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Another EFii System32 is in the air

david roe

Member
I wanted to let anyone who's interested in Robert Paisley's EFii System32 that another one of his System32 electronic ignition and electronic fuel injection systems are in the air. I'm finally back in the air with N90309. I also used his Buss Manager. The installation is per his recommendations with the exception of the mounting of the Buss Manager where I fabricated some ears that I riveted to the housing and was able to mount the box with hardware instead of zip ties.
I only have a little over 4 hours on it and am still making friends with it but so far so great. What few hot starts that I've made seem to confirm his claims of eliminating the hot start issue with fuel injected engines. It idles very very smooth and runs very smooth. I haven't gotten any serious numbers but it appears to making more power and though I haven't had the opportunity to fly in any smooth stable air it looks like I'm a little faster. A rough guess-timation is maybe 1" more MAP gain. That's no real surprise as the old intake opening on my old fuel servo was maybe 2 3/4" (?) and the new intake air opening on the new throttle body is 3" so it's breathing a LOT better.
I think that the system would be easier to install on an initial new build rather than to retro-fit as I did but certainly isn't necessary. I'd recommend it with either scenario.
I wasn't planning on it but I did a MO (major overhaul) at the same time so this took a lot longer than it would have if I was just installing the system. I was down about 1 year 8 months but I don't work as fast I used to and of course life always throws you a curve ball here and there.
I'm happy to answer anyones questions but I don't necessarily check VAF on a regular basis. I'll try to check in periodically and if there's a way (?) feel free to IM or email me. Do I have to include my contact info here? I don't know. Old dog. New tricks.
 
Thanks for POSTING.... I am interested in your experience, performance, etc.

I am interested in this system as well just for knowledge sake. I was not aware of it until thumbing through Spruce Aircraft Catalog. I don't know anyone that uses it until now. All the best fly safe and be sure to update us.
 
Thanks for POSTING.... I am interested in your experience, performance, etc.

I am interested in this system as well just for knowledge sake. I was not aware of it until thumbing through Spruce Aircraft Catalog. I don't know anyone that uses it until now. All the best fly safe and be sure to update us.

There are two primary players in the modern engine computer game, Ross Farnham with SDS and Robert Paisley with EFII32. There are subtle differences between the packages they offer, but either of them will drag our 1960's technology engines kicking and screaming into the 21st century. When set up properly, your airplane engine should start and run just about as reliably as your modern car engine.

I'll also point out that, during a NEW build at least, there is very little dollar difference between either company's complete package versus the similar mechanical equipment you would hang on the engine. When you consider the entire fuel and ignition system (pumps, mags, injectors, servo, plugs, harness, the works) to be put on a bare block engine, the dollars compare favorably.
 
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Thanks for POSTING.... I am interested in your experience, performance, etc.

I am finishing up an install on a second airplane. After the first airplane sold, going back to 1960s tech with the second airplane, only lasted so long.

I'll also point out that, during a NEW build at least, there is very little dollar difference between either company's complete package versus the similar mechanical equipment you would hang on the engine. When you consider the entire fuel and ignition system (pumps, mags, injectors, servo, plugs, harness, the works) to be put on a bare block engine, the dollars compare favorably.

I'll add that on a USED example, I was able to recoup over half my 'investment' going with FlyEFII by selling off the used parts. That doesn't include the $avings from avoiding the 500hr mag service that was due. From past experience, I'll also save on fuel burn once I am flying.
 
AirGuy kind of hit the key issues on the head I think. I agree with everything that he spelled out. And yes, the 500 hour mag overhauls didn't even come to mind. Probably because I haven't dealt with a mag for sooo long now. My System32 was a upgrade from the Legacy EFii first generation ignition. I didn't have the electronic fuel injection so that is all new for me now. If I were starting a new build I wouldn't consider anything but all of this new technology. To be totally transparent about the system, there were some gremlins that I did have to deal with that cost me a lot of time and is to be kind of expected with any new system I suppose. Some of the issues I simply shot myself in the foot, others were no fault of mine but Robert was great getting everything right for me regardless. My experience, though not all that extensive, is that shaking a new system out is kind of par for the course. When installing the system you can't be too careful. For example. Fortunately the fuel injectors needed to be disassembled and re-assembled in a modular fashion when installing them on the cylinders. I was a little taken back that the housings had not been cleaned from the machining process and I found a lot of aluminum cuttings in my injectors. No big deal. I cleaned them and I was good to go but it illustrates the degree of attention to detail that I think is needed for the installation.
Here's my latest issue that I'm currently dealing with that I'll also share.


[This issue with the high fuel pressure has been resolved. Read on for the issue, I'll edit in the solution here. I have my regulator in a high heat environment on the firewall getting blasted with hot exit air from a second oil cooler. What solved my persistent high fuel pressure was to get the heat under control at the regulator. I was initially way too optimistic about the heat getting carried away from this area. I fabricated a cool box that covers the regulator and has a blast tube going to the box. That within itself was not enough. I made a deflector for the exit air of my second oil cooler to divert that hot air down towards the cowl exit air. Those two were the big players for the solution however I also installed some heat shields on the exhaust where I had some close proximity issues with the fuel line. Works great now. I wasn't able to find any info online about the effects of heat on a fuel regulator in a hot location. Hind sight is 20/20 and it all makes sense to me now but at the time I was lost. I wasn't able to find anything useful with my online searches. Hope that this helps someone in the future. Make sure your regulator and fuel lines have adequate cooling. DR]



On one of my test flights I noticed a higher than normal fuel pressure. I should not see anything over 35psi but I saw 40-44psi. It concerned me but I was able to get it back into the proper parameters with throttling down for a little while and then back up. I landed and the next day or so when I did a post flight inspection I noticed that my post pump fuel filter had deformed a bit. It looked like it had been tugged on from engine movement or over torqued or something. I've eliminated those possibilities because of the way the fuel line is isolated from any engine movement. My best guess is maybe a hang up in my fuel pressure regulator. Not sure but that's my best guess right now. Tomorrow a new filter is supposed to get here and I can continue with my flight testing, hoping that this was a fluke occurrence.
I hope that my long rant is helpful to you in some way and I wish you well on your project.
 
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