Advise needed, Ricks tank with GM fuel pump.

[slazisme]

Looking to change my existing stock fuel tank(w/Holley 12-300) with a Ricks retro fit tank, wondering which GM fuel pump to use, SS, ZL1 or other. I want to run a returnless system and wondering if those pumps are pre-regulated to 58psi.
500hp LS engine, 42 Ibs injectors, Fitech ECM, stick car.
Need some input on this before I make a purchase? Anybody have some helpful info for this kind of setup. Thanks.

[John McIntire]

Do a search for Vaporworx.
Carl is the man and is an active contributor to this forum.

[dhutton]

Use the ZL1 pump. Carl will sell you a 58 psi regulator to swap into the pump or you can use his PWM pump controller. His site has a lot of good information.

vaporworx.com

Don

[slazisme]

Thanks John, Don, I will give him a call and discuss this setup and needs.

On another note, have another question that I'll check with Carl but maybe you guys have had this experience. After I filled up the vehicle with gas, I went for a little drive as I'm breaking in the engine and clutch. After stopping at the bank I noticed that there was a small puddle of gas under the drivers wheel area. It seems that pressurized fuel seeped out of my vent, its at the highest point in the drivers side rear frame rail.
Did I overfill the tank? New vented cap. Have the vent line/ banjo fitting coming out of the stock sending unit area of the tank then up to the frame rail. Heat build up in the tank?
193860
It kinda freaked me out. Simon

[dhutton]

My understanding is gasoline expands as it warms up. So cold gas out of the underground tank into your tank will likely expand. Maybe put a little less fuel in it and see how it goes.

Also make sure your vent hose doesn’t have any dips that would create a trap.

Don

[joeko23]

Also that vent line should be connected to a hose, run that hose as high as possible (higher than filler neck) usually above the diff is the highest you can go. You can also get a roll over valve just in case.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tnk-vvr?seid=srese1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt4_z5dmR9AIVEFNyCh3gfQHbEAQYCyAB EgJbtfD_BwE

[130fe]

Hey Joe just curious, what was your experience with the Holley pump on a stick? Good or bad? I have had great luck with the vapor work stuff BTW.

[joeko23]

Hey Joe just curious, what was your experience with the Holley pump on a stick? Good or bad? I have had great luck with the vapor work stuff BTW.

I have no experience with pump on a stick, in my build I used a ricks restomod tank with the cts-v pump and the VaporWorx controller. I really wanted oem reliability.

In my opinion, any aftermarket pump that is at 100% ALL the time is going to fail way faster than one controlled by a pwm system. Additionally, I don’t think all these aftermarket pumps are built/tested as well as oem stuff that’s actually made to withstand daily use with hundreds of thousands of miles.

[130fe]

Sorry Joe, reply was meant for the OP.

[ryeguy2006a]

I ran an SS fuel pump assembly that was converted to constant pressure using Carl's kit and used that for about 2 years. It performed flawlessly and would highly recommend. However, at 500 HP, you are right on the line of possibly needing more pump. I was told that his kit when converted to constant is the equivalent of a 255 lph pump. I'm now running the PressureWorx kit from Carl that runs PWM and controls my CTS-V pump and love it. Adjustments are super easy and with boost it works great with the MAP referenced option.

Either option you really can't go wrong, is what I'm trying to say haha. Give Carl a call and he'll help you out.

[CarlC]

Use the ZL1 pump. Carl will sell you a 58 psi regulator to swap into the pump or you can use his PWM pump controller. His site has a lot of good information.

vaporworx.com

Don

The choice for PWM vs. an exchanged pressure regulator really comes down to what the intent of the car is.

For a car that will only see a run to the burger joint on a Saturday night, then swapping the regulator on the Gen5 SS or LSA/ZL1 will work okay. Even for long distance/hot weather the SS is okay with a changed regulator.

The ZL1 requires a lot more power than the SS module. For cars that are drivers (including the SS module) the PWM makes sense. Hot fuel in the tank does nothing but bad things.

There is a bunch of internet chatter about how PWM is only being used in order to reduce emissions. Hogwash. I'll expound on that.......

First, IMO, every one of us should be thankful for the modern automotive emission systems. These systems drove every OEM to make fantastic strides in engine efficiency and active monitoring/controlling. Sensors, electronics, closed-loop control, computational fluid dynamics, predictive modeling, increased brake specific fuel consumption, roller and overhead camshaft designs, even piston crown and ring designs chase lower emissions = greater power and efficiency. We're fortunate to be eating off of the emissions plate.

Power has grown significantly in the last 20 years. Today a 650hp supercharged LT4 crate engine is pretty popular. 650hp 20 years ago was god-like. Fuel systems need to keep up with this power increase. To go from a 385hp NA LS6 Z06 engine to a 650hp LT4 engine requires 2x the fuel and electrical demand.

Imagine driving a pumping system, that is only 1/3 efficient (pumps are pretty inefficient devices), that is big enough to feed 700hp at full speed all the time. Recirculate it through a hot engine compartment. During idle and cruise nearly all of power put into the pump is dumped back into the fuel load along with the heat picked up in the fuel rails. The fuel load becomes a thermal battery, and it's not uncommon for liquid temps in the tank to rise to near boiling on hot days. Lower pump life, excessive fuel temperatures, greater chance of vapor lock, etc. Oh, and there's an alternator under a bunch of excessive load as well.

That's where PWM comes in. Change from a full-speed to an on-demand variable speed system that does not recirculate heated unused fuel. Crazy talk? Try driving your car with the throttle wide open all the time. No throttle control, just let it rev to the moon. What happens after a few minutes? Does anything good come from it? PWM is a fuel pump throttle. Naysayers also believe that PWM returnless won't work on high horsepower cars. Somebody had better tell Mopar, Ford, GM, MB, BMW, etc. since every one of them use PWM returnless fuel systems. No OEM today uses an old-school return system on a performance car.