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Hi-Volume Mechanical Fuel Pump Testing

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Old 04-06-2012, 02:14 PM
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632C2
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Default Hi-Volume Mechanical Fuel Pump Testing

The following is a write-up on some fuel system tests that I performed on my 1967 542” tri-powered stock-appearing Corvette with cast iron exhaust manifolds. Back in November of 2011 I posted a thread about the car making 671 rwhp on a DynoJet chassis dyno. After reading a thread by Alan Rothman that was based on him being concerned about the fuel system on his 10 second 127+ mph ’71 Corvette, I decided to run some tests. I was concerned that my Holley 12-454-25 170 gph pump might not be up to the task.

Just for arguments sake let’s say that my motor produces 800 hp at the flywheel. When you multiply that number by a BSFC number of .45 lbs/hr(estimate) and then divide it by 6.2 lbs/gallon for gasoline you would come up with a fuel requirement of approximately 58 gph at WOT. I have heard that you should select a pump with a free flow rating that is at least twice what the motor can actually consume. This would mean that I would need a fuel pump with at least a free flow rating of 116 gph. The Holley I am using should be more than sufficient based on their published numbers. But I had to try to find out for myself.

The system I had in place at the beginning of these tests is described as follows: the 3/8” pickup at the gas tank is attached to a 3/8” ball valve which connects to the 3/8” fuel line (about 11 feet long). The fuel line connects to the inlet side of a Holley 12-454-25 170 gph mechanical fuel pump with a -8 Fragola Push-Lite fitting. Another -8 Fragola Push-Lite fitting is attached to the fuel pump outlet and from there it goes into the Tri-Power 3/8” hard line (about 3 feet long) up to the first of two fuel blocks. The 3/8" fuel lines go from the fuel blocks to the carburetor bowls. The factory sintered fuel filters are used in each carburetor bowl. No regulator is used with this fuel pump and the fuel pressure is pre-set by Holley to 7.5 psi. All hard lines are 100% stock.

I modified this somewhat to enable the testing while the motor was running – a requirement for a car with a mechanical fuel pump. I disconnected the 3/8” fuel line that leads up from the pump to the first fuel block. I attached one leg of a 3/8” ‘Y’ fitting to this line. Another leg of the ‘Y’ goes to the factory fuel block and the final leg goes via 3/8” rubber hose to a 3/8” ball valve that hangs under the car. I have this car on a 4-post hoist that connects to a DynoJet chassis dyno with all the testing going on underneath. From the ball valve I have a 6” piece of 3/8” ID hose that allows the fuel to be directed into a 1 gallon container. The ball valve gives me the on/off capability.

The first series of tests involved the Barry Grant style 1-gallon test. Essentially the BG 1 gallon test is a measurement of how much time it takes to fill a 1 gallon container with fuel as delivered to your carburetor(s). His site states that a 12 second car should fill the 1 gallon container in 35 seconds, 30 seconds for an 11 second car, and 25 seconds for a 10 second car. I ran the first 2 systems twice and the third was run 3 times. All tests were performed with the Holley 12-454-25 mechanical fuel pump. For #2 and #3 the existing fuel system up to the Holley pump was eliminated with the 12’ of hose/line coming directly out of a 5 gallon container and feeding into the Holley pump. All tests are run at 1000 rpm:

System 1: Original (as described above) fuel system = 38 seconds (95 gph)

System 2: 3/8” ID rubber gas hose appx.12’ long feeding from 5 gallon jug = 38 seconds (95 gph)

System 3: ½” ID rubber gas hose and ½”OD steel tubing from 5 gallon jug = 38 seconds (95 gph)

This was a real eye opener. This test confirmed Rick’s (540 Rat) statement to me about 3/8” OD fuel line not being a restriction. I contacted Rick with regards to this testing because of his engineering background. I would like to thank him for all of the invaluable information he provided me with. Since it took 38 seconds to fill the 1 gallon jug that equates to a flow rate of approximately 95 gph – and that is at idle. That is well over the 58 gph that my motor requires. I then ran this test at 3000 rpm and the times were identical.

I also performed a test similar to System #2 with 3/8" rubber hose and an Aeromotive 140 gph electric fuel pump that operates at 14 psi. With no regulator attached and the pump back by the 5 gallon jug, it took 25 seconds to fill the 1 gallon container which equals 144 gph. With their regulator installed at the front of the 12’ hose and set to 6.5 psi it took 35 seconds to fill the 1 gallon container which equals 103 gph. This test was run just for comparison sakes.

The next series of tests were performed as a “flowing fuel pressure” test. I use this “flow gauge” when I am setting up the nitrous on my 632 car. The device is pictured here: http://www.appliednitroustechnology....flowguage.html. It is used to set fuel pressure based on the real demands of your nitrous jetting. There is a jet that fits into the end by the gauge that is based on the jetting you are currently running. You turn on the fuel pump while the end of this device is flowing fuel into a container and you can accurately set your flowing fuel pressure. I thought this might be a good test of what is happening under WOT demands so I connected it to the end of the ball valve.

I calculated the area of each .110” needle and seat and multiplied that value by 3(Tri-Power, remember) then calculated the needed diameter to match that area as approximately .190”. I placed a .190” jet into the end of the flow gauge. I ran each of these tests multiple times with the results being very close and, unfortunately, very dismal. The fuel pressure before the flow gauge was opened up was around 7.5 psi with all three of the above outlined systems. When the flow gauge was opened up the pressure dropped on all three systems to under 1 psi. I would have to think that these numbers would be even worse when the car is making a quarter mile run.

Again I ran these tests at 3000 rpm and again the results were identical. Clearly this current fuel pump setup was not up to my expectations or requirements.

Rick had been insisting that I needed a fuel pump that provides at least 14 psi instead of the 7.5 psi that mine had. I would then need a regulator to dial it back for the carburetors. I resisted because I absolutely have to have this thing looking stock when you open the hood. A regulator up by the carburetors will not work. After the above testing results I realized I had to make some modifications. I purchased a Holley 12-704 regulator and decided to try to shim the spring in the Holley fuel pump to increase the pressure. The regulator and all the extra plumbing is hidden under the car and can not be seen from the engine compartment. While I am sure that it would be better to have the regulator closer to the carburetors it is simply not going to happen in my case.

In order to verify my next rounds of testing I installed a Racepak Ultra Dash with data acquisition capabilities. I am now able to monitor and record data from the following sensors: rpm, voltage, oil pressure, oil temperature, water temperature, fuel pressure prior to the regulator, and fuel pressure at the carburetor bowl.

I disassembled the pump and machined 3 spacers (.100”, .150”, .200”) that would allow me to shim the pressure spring. Using a valve spring tester I recorded the spring pressure at two different spring heights for the spring with no shims and for the spring with each of the 3 different sizes. I wasn’t sure what thickness of shim I could get away with without risking damage to the pump so I decided to install the .150” first. While the pump was disassembled I also internally ported the inlet and outlet housings hoping to increase the flow a little.

These changes resulted in a fuel pressure prior to the regulator of 10.5 psi with fuel pressure at the carburetor bowl adjusted to 6.0 psi. I wanted at least 14.0 psi prior to the regulator. Since this .150” shim only increased the pressure by 3.0 psi, I didn’t want to spend any more time testing the other shims. At this point I decided to eliminate the idea of using shims and ordered Holley’s high pressure spring assembly.

Once this diaphragm assembly arrived I installed it in the pump and was rewarded with much higher fuel pressure. At 900 rpm the fuel pressure prior to the regulator was 16.0 psi while the fuel pressure at the carburetor bowl was adjusted to 6.5 psi. At 2000 rpm the fuel pressure prior to the regulator jumped to 17.0 psi while the fuel pressure at the carburetor bowl remained at 6.5 psi. Now I felt I was getting somewhere.

I ran the BG 1 gallon tests with the motor at 900 rpm and at 2000 rpm. I also decided to run the BG 1 gallon test with the flowing fuel pressure assembly attached – a test I had never tried before. Attaching that flowing fuel pressure assembly to the end of the hose would cause a significant restriction and should result in a longer time to fill the 1 gallon container. The following is a summary of the results:

........................................ ........................................ .900 rpm……………...2000 rpm

BG test with 6" of -6AN hose after ball valve:.....45sec / 80 gph............34sec / 106 gph

BG test with .190" jet after ball valve:..................50sec / 72 gph...........37sec / 97 gph

Again, I was very happy with these results. At 2000 rpm the time to fill the 1 gallon container was now the same as the electric pump. When the .190” jet was added to the equation it only took 3 seconds more to fill that same 1 gallon container. This time increasing the rpm had a definite and positive impact.

The final set of tests were based on the flowing fuel pressure assembly. The following are the results :

.................................... 900 rpm....... 2000 rpm

Pressure after pump:.....4.5 psi.............5.5 psi

Pressure at carb bowl:...2.0 psi.............3.5 psi

The increase in rpm again had a positive effect especially on the pressure at the carburetor bowl.

Do these tests have any real-world validity? I sure hope so but the final proof will come when I take the car out to the drag strip.

Steve
Old 04-06-2012, 11:04 PM
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Wow Steve...great stuff! When you showed me what you were working on (hey guys....a month or so ago I was standing under this Vette looking at all of this!) I never dreamed you were going to come up with all of this. No..that's a lie....I KNEW you would do like usual and follow it to a good ending through logic and work. Really cool stuff!!

Rick's been telling us this for years. For some reason he's convinced all that math and science and engineering stuff actually works on this Hot Rod stuff too! And it does!

I think Rick's favorite line is something likec...*One test blows away a whole lot of theory*!!

Thanks for posting!

JIM
Old 04-07-2012, 12:57 PM
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Nice job Steve! It's great to see well thought out tests and a good report of test results!

Cheers!
Old 04-07-2012, 09:36 PM
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Originally Posted by 427Hotrod
Wow Steve...great stuff! When you showed me what you were working on (hey guys....a month or so ago I was standing under this Vette looking at all of this!) I never dreamed you were going to come up with all of this. No..that's a lie....I KNEW you would do like usual and follow it to a good ending through logic and work. Really cool stuff!!

Rick's been telling us this for years. For some reason he's convinced all that math and science and engineering stuff actually works on this Hot Rod stuff too! And it does!

I think Rick's favorite line is something likec...*One test blows away a whole lot of theory*!!

Thanks for posting!

JIM
Thanks Jim. I knew I could depend on you to respond to this yawner of a thread! I guess this thread is a lot more irrelevant than I thought.


Originally Posted by larrywalk
Nice job Steve! It's great to see well thought out tests and a good report of test results!

Cheers!
Thanks for the comments Larry.

Steve
Old 04-07-2012, 10:53 PM
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LOL!! I can't figure out why these kind of great threads don't seem to hit. This is KILLER stuff! If folks will read through it they can really get the brain matter churning and fill in a lot of holes in their own car's performance.

Just throwing parts at stuff seldom works...and stuff like this can help explain why!

Trust me..folks are reading....they just don't what to add to it!

JIM
Old 04-09-2012, 07:22 PM
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Steve, your work is always “VERY” impressive, among the best I’ve seen. I’ll be looking forward to your write-up after track day.
Old 04-09-2012, 07:23 PM
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Originally Posted by 427Hotrod
Wow Steve...great stuff! When you showed me what you were working on (hey guys....a month or so ago I was standing under this Vette looking at all of this!) I never dreamed you were going to come up with all of this. No..that's a lie....I KNEW you would do like usual and follow it to a good ending through logic and work. Really cool stuff!!

Rick's been telling us this for years. For some reason he's convinced all that math and science and engineering stuff actually works on this Hot Rod stuff too! And it does!

I think Rick's favorite line is something likec...*One test blows away a whole lot of theory*!!

Thanks for posting!

JIM

Yeah, my exact quote is, “A single test can ruin a perfectly good theory”. I’ve seen that happen many times, in Industry and in our Hotrod and Racing hobby. An actual test is the “real deal”, even if it goes against what the common “thinking” is.

Rick
Old 04-10-2012, 04:19 AM
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Steve very good write up indeed. As for myself Steve I would like to Thank You for taking the time to sit down and put all of this information down for the education of others.

It can make one wonder if people even comprehend the amount of time and money it takes to find out what works and what does not work to enable others to save there money and time with no reward to yourself except to help others with there project.

I think that some people read Magazines too much and as Jim said throw Green Backs at things instead of getting real world experience.
Old 04-10-2012, 02:02 PM
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Originally Posted by 540 RAT
Steve, your work is always “VERY” impressive, among the best I’ve seen. I’ll be looking forward to your write-up after track day.
Thanks, Rick. Again I just want to say thanks for the help you provided. Some of the info I got from you was not readily available on the internet.


Originally Posted by SHAKERATTLEROLL
Steve very good write up indeed. As for myself Steve I would like to Thank You for taking the time to sit down and put all of this information down for the education of others.

It can make one wonder if people even comprehend the amount of time and money it takes to find out what works and what does not work to enable others to save there money and time with no reward to yourself except to help others with there project.

I think that some people read Magazines too much and as Jim said throw Green Backs at things instead of getting real world experience.
Thanks! I appreciate the comments. Having a DynoJet at my house and free time available allows me to do a lot of projects that involve extensive testing. Most of the time I don't post what I am doing because I don't think people would be interested or it would take me too long to write it up. This testing was a classic example.

Steve
Old 04-10-2012, 02:28 PM
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Steve, I am using the HLY-12-454-20 and the 12-704 regulator currently. I have my pressure set at 6.0 psi I seem to be getting adequate fuel flow. But you have a lot more cubes and HP than I do. So in the end, are you not happy with this pump and reg?
Old 04-10-2012, 08:25 PM
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Very interesting (and scientific) tests Steve!

Out of curiousity.... Have you tried making any dyno pulls with a fuel pressure gauge T'd in right at the bowls and watched the pressure drop? Or better yet logged fuel pressure with the RacePak during a pull?

I am sure at these mechanical pump's R&D facilities, they are able to produce the advertised outputs of these pumps but I think once they are installed on an engine, in a car, utilitizing factory pick ups, fuel lines, bends/elbows etc etc, thats when the restriction takes place and output of the pumps nose dive....

On the chasis dyno, my fuel pressure drops from 7 psi at the carb down to 3.5 psi or so just in a single gear dyno pull..... No doubt on a real 1/4 mile pass, I am probably at 0 psi..... My AFR holds steady in the traps at 11.7 but increasing jet sizes yields no mph gain nor any richening in the AFR....Even huge jet changes like 4-5 sizes at a time makes NO difference at high rpms... I want to revamp my entire fuel system but I am in the middle of a MAJOR LSx build for my Z06 so all of my pennies are allocated there.... Maybe next year I'll re-do the fuel system on the 71.

I am very curious to see what you come up with....more important I am curious to see how your car runs at the strip and how the fuel pressure holds up in the traps...

Keep at it my man!
Old 04-10-2012, 11:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Rebelrob
Steve, I am using the HLY-12-454-20 and the 12-704 regulator currently. I have my pressure set at 6.0 psi I seem to be getting adequate fuel flow. But you have a lot more cubes and HP than I do. So in the end, are you not happy with this pump and reg?
Right now I am happy with the 12-454-25 pump and 12-704 regulator as I have modified it. However, if it proves to be inadequate at the track I won't hesitate to take whatever steps are necessary to rectify it.

Steve
Old 04-10-2012, 11:38 PM
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Originally Posted by 632C2
Right now I am happy with the 12-454-25 pump and 12-704 regulator as I have modified it. However, if it proves to be inadequate at the track I won't hesitate to take whatever steps are necessary to rectify it.

Steve
Good deal. Looking forward to hearing how your Vette(s) perform.
Yep, you got the -25 model which is the more expensive cnc billet version.
Old 04-10-2012, 11:40 PM
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Originally Posted by ajrothm
Very interesting (and scientific) tests Steve!

Out of curiousity.... Have you tried making any dyno pulls with a fuel pressure gauge T'd in right at the bowls and watched the pressure drop? Or better yet logged fuel pressure with the RacePak during a pull?

I am sure at these mechanical pump's R&D facilities, they are able to produce the advertised outputs of these pumps but I think once they are installed on an engine, in a car, utilitizing factory pick ups, fuel lines, bends/elbows etc etc, thats when the restriction takes place and output of the pumps nose dive....

On the chasis dyno, my fuel pressure drops from 7 psi at the carb down to 3.5 psi or so just in a single gear dyno pull..... No doubt on a real 1/4 mile pass, I am probably at 0 psi..... My AFR holds steady in the traps at 11.7 but increasing jet sizes yields no mph gain nor any richening in the AFR....Even huge jet changes like 4-5 sizes at a time makes NO difference at high rpms... I want to revamp my entire fuel system but I am in the middle of a MAJOR LSx build for my Z06 so all of my pennies are allocated there.... Maybe next year I'll re-do the fuel system on the 71.

I am very curious to see what you come up with....more important I am curious to see how your car runs at the strip and how the fuel pressure holds up in the traps...

Keep at it my man!
I haven't made any runs since the fuel pump testing and mods. I will be making a few runs in the next few weeks just to verify where I am at. Being able to log the runs is the only way to go. I do that all the time with the 632 car.

I did manage to make a few runs prior to all of this testing to see where I was at with the 4.11 gears and a few tuning changes. I was able to get the power up to 682 rwhp and 660 rwtq.

I am shooting to get the car out to the strip sometime towards the middle to end of May. Up here the weather is always the problem.

Good luck on the MAJOR LSx build for your ZO6!

Steve

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