Just a quick question:

Will 3.0L injectors work on a 3.5L engine safely?

i would not do this, the ECU should compensate eventually provided your O2 sensor is in good shape

My TE had for some unknown reason 3.0 injectors put in when the person I purchased it from tried to fit the 3.5, amongst many other stuff ups this was another in the long list.

The 3.5 is a higher flow rate and you are best keeping to the correct ones

Mal is right.

You CAN run them, I did for a month or so until I got some 3.5 ones. And boy, it runs a lot smoother with the 3.5 ones put in afterwards.

i would not do this, the ECU should compensate eventually provided your O2 sensor is in good shape

Only while in closed loop mode, in open loop mode the fuel trims would be way out (running either rich or lean).

Best to just stick to the original injectors mate.

along these lines will slightly larger injectors be of benefit without a tune? ie on a car with say exhaust mods would the ecu handle a certain increase in size and compensate?? how about 380 injectors?

3.8 injectors dont flow any more than 3.5,they just have a different spray pattern.

along these lines will slightly larger injectors be of benefit without a tune? ie on a car with say exhaust mods would the ecu handle a certain increase in size and compensate?? how about 380 injectors?

The ECU is only going to adjust how much fuel it is injecting in closed loop mode, when it is reading the O2 sensor but even then it's not going to be perfect.

As for the technical details of the 380 injectors I have no idea, if they are the same flow rate/type I would say it should work fine, you might even see some improvements from the extra holes that zero mentioned. Adjusting the fuel trims isn't very hard with a bit of know how and data logging.

The ECU is only going to adjust how much fuel it is injecting in closed loop mode, when it is reading the O2 sensor but even then it's not going to be perfect.

As for the technical details of the 380 injectors I have no idea, if they are the same flow rate/type I would say it should work fine, you might even see some improvements from the extra holes that zero mentioned. Adjusting the fuel trims isn't very hard with a bit of know how and data logging.

The ECU will use information kept from when in closed loop mode to also adjust the general map in other circumstances as well, will not go way off when open.

The ECU will use information kept from when in closed loop mode to also adjust the general map in other circumstances as well, will not go way off when open.


I am going to have to see if there is anything in the code about that, I haven't seen anything yet. That said though, it can only adjust the AFR from what is coming off the O2 sensor which isn't very accurate at all when it doesn't know how much fuel is being injected. Adding larger injectors would simply confuse it and the results couldn't be to good.

If what your saying is true you should be able to slowly over time keep increasing your injector sizing with no difference.

The 380 injectors have 12 nozzles whereas the 3rd gen's have 4 nozzles. If the flow rate is the same, you also have to make sure the power/signal characteristics are the same. If so, you should at least get an improvement in fuel economy from a finer spray pattern (in theory). In practice, the standard ECU will probably see more oxygen in the exhaust from the O2 sensor and compensate for it. An O2 sensor bung may be beneficial in this scenario (as possibly with running e10 also), but whether in practice its a good thing or not I can't comment. The O2 bung screws onto the end of the O2 sensor, then in the sensor hole and takes the sensor out of the direct exhaust flow. They can be bought quite cheaply on Ebay, but there are real and copies, the copies being of much lower quality.

This is a real one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/O2-OXYGEN-SENSOR-ADAPTER-UNIVERSAL-02-EXTENSION-SPACER_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem35a7175b98QQitem Z230436592536QQptZRaceQ5fCarQ5fParts