. You'll need the $16 Holley throttle extension that should have been included in the kit. You'll need Summit's $20 throttle bracket for Holley carbs. You'll need a pair of adapters to plug the factory fuel lines into it. You'll need a throttle stud. I had to buy a TV cable stud for mine. I bought the Hyperspark ignition so the Sniper can control my timing, and if I had to do it again, I'd probably skip it and save $600.

 

[langkg]

I’m running Sniper and Hyperspark setup. If I could do it over I would go Teminator X Max. ECU goes in the cab away from heat and vibration and can control transmission.

 

[wb292]

Erik, Is the factory ECM able to control timing while running the sniper? If so that would make the sniper much more appealing. Id like to keep the engine bay as clutter free as possible. I'd rather not mount a ignition box and coil somewhere else. Not to mention it's probably more reliable.

 

[Erik the Awful]

Erik, Is the factory ECM able to control timing while running the sniper?

Maybe? I didn't have a way to check timing while driving. I do know it ran fine without the ESC hooked up. I know the ECU's still controlling the torque converter clutch lockup. I swapped the Holley ignition in and now it runs 36° floored, and backs off to 14° at cruise.

 

[Play_Tec]

Take my advise. Don’t waste your time and money. Granted I did this same thing back in the late 90’s when there really weren’t options for the conversion. I ended up swapping heads, intake, distributor, fuel delivery, etc…, and it finally worked. I still have the truck, and I’ve decided to install a Holley Sniper system. Only wish they had this in 1997.

what kind of sniper did you use?

 

[Erik the Awful]

I bought a refurbished basic 4-barrel Sniper kit, and not the "master" kit. I run a Vortec fuel pump in the factory-style TBI fuel pickup assembly. I have adapters on the factory metric fuel fittings that plumb straight to the Sniper's AN fittings. The ignition box and coil are tucked behind other stuff. Just glancing under the hood you can't tell it's running anything other than stock fuel and ignition. I still have some wiring to clean up, and once I have the A/C installed it'll be even less obvious.

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[Kens1990K2500]

Yeah, I started with one of his chips and was disappointed with its performance. I went to GearHead-EFI and got together with Dave w there who helped me tune my 7747 ECM. We gained quite a bit but the ECM was just too slow (160 baud) with too small VE and SA tables. That's when I went to the EBL (8192 baud). I gained somewhere around 4 seconds in 0-60 and 1/4 mile over the Harris chip plus I now have a flash ECM

Forgive my ignorance, but what is an EBL? Did you replace the original engine control module?

And a 4 second improvement in 0-60 times is phenomenal.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

Forgive my ignorance, but what is an EBL? Did you replace the original engine control module?

Embedded Lockers (EBL)
He takes the original ECM and installs a daughter board which has 8 different flash banks, running at 8172 Baud rate which you can flash your "tune" in ~4 seconds. It also has the capability to automatically tune your Volumetric Efficiency tables (Air Fuel Rate). Plus, if you install A Wide Band O2 Sensor, it'll tune VE Tables up to WOT.

Check it out...

EBL_Flash