Professional Products’ Powerjection III changes the face of fuel management systems
Introducing the world’s first plug-and-play EFI...
There is no shadow of a doubt in the minds of most motoring enthusiasts that electronic fuel injection, or EFI, has revolutionized the way in which we manage a motor’s air/fuel ratio. However, even with the invention of EFI, there has still persisted the common problem of dialing-in the air/fuel mixture for several different driving environments; since most fuel injection units on pre-injected vehicles are aftermarket, not as much money has been invested in research as has been on factory-built units. Even with the most advanced aftermarket injection units, troublesome wiring harnesses and manually-adjusted computers have always been necessary to maintain proper fuel management.
A company by the name of Professional Products has put an end to the clutter involved in EFI-installation by inventing what could possibly be the aftermarket’s very first true, plug-and-play EFI system, a unit that they call the Powerjection III. An absolute milestone in fuel injection technology, the Powerjection III is unique in that its plug-and-play nature allows for automatic calibration without the highly-visible wiring harnesses typically associated with an aftermarket EFI unit. The Powerjection unit even accepts the engine’s factory air filter, which means that the unit can actually be installed without ruining the integrity of the engine itself. How does it maintain a motor’s integrity? By allowing the original air filter to be installed with the aftermarket unit, so that the motor appears to be all-original.
Another way that the Powerjection III achieves factory appearance is by placing the ECM, the electronic brain of the injection system, within the Holley-based throttle body of the unit. The ECM is also relatively small in comparison to those used on other aftermarket EFI units. As mentioned earlier, this makes it possible to “hide” the wiring harnesses that are usually very clearly marked on other competing systems.
Above all other system characteristics, Professional Products has proven to be a pioneer in their use of a new Adaptive Learning program, the self-calibrating feature of the Powerjection III that eliminates the need for laptop mapping and tuning. What’s convenient about this “Adaptive Learning” feature, however, is that it still does allow for manual adjustments and tuning, especially for radically-built motors. In fact, the Adaptive Learning feature of the EFI unit can calibrate itself within minutes of being installed on an engine, and as the user drives the car with the new unit installed, the plug-and-play system adjusts to the engine’s profile as soon as the engine itself starts running. The unit also features a 21.5 BAR MAP sensor, allowing the unit to self-adjust to any supercharger or turbo up to 20 pounds of boost. As much as the system can be stretched, anything past 20 PSI or 550 BHP requires manual mapping and tuning, along with a change of injectors. But even when this is the case, the combination of plug-and-play, a mapping sensor and a wideband, O2 sensor makes possible the use of the EFI on a considerably-built performance motor. Not only because of the automated nature of the unit, but because the O2 sensor in itself makes possible the adjustment of the air/fuel mixture across a broader range of compression ratios and cam profiles then a narrow-band O2 sensor, which is the type used on most aftermarket injection systems.
Another significant way in which the Powerjection unit manages fuel is through what Professional Products calls a FuelOnDemand feature. Essentially, it is an electronic fuel pressure controller that follows a pre-set fuel pressure in order to adjust the speed of the fuel being pumped to the injectors under variable operating conditions. In what Professional Products describes as a “returnless” version of the Powerjection unit, the “FuelOnDemand” feature eliminates the need for a return line from the EFI to the actual gas tank of the car, again reducing the amount of wiring and hardware needed to make the unit work.
Most hot rodders and other motor enthusiasts will more-than-likely buy the Powerjection III because of the fact that it can adjust itself to virtually any water-cooled, V6 or V8 platform. But for those engine builders who do wish to self-tune, the entire EFI kit comes with an instructional CD that helps the user to self map and calibrate for virtually any street or race application.
All-in-all then, Professional Products, with their invention of the Powerjection III, has revolutionized the way we look at fuel management as it pertains to the high-performance industry. Carburetors and a lot of other conventional tools of engine performance, once thought of as milestones, have therefore become things of our automotive past.
- Sal Alaimo Jr., B. A. (6/28/11)
S. J. A.
