too efi or not to efi that is the question

[desratt]

fuel injection or not.

[pro-rider46]

well carbs are better as far as hp output, imo. but i want efi because it will open up a bunch of stuff that would be hard to do with a carb. like nos, and turbos, haha

[GPracer2500]

I'm all for EFI.

If it's worth anything, I own an EFI streetbike and I've got two riding buddies who have EFI sport quads (Rap700 and LT-R450). I also have two pairs of carbs and 4 individual carbs connected to a mixture of two and four stroke engines in my garage (not counting lawn equipment ;) ). I'm familiar with carbs and I don't mind working with them.

The EFI street bike is a 1998 Honda with an open loop system not all that different from what's on EFI quads and dirtbikes. It works pretty damn good. Excellent even. That's not all that great of a comparison, but still--it just reinforces one thing I already *know* about modern EFI systems. They flat out work like they're supposed to despite some having doomsday visions of disabled vehicles everywhere because of unreliable, hard to work on, finicky EFI systems. On the whole, that vision is a myth. If some company's new EFI system is problematic, it's just because they didn't do a good job making it (rare these days), not because there's anything inherently wrong with EFI. The technology has been around plenty long enough for the manufactures to get it right.

I've spend lots of time with my buddies' EFI quads , including riding them plenty (especially the Raptor). Both EFI systems have proven to me they are robust and easy to live with (easier than a carb). They simply provide outstanding "carburation" without asking anything from you. What's not to like?

Sure, an EFI controller costs more than a handful of jets (the Suzuki's cherrybomb plug-in dohicky notwithstanding!). But once you have one (the Dynojet PowerCommander is the one I've used), it's way better than changing jets.

And yeah, if you're going to pour thousands of dollars into building a super high HP engine, there's probably a case to be made for retaining the known quantity that is the Keihin FCR. But I figure it's only a matter of time before smart tuners figure out how to upgrade throttle bodies and injectors for about the same effort it takes to bore out an FCR. Unless you know your going to be building a drag bike, I don't see the advantage of a carb. And even then, the carb would only be desirable because there's already a body of knowledge out there for how to use them to feed monster engines. This business about carbs making more power is only related to tuners' longstanding familiarity with carbs and the availability of upgraded carb parts that precisely match their custom engine. IMO, of course.

I mean come on, how many of us actually upgrade their FCR beyond the basic things (jetting, fuel screw maybe) anyway? Not many.

I'd say there's a way better chance that EFI on your quad will help your engine run at its very best for more of the time vs. hold you back in any way. For example, I know a few people for whom it's not unusual to have significant enough temp/elevation swings among riding spots for EFI to be a significant advantage. But I don't personally know anyone who's EFI is a performance choke-point on their engine. So, as far as I can see (and I try to take a measured and unbiased look at things) EFI is many times more likely to make you faster than to slow you down.

[Black R/T]

EFI for sure. Id much rather plug in a programmer and push some buttons than wrench on a carb.

[BlaineKaiser450]

i personally am fine with making jetting changes. It just seems more reliable and simple IMO