Hey guys im most probably will be buyin a VL Calais on monday jus not to sure whether i should go a carby 308 or a EFI 5l. just tryin to get the pros n cons on either engine. info would be great guys

EFI has turn key reliability and is far more fuel effecient. Whereas i think a carby v8 sounds better and is easier to tune/modify, no dramas with computers and so forth.

First off if you want injected you're going to have to buy one thats modified or do it yourself (i'm sure you know that though?) If I had my choice I'd go injected purely because when I had my VL V8 carby it was a slug.

Stock for stock, deffinatly a injected 5L is the way to go, more fuel effient, more power stock, as nathan said cold start etc. Miller all your cars have been slugs though Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by RVK 355 Miller all your cars have been slugs though Haha get stuffed! You just wait... Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

go the injected but the only down fall is all the wiring, if you go injected i hope you are or you are good mates with an auto sparky.

yeh don't know what to do, was gonna be buyin my mates 308 but still not sure whether to hold off and get a efi 5l... either one i get i will most likely be doin alot of work to it.

Ive done my own conversion, wiring and all, and I only went injected due to I got an engine cheap when I was looking to rebuild mine. And at times I wish I had kept a carby on there. The only real advantage in my opinion IS added fuel economy and cold starts. A properly set up carbied engine will get better fuel atomization and have a much greater potential for horsepower. There is a list of pros and cons either way as to which is better or worse. dont take on the attitude of carbys are slugs. theyres plenty of cars out there with carbys running 9's!

Quote: Originally Posted by JoshV8inj Ive done my own conversion, wiring and all, and I only went injected due to I got an engine cheap when I was looking to rebuild mine. And at times I wish I had kept a carby on there. The only real advantage in my opinion IS added fuel economy and cold starts. A properly set up carbied engine will get better fuel atomization and have a much greater potential for horsepower. There is a list of pros and cons either way as to which is better or worse. dont take on the attitude of carbys are slugs. theyres plenty of cars out there with carbys running 9's! Just wondering how does tha carby atomise fuel better? I would have imagined 8 individual injectors running at a much higher fuel pressure hence smaller droplet size etc basically going straight into the port of the head would be better? does it have anything to do with the fuel:air mix being together longer in the inlet manifold? In reference to the thread either way you go depending on how much HP you are chasing alot of the parts will have to come off an be replaced anyway. It all depends on what you want to do... With the injected motor you allready have a set of decent heads with a little bit of a tidy up with flow plenty of CFM, where as old B-cast heads are not as an efficient design but the inlet manifold on the INjected motor is restrictive above 350hp N/A where if your shoving some kind of forced induction down its throat it wont matter as much... there are all the if buts and maybes you have to consider. Personally i would go injected even though if your chasing bulk HP you will remove alot of the parts but up until you do that it will be reliable as ever.

doing the wirring for a EFI conversion into a earlyer commodore isnt hard, there are off the shelf looms modded to suit. Not to sure if he comes on here, but Contact ProVK, his in melbourne and dose wirring looms to suit. Or if your good with wirring try it your self, i wiried up mine in 6 hours and fired 1st go

I was beginning this project just before a 350 fell into my lap... (not literally, thatd hurt). I was ditching the EFI to run a big manifold and carby. It was easier and cheaper to get power out of it that way, problems were easily sorted and tuning was easy. And dont believe this cold start crap, if you have a well set up motor itll start fine first go.

Personally, I've chosen injected for my HX. The carby 308 had done 330,000 and blew a piston ring and injected starts with a turn of the key, and has much better fuel economy. But its really up to personal choice.. carbys are much easier to tune, maintain, and have that lovely raw sound about them.. But I'd go injected if I was you, I've started and haven't looked back.. But good luck with it all mate, let us know how it goes!

dont forget the heads, id say 95% of the power gain comes from the head change alone not the EFI conversion. EFI Heads >>>>>>>> carby heads and its not just better economy, better starts... the power deliver in efi feels worlds better than a carby.

no way, i loved the delivery of power in my carby sbc!

Quote: Originally Posted by Epitaph no way, i loved the delivery of power in my carby sbc! yeah, cause the dumb old carby just dumps big overkill amounts of petrol and air and the engine has no choice but to respond!

and your complaining about what? lol i just didnt like when i wanted to drive normal after that and there was heaps of fuel lol in saying that, i think i might stick with efi so i can drive the car all the time

Quote: Originally Posted by Sinister dont forget the heads, id say 95% of the power gain comes from the head change alone not the EFI conversion. EFI Heads >>>>>>>> carby heads and its not just better economy, better starts... the power deliver in efi feels worlds better than a carby. I did! The 'VN' heads, anything from VN-VT SI have much better flow, too true.. Todd

the 308 carby is a itch to start in the morning, but once you start it goes all day. if you put extractors on it the efi it has that pop and the carby doesn't. but it comes down to what you want and can afford. a auto carby is good on fuel, the injected manual is a guzzler. (when you fly around corners.)

Carby = Power

both have their pros & cons but you nothings tuffer than a Carby 8 .