Hello all,
I’m looking for assistance on which way to go. Looking to procharge a freshly built 383 stroker with low boost. 5 psi.

My original plan was to use the Holley Sniper Xflow. There are a bunch of tuners in my area and many offer online support and help with fuel tables and timing.

The problem is that I have never seen a product with so many problems, complaints, and bad reviews. The Holley forums and YouTube are filled with the same old issues over and over and over. Units being bad right out of the box, burned out ECU upon first start or soon their after and many times after that. Constant burned out WBO2 sensors and IAC. Stuck injectors, dead injectors, one hour waiting on hold for Holley techs, having to send in the TBI for replacement two or three times with 2 to 3 weeks of down time. It’s pretty bad.

because of the above, I changed my plans to blow through carb. Now I have the opposite problem. I’ll have the reliability, but nobody in my area or 100 miles in every direction tunes a blow through. It’s tough enough finding a shady guy that will tune an NA carb. The many dyno tuners in my area all only deal with EFI and tell me to “just go EFI”.

so it seems my options are a fine tunes TBI EFI blow through, with all the help I can find to work the fuel tables, but constant reliability problems, or A good solid reliable blow through that I have no idea how to tune. I’m good with the idle circuits, jets, and power valves via AFR guage, but I’m at a total loss when it comes to all the air bleeds and boost referenced power valves.

any other avenues I’m missing? I have a lot of theoretical knowledge from me reading and studying everything I can get my hands on, but no actual practical experience with anything blow through.

thanks guys

 

Talk to C&S about building you a blow through if you want to go carb, if you have issues they will help you work through them.

On the Holley I can't say either way. I put a sniper on my jeep the last time I was in Moab and couldn't get it to run right, tech support was quick for me. I didn't have the time or tools to get it straight, but it seems like they are willing to work through the problems, I talked to tech 2 separate times and both times they spend at least 30 minutes patiently working with me on it. I think it's a fuel system issue in my case, nothing to do with the unit itself. I think a lot of people blame other problems, and install problems on the throttle body units.

@nxcoupe should be able to chime in on the reliability of the xflow and what other options you might have.

 

I am a holley dealer, with that being said, I'm not a fan of using the sniper in a blow thru setup. I do know it works and can be set up quite easily to perform in a blow thru combo.
I have sold quite a few of these and have never had an issue, the only caveat being guys who don't read directions or don't comprehend what they've read, in this situation I have seen numerous problems up to and including frying the ecm. When they say run these 2 wires to the battery terminals, they mean run these two wires to the battery terminals, not the back of the alternator, not a ground stud that has your msd grounded to it too, etc. Every part is only as good as the person installing it and dialing it in. Carbs can't be shorted out or burned up like EFI can. Sniper makes a great unit and Holley has warranted stuff that clearly was destroyed by the end user, without a hassle. You can't get better customer service imho. Remember, only hotheads and naysayers post negative stuff on the internet, so I'd take it with a grain of salt. Most think they'll get something for free by blackmailing them on the internet, which couldn't be further from the truth. Best way to get something from them is by being honest and open, and they'll bend over backwards to help you. I also help all my customers and even some that haven't bought from me, with tech issues. It's hands down better than fitech. Also, order the NTK O2 sensor to replace the bosch it comes with when running a turbo. Also, I see lots of guys complaining about O2 failure when they ruined themselves by running race gas.
Jmho. Hope it helps.

 

If you have the hood clearance, Put a standard Holley 4 barrel in a Vortec/paxton carb enclosure. Then the carb tunes just like a regular old carb you are used to tuning. Especially at the low boost you are planning on. I've even run vacuum secondary 4160 carbs in a blow through box and had great luck. My Fairlane ran a 750 4160 in a vortech box. I also ran a 650 4150 in it and they both worked great. I've also had a number come through the shop that were easy to setup and ran correctly. Just run a boost ref'd fuel system.

https://vortechsuperchargers.com/pr...or-enclosure-box-assembly?variant=35229934986

The only negative I've seen is the price of the box, hood clearance issues, you have to take the lid off to have any idea what going on inside, and changing jets sucks. But once its dialed, its hands off.


I personally have had really good luck with the Holley sniper stuff. Its my favorite TBI based setup because its the only one you can still plug into a laptop and actually tune. I have not had any issues with hardware personally and I do not think there is any comparison when it comes to software. Keep in mind there are people out there that can fuck up a Taco and then bitch up one side and down the other about it instead of just fixing what's broke. Trust me, I've seen lots and lots of DIY efi installs on NA and boosted stuff, and man, some of it is brutal. And you have not seen a more self entitled asshole then a guy who bought efi and thinks it will make his junk run Honda civic perfect.
Not trying to sway you back to efi, I think a good carb setup would work great for your project and by the sound of it, dove tail better with your skill set, just tossing my 2 bits regarding the efi route.

 

Thats another thing, installer error. I have read the 70 page manual and everything I can get my hands on. The car, new fresh fuel tank with 3/8 inlet and a real return 3/8 return with dip tube to prevent aeration , and even many clean fresh grounds. I don’t want to miss out on the Benefits of the Sniper due to bad reviews from a bunch of bad installers. Thanks for your honest experience based info!

I will check out C & S. I just hope I have the skills to follow along with their tuning instructions.

 

Wow! Helps a lot. I like that you are a dealer. I’m very meticulous and detail oriented. Very OCD about wires and running lines. I can follow instructions to a T and not rush. I don’t want to miss out on the Benefits of Sniper EFI with Hyperspark due to negative posts from bad installers. Thanks for the tip on the O2 sensor. I set my whole car up around the Xflow unit. I have the grounds, new fuel tank, proper fuel return all ready. Just hesitant.

 

Bro, I forgot about Vortech! I been so wrapped up with mating a Procharger to Sniper that I have not looked at other options. I read a little about Torque storm. I remember those carb boxes going back long ago when I used to be a broke teenager thumbing through Summit magazines. I was not sure how they worked back then. Its cool you can use a standard carb. I’m sure the jetting has to suck.

thank you for your honest opinion on the sniper. I’m still leaning that way. I want the drivability.