[Chris-Austria]

Hi,

sorry that I make a new thread, but I think it is better to find for those who had similar questions.
I just finished my calculations.. since the Terminator Stealth with the customizes fuel system will be much more expensive as the Sniper, also with a custom fuel system (cheaper because less parts).

I always wanted the Terminator Stealth because of the look.. but the difference in the end is about $ 2.000.00!!! (I have to pay shipping and taxes and the more expensive it is in first place, the more will be added).

Will the Sniper be big enough for my 462cui? It looks a lot smaller even with the ECU and regulator build into it, that's a litte strange I think.
As in the other thread I guess the functions of the Sniper will be sufficient for me.. I want the system for the Street mainly.. nice cold and hot starts, no gas smell and just a lower nice idle at maybe 800rpm (there are about 15" of vacuum at 800rpm).

Will one of these 2 make a difference in overall power, for example if the carb wasn't properly tuned, is there a chance of some power increase as well and which would make a bigger difference?

For the 1(8 mile will the Terminator have some advantages over the Sniper?

I finally want to control my timing and the fan with the EFI, I guess that's possible with both??

Does anybody have some pics how the Sniper looks like under the hood? With and without air cleaner? How well can you hide all wires?

Thank you very much!!

Chris

[azbirds]

Wow, i didn't realize the terminator was so costly. I know you're not asking about this system, but you said cost is high with taxes and such. I used FiTech on a 461 with KRE Highports and that system works great, and hides completely under the air cleaner. I think it only cost around 700

[64speed]

The sniper will work fine up to 650hp with a 20% safety margin according to Holley techs so should feed about 700 HP. It has four 100lb injectors. Unless you’re reall putting down the power I doubt you’ll need more and the terminator is only rated at 650 too so...... I had some pictures of the sniper mocked up on my former 2 with air cleaner and you couldn’t tell anything. Run the wiring harness down the back of the bellhousing

[Chris-Austria]

I just read the instructions.. the Sniper hast the fuel pressure regulator build into the throttle body.. so how do I check my fuel pressure? They say somewhere in the feed line.. but that is before the regulator? How should I be able to see if it's around 60psi?
I think it will read the fuel pressure that the pump delievers.. or will I just have to check if I have 60psi or more in the feed line, so the Sniper can regulate down to it's 58,5psi that are pre set?

@azbirds
I think the difference in price is crazy, especially for a foreign customer like me. I would have to pay more than double for the Terminator.. The FItech is another option, but I read that their support is pretty bad and I always had good luck with Holley.. some more Dollars for the Sniper over the FItech seem fair to me.
(I don't want to say the Sniper is better, because I don't know.. it's more a personal preference)

@64speed
I don't think I'll get to these power levels in the near future.. maybe someday I'll port the E-heads and add a larger cam.. but even that will not be more than 550-600hp. I also choose the bigger pump from RobbMC just to have some room for the future.
If you cannot see the Sniper under the filter I can accept that it doesn't look like a double pumper, so thats good news!

[Charlie Brengun]

You might want to take this one into consideration as well. https://fitechefi.com/products/30020/

I have no experience with it myself but am thinking of tbi for my pontiac as welll and wanted the terminator EFI purely for the looks, the FI tech has an externally mounted ECU and can control ignition timing. Which are my other two requirrements.

Interesting. These I hadnt seen before either.. also an interesting option https://fitechefi.com/product-catego...tank-pump-kit/

[pastry_chef]

Originally Posted by 64speed

The sniper will work fine up to 650hp with a 20% safety margin according to Holley techs so should feed about 700 HP.

Here is a dyno of a Super Sniper 650 on a 700 HP engine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGsLjqRCRnc

Andy felt the value was great for the money.

[JSPONT]

Here is the fi tech 1200 hp boosted. This guy has been 8 seconds with it. He did hurt a piston on that pass from over boosting.

https://youtu.be/Lp_N-L6Y1G0

[Chris-Austria]

I ordered the Sniper, thanks for your help! I'll hide it underneath the nicest air cleaner I could find: https://www.holley.com/products/fuel.../parts/120-151
The vintage look of the cleaner is a nice contrast to the "modern carb"... for those who know

I still have 3 questions regarding the Sniper now:

1. Would you rather use a MSD Pro Billet for the timing control or the Dual Sync from Holley? (or no timing control at all) I read some posts that the Pro Billet with the locked out advance doesn't work very well in the end, but the Dual Sync does.
I'm not sure if I should use the ignition control at all since my old one gives 15° at idle and adds up to 50° at part throttle because of vacuum, is limited to 36° at WOT and gets all in at about 2600rpm. The curve is pretty good.. would I still benefit a lot from having timing control? What would change the most? Better fuel economy, smoother idle, more power?

2. To check the fuel pressure before startup I have to install the gauge into the inlet port of the Sniper (says the manual). Will this read the correct psi since it is before the regulator? And could I also install the gauge maybe after the fuel filter probably 20" away from the inlet port (but still between the pump and the Sniper)? I don't think it will look good or fit under the air cleaner.. the fuel filter will be near the brake booster probably and is a better spot to read the gauge.

3. I use a heat shield at the moment with thick gaskets that are equivalent to maybe a 0.5" open spacer. Should I use it with the Sniper? If there is a spacer used, will an open or a 4 hole one be better?`If it makes sense at all... The manifold is a Performer RPM.

[64speed]

The sniper has a tendency to whistle unless run with a 4 hole spacer. As long as you have 58 psi in the system you are good to go. I have the dual sync and if it were me personally buying again I would because you are leaving a lot on the table not having timing control. The sniper has the ability you should use it.

[Squidward]

My first go-around with EFI on my Lemans had the timing control. It was fun to play with, and it will give me a lot of easy experimentation via a handheld.

My 2nd EFI effort I opted to not use timing control. It was an extra $200 for the timing control version, plus another almost $400 for distributor and associated components to run timing control. For this car, I was always pleased with the standard HEI distributor control, so I decided to save the money and stick with my good performing HEI distributor.

On my Firebird I run an inline filter followed by an inline gauge port that uses a gauge with 1/8" npt fitting. I have a regulator by the tank that already supplies fuel at 58 psi. My gauge is about 18 inches upstream of my TB fitting, with no air cleaner interference.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-220677b

My Lemans has the Fuel command center with an outlet pressure gauge. The FCC already has its own regulator even tho the FiTech has an onboard regulator.

I can't really speak much to the heat shield.

[Firebob]

Chris, I hate to be the foreboding type, especially since you already made the purchase, but Holley makes their own electronics and it seems, to me, that there quality is lacking. I don't know if it's because they are using inferior parts or if it's just not a great design or what. My sniper lasted for about 5 drives with no timing control and exactly one drive after I hooked up the TC before the ECU gave up. Holleys tech line wasn't much help diagnosing but then you can't really expect to fix these things over the phone or email anyway. If I were going to do it again I think I would opt for the FITech. I think there would be less issues with an ECU you could mount inside the pass compartment away from heat and vibration. i wish there was a way to find out what the failure rate is but of course they're not going to advertise something like. I suppose they've sold thousands but I have to wonder about the longevity.

BTW. I never checked my fuel pressure before I put it in service and when I did my gauge says 72 psi right at the unit at idle. Not sure why. I suspect poor quality control on the regulator. Anyway the Holley salesman says it's fine up to 90 psi so no worries anyway. Just doesn't seem right to me.

[hectore3]

I would generally suspect that failure rates would be higher with any brand of aftermarket efi having the ecu mounted on the throttle body. While it makes for a compact unit,cheaper and easier to install the reliability would be affected with underhood heat.

The first generation TBI's had separate computer inside the passenger compartment away from the main heat and vibration of engine compartment. That's not to say others have not had great success with those style units.

Ideally it would be nice to have data sets for both ecu throttle body mounted versus remotely mounted.

[64speed]

I read the sniper forums on holley website religiously and I haven’t heard anyone say they had an outright failure. I have seen a LOT of failures corrected by fixing the issues from a shoddy installation. The mid to late 90s GM trucks have the ECM mounted under the hood and they don’t fail all the time

[Firebob]

Well you have now. I worked on mine for no less than 4 months trying everything I could think of. Replaced the alternator 3 times, the distributor 3 times as well. At one point I had all the aluminum foil in the house wrapped around anything electronic under the hood because Holley tech told me it was RFI, wired and rewired everything numerous times before I finally threw in the towel and sent it back to Kentucky. Gave them two weeks to check it before I called. They said they tested it and the the ECU failed. They replaced it and sent it back. Been running good since except for the TPS crapping out 200 miles from home. I have a hard time recommending this product.