EFI fails to beat carb...again

Well, faithful readers here--all three--remember my prior rants about how EFI costs a few thousand but only makes one hp more than a carb...as shown in articles in PHR and other mags. It requires a new design of dry manifold--and cam and head changes--to see a real hp gain for all that cash.

well, another magazine agrees...August 2012 StreetRodder mag thru a FAST EZ-EFI on a crate Ford 302 factory rated at 340hp (didn't mention these ratings are typically low) and got 370hp...but...on page 74, FOUR pages into the article, in the low left corner they, um, admit that, well, they tested a--well, let's quote them:

"to satisfy the curious, we tried a Holley 750 mechanical secondary Street HP (on the same intake, it looks like) for comparison purposes.  AS WE'VE SEEN IN THE PAST, power between the carb and EZ_EFI was within 1 to 2 hp ALL THE WAY THRU THE (power)CURVE."

EFI has driveability benefits (they could get the engine to run at a lower RPM, but proper gearing would make that moot) and with free R&D, you could get a special intake to make more power than a single plane intake, but if you're considering spending the $$ on EFI to make more power...take this into consideration.  
Just because you can't do it...doesn't mean its impossible

EFI rarely makes more peak power since a properly tuned carb is a superior emulsification machine, but it nearly always creates a broader curve. That's usually more beneficial for acceleration.  
Plus, that's not really the main point of EFI; it's main benefits are drivability and fuel economy.

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Christopher Campbell
Technical Editor
Popular Hot Rodding Magazine