MSD Atomic for dual purpose bracket/street car?

Real close to pulling the trigger on this for the 440" W2

Any real world feedback?

My buddy Nats jeep does really well with it in a 442" 545hp CJ-7 on the street and occasional track use ( runs 12.30's not bad for street trim 3800 pound w/d 4X4

I drove Nat's Jeep a little bit at Jeep Beach, and the throttle response was insane. That's what pushed me to put the Terminator EFI on my Jeep. In retrospect, I should have done the MSD Atomic for the timing control benefit, but since I sold my Jeep, the point is moot. I definitely say, go for it!

Now imagine Nat's motor with W2 heads and in a 600 pound lighter car. Im hoping the response and daily driver hassle free efi system would justify the cost. Natt back to back dynoed the rfi against my 1000HP 4150 and they were virtually dead even hp/tq though.

Its about $1400 more to go efi/ pump vs new carb/pump

I've been running an Atomic since the beginning of this summer and have had nothing but great results. They are by far the least obtrusive of all the aftermarket kits when installed because their ECU and fuel pressure sensor, unlike FAST's, are built into the throttle body. The only external "box" you have to mount is the power control unit, and that has the footprint of a large mobile phone. The harnesses were all of very nice quality and seemed to be loomed a lot tidier than the FAST and Holley offerings. One last feature I liked was that the TB has a built-in throttle return spring, which is a nice touch in-terms of removing clutter and making it into an integrated package.

Drawbacks or dislikes aren't numerous, but I do have them. First, you can NOT use the PWM feature with any fuel pump other than MSD's because they use a proprietary frequency. Two, if your motor has a very poor vacuum signal, count on using a single plane intake only. The system will tolerate down to 9" HG of vacuum, but MSD recommend single planes in low-vacuum situations. Third, the horsepower limit of the system is definitely there with only 4 80PPH injectors. The more expensive FAST EZ EFI 2.0 runs 8 60PPH injectors, so that's the only game in town if you're going over 640 horse N/A with a kit like this.

The driving characteristics of the kit have been superb. I'm running my Atomic on a 512 that pulls 12" of vacuum and I don't have any issues. The car started on the first try and has only ever stalled twice. Both of those stalls, however, were during the initial learning phase of the ECU and have never happened since. Throttle response is ultra-crisp, cold or hot it starts almost immediately, and I've gotten a decent gain in fuel economy. You can set your own A/F targets for idle, cruise, WOT and fuel enrichment on throttle tip-in (like an accelerator pump). I honestly haven't had a single problem with it in-use. It is expensive relative to what you get, but I suppose that's the price you pay for a succinct fuel injection package wearing a brand name. All I know is that I don't regret buying it, and I don't miss the carburetor at all.

Let me know if you have an further questions and I'll answer them as best as I can.

I have one as well. Like stated above, very crisp throttle, no hesitation and I love the cold starts not having to help keep it run.

My biggest complaint with the Atomic and EZ, in anything other than a stock replacement capacity..........is you can't change ANYTHING. You are totally reliant on the tune and calibration the box chooses to run. On the Holley Terminator, it uses the same HP ECU as other kits. Meaning if you WANT to, you can plug the laptop into the ECU and makes changes as you desire

I figure this motor will make a solid "for real" 575HP/570 tq so it's a bit bigger than the base PWM pump 525 kit. Nat's motor makes 545 and he opted for the Aeromotive in tank pump kit and it works great.

Then again, when we did the back to back, another way to look at it is my Old Holley with MY base Jetting and it was right there with the EFI, we never even opened the bowls to try to optimize the carb...it was leaning out up on the top, the Holley probably might have made ~10-15 more

I want to do it more since I just want to have something new to learn and tweak, I like the idea of the Holley...but now that Holley has bought MSD it might be interesting to see what the next gen product might do.

I dont have many miles on my Holley unit but so far
I've been happy with it... if I wanted more power I
put in bigger injectors to support the power.. the box
takes care of it... I dont have the timing hooked up
on it yet but I will come spring time... that way it
will control both the fuel and timing

Have you looked at the Fitech efi.
It will go to 1200 HP. Everything is mounted on the body just like the msd.
Take a look at Fitech.com
I have it on a 650 HP 416 running e85. Pulling 6-7 inches vacuum. Nicely priced.

@wireweld,

Thanks buddy!! i'll check them out!!

We/Holley have some new plates coming out, that will be like a do it yourself throttle body kit..............Meaning you have a billet plate, that will hold 4 or 8 of the injectors of your choice and you mount it under the throttle body of your choice. HP will only be limited by the size injector you choose, or what your ECU is capable of handling. As good as a direct port.......no......but a pretty simple way to swap something over with a throttle body and not be limited to available aftermarket kits.

As to what Holley will do with MSD and it's line of EFI stuff......I have no idea at this time. All I know is the "Atomic" is a direct competitor with the "Terminator"............so who knows at this time. We also acquire Accel with the purchase. To think we don't need 3 separate EFI companies is likely not a far stretch

That FITech stuff looks pretty sweet and a good price point as well

Besides cost, what are the pros to the FITech package? And what do you feel the cons are?

Monte, thanks for that Insight,

I was kind of thinking that Holley (eventually) will try to consolidate and either wholesale adopt whatever turns out to be the most Trouble free and profitable system or (And I don't think the Venture Capital Investment team that runs Holley will spend the time to do this) try to marry the best of all the systems and come up with some 'hybrid' replacement system.

I'm impressed with the Atomic that I've seen, particularly that it took less than 40 minutes to completely swap from the 4150 to the efi On the Dyno and make a pull.

I am surprised the Accell EFI is even market relevant anymore.

Built in pressure regulator, injects above the blades, controls timing, change your tune on the go with handheld or plug in PC and program that way. I will think of more later.

The only possible negative I'm hearing/reading on some boards is that FItech has in the past taken $$$ but can't deliver on time or full shipments....been down that road before, I didn't like it much.

any personal experiences with them wireweld?

All EFI systems are the same........meaning that within the capabilities of the software and firmware, it does what you TELL it to do. All these guys that say so and so system does everything so and so system does, for 1/3 of the cost, are simply incorrect. It doesn't work that way. You kinda get what you pay for. Be that the quality of the components, the capability, the availability or most importantly......TECH SUPPORT.

On the throttle body stuff........they inject below the blade or above the blade, everything else doesn't matter. Just depends on which method you want or think works best. The other things, controlling timing, tune changes, etc, are simply based on what the ECU can do with the supplied firmware. Some systems are more limited than others...........as was mentioned with NOT being able to change the tune in the Atomic or the EZ EFI.

I can say that the Holley guy I deal with(Shawn or Sean)
really helped me out... they forgot a jumper plug with the
kit that I got.. it was for the mopar engines... they sent
the part out free of charge... after that they walked me
through the set up to verify what I had put in the ECU...
now I just leave the down load cable attached and just push
it up out of view.. that way I can down load anytime I wish
since this unit has a data logger built in
EDIT
Come spring time I will put on a crank trigger so it
will have the timing control... and I think I will put
on a couple more things to help... just for my own use

pre ordered one...two weeks later, I called and was told they were just receiving the shipment....a week later I had my unit...

My FI Tech Go 4 system was shipped the day after ordering. Same benefits as the MSD atomic, controls ignition and other accessories plus infinitely programmable and no external control box...all internal. I opted for their Command Center combined fuel sump and pump which simplifies the installation a lot...all for about half the price of the Atomic.

Monte,

Are there major benefits to go with a direct port over a throttle body type unit? I just bought an Indy 400 intake that I need to get drilled for injectors. If the benefits are huge, I may just hold out for a new throttle body kit

Direct port injection is always more efficient and easier to tune.

In regards to the FiTech unit:

-What pressure is their integrated regulator operating at? And is that pressure fixed?
- Can it do PWM or control pump speed? I don't think I've read much, if anything about that.
-Last question and I know this is subjective but, are you satisfied with the fit and finish/quality of the product? Not in light of it costing half as much, but as an aftermarket item you're putting on top of your engine.

I'm in the throws of building a budget SBF (gasp!) so this is an appealing option.

This is how I set up my Holley multi port.. I like
the looks and it hides well under the air cleaner..
I was gonna cut the injector bases down .040 but the
injectors clear the base by .060(if they touch the
base they will make noise when they open and close)
EDIT
I would have turned the one set of injectors around
to the inside but my kick down set up is there

Fuel pressure from the Command Center is fixed 58 psi, don't know about PWM capability of a different pump setup.

http://fitechefi.com/

The quality, finish and attention to detail of their products is superb.

Thanks for the feedback, John, I might PM you with some other questions.

I Talked to FI Tech, they were very helpful. They have the units but the pumps are back-ordered but they said I could use a standard Walbro 255 for the 600HP kit if need be.

Was trying to find a deal on the Atomic s

FITECH looks like a very nice product. i like how the injectors are arranged at an angle around the circumference of the venturi to cause a swirling flow pattern. Engine Power did an ad for them at the end of their show sunday. price is nice as well.

Installed on 55 T Bird Y block to replace stock Holley 4 barrel T Pot carb. Had a really tough year troubleshooting an engine stalling at random times when coming to a stop. Very dangerous on Calyforuna freeways.

One year of dealing with MSD tech being told that I was doing something wrong or it was the engine. Much time spent on their forum where technical problems were endemic. All the time me telling them to fix their software.

After 3 software update/refreshes all now appears well for the most part.

Will now report that starting, idling, fuel economy are much improved compared to the miserable old Holley.

A very strong point on the MSD Atomic,,,no one knows it is there when the hood is up. I've numerous updates to the car,,,AOD 4 speed overdrive automatic,,, Borgeson steering Box,,,etc , and yet car appears stock except for the Vintage AC add on.

Beautiful T bird buddy, very cool install!!

I was really interested in the FiTech unit for an upcoming build. I called them on Monday and talked to a couple people there about the product. I then decided to pull the trigger and ordered a GO EFI 4 600hp unit and it arrived at my door the next day. Very pleasant people to deal with and from everything I've seen in the kit, the fit and finish is easily on-par with the MSD and Holley units. I am not found of their clamp-on style of 02 sensor bung and would really have preferred ORB style fittings at the throttle body, but those are my only two gripes. FiTech also make provisions to tune via a laptop if you desire.

If anyone curious about the system is interested, I can also take some detailed images of the packaging and components.

I would LOVE to see some detailed photos of the actual product.

Me too! Thanks!

As requested, here's a gallery with closeups of the FiTech system.

Fitech Go EFI 4 image gallery

Will a drop-base air cleaner fit over that throttle body?

I wondered the same thing, it looks like it would though. You might have to run some 90* fittings off the fuel fittings but looks OK. I would hope that they thought of that.

Yep, that's what I'm running on mine.

From one of the manuals:

FUEL PUMP CONTROL: The FiTech ECU for Go EFI systems has a special driver circuit that will drive the fuel pump directly, which means that an external relay is not needed. This driver circuit allows both PWM control (pulse width modulated), and direct internal relay drive of the fuel pump. This allows the voltage to be reduced when the fuel demand is low, such as at idle and light cruise.

One thing I am not a fan of is the seemingly limited tunability. Looks like a 3x3 spark table is all you have...and it seems they strongly discourage people to actually fiddle/tune.

Thank you for your kind words. My wife's car, she appreciated the compliment. Here's a shot of the car.

Well please tell your lovely wife that this die-hard MoPar guy now has the picture of her most beautiful T-Bird as his computer wallpaper!! What an amazing looking car.

Just a follow-up.

I ordered my Fi Tech unit last week and it arrived Fed-ex yesterday....looks real good.

It's going on the 440" W2 small block but I'm going to prep the 427 SBF in my Cobra (weld an O2 bung in the collector and plumb a return line to the tank) for another one as well.

Wize,

Any idea on minimum vacuum in gear this system can deal with? I sent this question to FITech via email but have not seen a response yet.

Haven't read into it but the guy at Fi Tech I talked to said their system is more tunable for big cam/high overlap/Low vacuum motors than the MSD Atomic (which I think is >/= 10" Vac and no tighter than 108 LDA with 240-ish @.050 lobes). I think those are general guidelines based on a 350-400" motor though. I know my buddy Nat's 442" AMC has a 236/244 @.050 .612" lift Hyd Roller on 109 centers and it idles great.

Both motors I have in mind for the Fi Tech have about 11-12" with carbs.

It's also interesting that Fi Tech wet tests all their units prior to shipping (it smelled like gas).

Running 6-7 vacuum in gear and it doesn't skip a beat.

Wize, Wireweld,

Thanks for the feedback!

Coincidentally I did receive a response to my inquiry today and the tech indicated their system should work fine down to about 4 inches of vacuum. That should work on just about anything!

Nice! Let us know how it works out, are you planning on running your ignition with it also?