If you are considering EFI but feel anxious about using a laptop style ECU then the Carabine from Hilborn Fuel injection is the perfect answer. The Carabine ECU is easy to install, easy to use, easy to tune, and does not require a laptop for tuning. Tuning is accomplished using a screwdriver, allowing both the novice and the professional the same ability to control their fuel requirements.
Although the Carabine is designed to be the most user friendly ECU available, it is also a very powerful computer that controls all aspects of fuel control for your engine. It not only allows complete control of wide open throttle and part throttle, it also allows you to tailor idle, acceleration rate and cold start parameters.
The Carabine ECU requires only two sensors; TPS (throttle position sensor) and a Coolant Temperature sensor. There is no need for a MAP, MAF or O2 sensor or an IAC valve. This not only reduces the cost, but also simplifies the installation process while alleviating the amount of potential sensor failures. The Carabine can also use input from optional sensors such as a Barometric Pressure sensor and Air Charge Temperature sensor to automatically adjust the fuel curve for those who plan to use their cars in varied conditions.
OEM style EFI systems using a map sensor are sensitive to low idle vacuum which could lead to tuning complications. Since the Carabine does not require a MAP sensor there is no need to buy special components such as EFI compatible camshafts. The Carabine gives you the flexibility to build the engine the way you want, and works with any camshaft, cubic inch or compression ratio.
The Carabine ECU will operate on any engine from 1 to 8 cylinders and with any type of fuel up to the limit of the fuel nozzle capacity. Operating as a batch fire system only, the Carabine can run either high or low impedance injectors. For proper operation, a magnetic pick-up style distributor or crank trigger is recommended, and must be used with either an MSD or Mallory ignition box for correct operation of the ECU.
The Carabine ECU is sold only with an EFI kit from Hilborn Fuel Injection. All of your components; including the injector manifold with the TPS, fuel regulator, injector nozzles (fuel injectors), and the ECU, are flowed as one assembly on a wet flow bench. Using engine specifications which are provided by you or your engine builder (cubic inch displacement, compression ratio, camshaft specs and basic rpm range), the professionals at Hilborn, with over 50 years of experience in the field of mechanical fuel injection, will design a fuel curve for your engine based on many years of dyno testing. Upon installation of your EFI kit, only small adjustments with a screwdriver may be required.
The supplied Installation and Tuning Manual provides detailed instructions covering all aspects of the installation. The color-coded schematics for ECU and Ignition wiring, and fuel system plumbing, makes installation easy, leaving nothing to guess.
Tuning of the Carabine is accomplished by the use of 16 potentiometers. There are 8 screws for wide open throttle, 2 for medium throttle and 2 for light throttle, while adjustments for idle, cold start and acceleration rate are controlled by a single screw for each. The key to the uniqueness of the Carabine is the ability of the PC, MC and FC (wide open throttle, medium throttle and light throttle) screws to transition into one another. This allows a flat fuel curve for a powerful and smooth accelerating engine.
How does the Carabine control the fuel requirements without an O2 sensor?
The processor in the Carabine works off of a maximum value principle which is: An engine at wide open throttle, at a certain rpm, will consume its maximum amount of air and fuel for the horsepower it is producing at your desired air/fuel ratio. Once this information is provided to the ECU, part throttle values are established with adjustments made by the 4 part throttle screws. The next adjustment is idle fuel and then acceleration rate, with cold start as the final adjustment. With all of this adjustability, it is easy to see why the Carabine ECU is the most powerful screwdriver-to-tune ECU available.
As you can see, EFI does not have to be complicated with an EFI kit from Hilborn Fuel Injection. Whether it is mild or wild, let the professionals at Hilborn Fuel Injection take the guess work out of EFI by designing your system today!
Contact our EFI specialist for more information or a price quote.
Home / Injector Manifolds / EFI Kits
