E85 and Holley How To with examples explanations and base tune overview use case and more

How To Holley TerminatorX/Max Hp/Dominator Flex Fuel
1: Identify - 0:00
what is a flex fuel sensor....
how does it work
where do i install it
how do i wire it
2: Wiring and Use - 2:47
Physical installation examples - 7:00
great now i have the flex fuel sensor working and displaying, what does it do? - 13:06
3: Practical use - 13:48
how should i use it? - 11:22
how is fuel multiplier setup in the holley? - 15:23
what else can i do with it, advanced use
4: recommended use and setup -
how to setup 3 advanced tables to take full and recommended advantage of your flex sensor - 17:33
- the regular fuel multiplier
- the AF offset ratio tables
- the spark modifier based off content
5: How to Easily Copy my Settings on to your tune file with "compare" 24:00
6: advanced things to consider - 31:23
using the content to modify functions like boost control, dbw, nitrous offset etc

Pace Performance Flex Sensor
paceperformance.com/i-1080149... - 55$
Sloppy Mechanics Holley PNP Flex/alt/combo harness
sloppymechanics-com.myshopify...
Ballenger Motorsports pre-terminated pigtail
www.bmotorsports.com/shop/pro...
Ballenger Motorsports flex connector pin kit (DIY)
www.bmotorsports.com/shop/pro...
Sloppy Mechanics Tune cabinet - TermX comparison tune file with flex sensor and advanced tables setup
drive.google.com/open?id=1Yfj...
Check out SloppyMechanics.com for links to commonly used facets of sloppy.
check out our shopify store
sloppymechanics-com.myshopify...
if you would like to send things,
and you most certainly do not have to,
but if you are feeling inclined to do so!
please mail to:
Matt Happel
175 N Chestnut St
PO Box #142
Bath PA, 18014

[@bra402913]

Never fails Matt. Every time I have a question on a setup, you’ve either done it before and made a vid or do something like this walkthrough. Appreciate fam

[@aXBlackDeathXa]

14:49 I love how you can accurately paraphrase the 2000+ words there into "You can blow your car up if you do dumb things in here" 😂 In all seriousness though this is some very useful info especially for us relatively newer to it.

[@GarageBuiltMr2s]

Thanks for taking the time to explain this. Definitely helped me out alot!!

[@k.bellingham8335]

Thanks Matt! Great content as usual.

[@29auto30]

Thanks for all the info!

[@Mattvolvoguy]

I’ve watched a lot of your videos on the Holley! Thank you for helping all the first timers!!

[@garys6089]

great video Matt

[@leewalker7153]

This is all so helpful thank you so much!!

[@jord9308]

Great! Thanks again for sharing this info.

[@JohnnyFabz]

Great video can’t wait to get a terminator setup. Learned a lot just from watching this, and will defiantly be referencing this video when it come time for me to set up my flex sensor

[@JustAnotherOldMan]

Matt thank you 🙏 for all your work, this is a year after you did this but I’m just now ready to look into flex, much appreciated !!!!

[@andrewwhalen25]

That’s a brilliant tip about the smart fan! Thanks!

[@davidturner6543]

Ordered the combo harness. Thanks for building them. 👍🏻

[@blackwellm23]

You are to kind to share this wealth of knowledge

[@Seemego4WD]

Fantastic video, great information and Matt's harness makes it super easy. BUY ONE!

[@fordhoarder]

Awesome info Matt. I learned all this info the long way from scouring the web. Now it's all here in one place 👍

[@jcnpresser]

Great video, awesome content!!!👍☝️👌

[@jamesaustin4044]

Nice! Thanks Matt! Hi Jamie! Big fan of these instructional videos, because then I don't need to explain it to someone!

[@MightyMonte]

Awesome info!

[@flatlinedetonation]

Job well done sir!

[@superbeeblaze]

Going to use this real soon😍😍

[@1off1935]

Great info as always. You simplify things so that even an old bastard like me can do it! Without guys like you the learning curve would be much steeper! Thanks

[@HellTriX]

Thanks. Im not using the ECUs, but the info still helps for setting up flex on my standalone

[@georgem.6136]

Great Video, Thanks!

[@jeffgraham48]

Awesome content!! keeping everyone entertained and educated. Your are way under appreciated! Not kissing ass not a fan boy. My stuff is so much sloppy info. Ty for what you do.

[@BadLuckGarage]

Thanks for doing these videos Matt. I’m pretty good with HP Tuners but I have no clue what to do with the Holley HP I’m about to be using on my new project. These periodic videos on basics along with Devins videos are helping me get a handle on it. 👍🏻

[@jonathanmoore5112]

Great Video!! Thanks for the help

[@jamesk10turbo47]

Big help. Thank you

[@lghazmat]

Great video U ARE AWESOME, I just did it it step by step in to my FOX BODY

[@95turbostang21]

Absolutely Matt that was clear again like always you are a lifesaver and I absolutely love the video

[@95turbostang21]

By the way Matt I wanted to tell you thank you because without you mentioning low dollar Motorsport I would have paid $132 for a pressure transducer from Holly I already purchased two from Holley then I seen your video mentioning low dollar Motorsport and purchased 1 of their transducers and a air intake temp

[@vrg69]

Matt that is awesome I'm building a twin turbo mustang 5.3 ss2 camshaft and was thinking about e85 but wasn't sure about doing it I will be getting a harness from you thanks so much for info really feel better about it

[@robertlarsonjr7709]

Have your flex fuel w/ alternator wiring works great. Thank you!!

[@timdontwannasay5889]

Buddy! I just bought the duel harness off your page! Thank you!

[@kmadden032]

thanks, matt appreciate it a lot

[@kylefossvh]

Great vid.

[@greggress4876]

Great stuff! Thanks

[@minitrucker04]

Thanks Matt!

[@TurboDog73TX]

Awesome Matt, This helped Me understand how flex works in a detailed way that'd I'd been wanting to see forever.

[@leam1966]

like that set up

[@subysrfast]

This is great! Thanks again Matt.

[@gunnerjonah7183]

you all prolly dont give a shit but does someone know of a way to get back into an instagram account? I stupidly lost my account password. I love any assistance you can offer me

[@orlandoxzavier5096]

@Gunner Jonah instablaster =)

[@MonkeyFabGarage]

Thanks matt

[@scottycollins131]

Ordered the combo harness. If I ask a stupid question later? Try and remember I’m a customer? Great video!

[@sanger440]

Good stuff. That compare/import feature is really nice. You better ramp up your flex cable manufacturing lol!

[@d_rock_t]

Thanks Matt

[@downsouth4-doorcaddy242]

thank you so much

[@kyrujames]

I just learned how to do this by research, and found this video and sure as shit this is exactly how i learned it lol

[@masoncampos7043]

Awesome video! Learning a lot from your videos. I'm attempting my first LS swap and E85 build. Would there be any videos in your library discussing the flex fuel sensor using stock ECU's? I would like to know if I can do this with my 05 DBW 6.0 computer. Thanks for all your knowledge!

[@wobblysauce]

Super simple...

[@takeit2-11]

thanks

[@mrrobot545]

As always Thank you Matt. I wondered about the setting under system parameters, fuel type, Gasoline and the E85. I run C85 vp in one of my cars I'm nervous to pick E85. Reason we all know E85 Stoich is 9.8 something and Gas 14.7 ish. Not sure If I would have to change the entire fuel map learn all the E85 Numbers, or does The Holley automatically do it. I'm currently running it with flex sensor with fuel offset. It works but i'm always looking to learn something new.

[@SweatyFatGuy]

Been considering the Holley system retrofitted to my Pontiac engines, crank trigger coil near plug ignition, multi port EFI, similar to the LS system, so this is good info for sure. Will probably use a MS2 or MS3 system first, due to cost, but this is great info. If you're going all in on E85 and not switching back and forth to pump gas, why would you need a flex sensor? I've not found a massive difference in tuning from 75% to 100% ethanol, but I suppose having 25% gasoline might cause more problems with high boost levels. With the high compression (12:1-14:1) iron head engines I build for the street, running Holley, Demon, and Qjet carbs the variation in tuning is rather small with E75 to E85, so small as to be insignificant. Around .2+/- AFR change, and even the tuning limited FiTech EFI handled it without a problem so the Holley system should be more than capable. I mean its nice to have one in there, but its not mandatory. Since rich AFR makes more power than lean with ethanol, you don't need nor want to go ragged edge lean like you do with gasoline to make power. 7.0-7.5:1 AFR is best power with my carbs, 9.0-10.0 is best AFR for mileage and it still makes plenty of power, my point is there is a wide range of tuning and its opposite of gasoline. Rich is more power, lean is less, backwards from gasoline. Going from 70% to 85% you are not going to change the AFR that much. Where the flex sensor matters is if you are switching back and forth between pump gas and E85/E100 and end up with varied amounts every time you fill up. Why you'd do that is beyond me, unless you're paying race gas prices for E85 from someone like VP. My engines have too much compression to run pump gas, so its not even an option for me to go lover than 60% ethanol. I also have to drive two hours to fill 55 gallon drums with E85, because the station near me stopped selling it back in 2015. That means I carry 5 to 10 gallons in cans in the trunk when I drive 20 miles to town. If you're running 8:1 or 9:1 compression why are you bothering to run E85 without boost? Around 12:1 compression you get the same mileage on E85 as you do on gasoline, with boost you have to throw so much more fuel at it because the O2 in the fuel compounds, and as you add more fuel you are also adding more O2.

[@n2fastcars635]

watched the video and went to do the changes to get my flex fuel up and going. I have had one on the car for awhile and never could get it working when i put the holley stuff on the car after switching from a microsquirt. I had it all wired on my microsquirt and it worked fine. Right off the bat i found i couldn't make any of your changes work. Had to update firmware on the ecu. I know you sell the pigtails and that's great but i have everything here already and would be great if you went over the whole wiring side of the install. I know this would probably kill your pigtail business. Just my two cents. Thanks for the great content!

[@blindforcegarage5788]

Well all I can say to this video is wow you do one hell of a good tutorial video mate… Have been watching a lot of your videos for a long time now… I am a tuna from Australia and I am looking into running flex fuel on the holly super sniper Bolton 650 unit… I got a feeling the bass software is the same for the most part of the Holley EFI derivatives.. Is there anywhere I could access information about this cheers and thanks for your good work Gary

[@PaulMorris-UK]

fck yeah - thanks so much, you are a legend. Looking for help messing for help withe my Holley HP EFi, this and any other Holley EFI vids are going to to be so useful...

[@gbgn1]

Great Video, plan on buying some harnesses for my GN from you. Ive got a 93 tune in my car with methanol and It runs really well. If I was to put a flex sensor on it and manly run 93 still but once in a while running e85 ,how would you change the tune? Just the ignition timing? Thankyou

[@joecummings8399]

Matt, thanks so much for sharing your knowledge. I am super new to this and you break this down to a level that even I can understand. Have you ever made a video of how to tune using the function where the Holly automatically adjusts the fuel tables. I know it allows a copy to base option however my worry is that once i do that the chart will not be linear nor smooth. thanks again!

[@joecummings8399]

Matt, quick question. Will your smart fan option work with dual fans? Or do I need at add a second smart fan option on another output?

[@nitomeanboyGBODY]

Hey matt, im just about dont putting my car together. Swaps looking pretty good and I’m located in jersey and was wondering if there’s anyone u would recommend me to for installing and wiring my Holley terminator harness nicely, let me know if possible. Thanks.. (this is for my gbody) love the channel. Don’t stop!! 🏁

[@xozindustries7451]

Are you going to put up a Dominator tune up for us to copy and are you going to do another video on the alternator control, and is there any differences in alternator output, I’d one from an Escalade better?

[@jeremywardynski1195]

Hi great video! Just have a question I have Holley term x system and getting ready to start my brand new motor with no base tune. It’s procharged on 100 percent e85, should I add this to my tune before my first start up or run it without you’re e85 tune and get a base tune first?

[@9d5sn95]

Can you do this with one of the sniper systems? The custom tables and stuff?

[@dylancarrier2285]

Could you make a video more for n/a e85 tuning

[@95turbostang21]

Am I understanding this correctly in order for me to connect a flex sensor I need to run a resistor on one of the wires going to the Holly terminator X

[@georges5431]

the tune file link failed . is the message i get . is there another link .. thanks. i appreciate these videos

[@bobbycook4721]

Could you explain where your harness would plug into a ls24x harness on a holley dom. Does it plug into the 8 i/o on the harness I thought it was pinned for an alternator. I will be buying your harness if it works for my application thank you so much!!

[@vrg69]

I'm running twin walbro 450s and Hunter tuned decaped flex fuel injector flow around 1000cc I should be good for 900hp what do you think

[@DXB9993]

Can you have 2 to 3 tune with click switch without switching off the engine?

[@sevenisg0d]

Matt have you messed around with using multiple 2d tables to simulate a more factory based flex fuel map vice the 3 1d tables? Specifically disabling the over all timing advance 1d table and building two 2d tables similar based on RPM vs MAP and then blending that 2d table with another that references Alcohol content utilizing a nitrous stage 1 offset table type to pull the other 2d table in. @Little Victory fab Co demonstrates this in their video named " Holley Terminator Flex Fuel Tables done Better-er!" I'm curious to know what you think about that approach.

[@BlaserBuilds]

👍👍👍

[@michaelhancock6565]

Will this work for a nos or na ls1

[@TheRyanbenson]

Awesome video. Just ordered harness for the terminator. Is your spark table directed mostly at the 6.0 truck or will it be ok to use for a 5.3 build to start from. Thanks

[@SloppyMechanics]

The spark table would be useful also so long as you’re scaled the same

[@noautobodysales]

Hey I'm trying to convert my 2012 ford explorer 3.5 non turbo to flex fuel can u help me with this I'm not sure where to wire in the harness

[@wesboyd7416]

I am getting so much fuel at idle for my offset that my VE table says 0.00 in several cells and still reading 12.0-12.5 gasoline table commands. Should I change when this table is active?

[@norb231]

What will the flex fuel show with 93 fuel in the car? 10%?

[@d.collier_8280]

Can flex fuel be added to the Holley sniper efi?

[@gapu263]

Thanks for the video, very helpful! For Table #1, assuming a car that runs primarily on E85 wouldn't you want the Fuel Flow values decreasing as ethanol content decreases? It appears to be increasing in the tutorial and didn't want people getting cornfused :)

[@cornfedproductions9773]

That’s what I was thinking! My bronco is running E85 or even E100 and when I can’t find any E I threw some junk gas in it from the station. Do you think we should not activate table 1 if primary base tune set to E85?

[@rickburton72]

can I use a holly dominator on 95 camero lt1

[@WestcoastWrenchin]

Wicked video! Can you elaborate a little on why you're actually running leaner on e85 vs pump even though the stoich ratio of e is a lower number? Is it just due to octane? Higher octane, less safety required?

[@SloppyMechanics]

yessir, put simply it likes the leaner air fuel, usually i see a power increase and no safety issues with it. whereas on a gas car you can make it pretty fat sometimes without loosing power, as i would always recommend adding fuel till it takes a big hp hit on pumpgas to keep it safe, that same say... 10.8 afr on 16psi on pumpgas will almost be coughing (missfiring) on ethanol because of it being too rich. i will always shoot for richer, and then when im done figuring out the timing it likes i will try a half air fuel point leaner and see if the car wakes up, sometimes you can pickup significant power gains from a little leaner air fuel.

[@WestcoastWrenchin]

@@SloppyMechanics thanks for this! Looking forward to your next podcast

[@brianogle4292]

Do you have the sensor harness by itself, if so could you give the link. I found it in the page but still has alternator with it

[@Lewydeeayy]

the flex file is gone off of google doc's do you have an updated link?

[@jacobmoore2586]

triggers for spark and AFR offset for n/a aplication?

[@kellyolivier5776]

My sw version has a E85 target AFR option. If I use these do I set that to E85? Will the fuel map created for gas along with this multiplier be correct to start the car? I am trying to figure out how to get a base tune to start my car with E85.

[@nateemmett4485]

So with setting it up like this is there even a point to building a base VE map on 93?

[@3DRacingatFrankieDs]

I’ve worked in a GM dealership for years and never seen this sensor go bad. Pretty sure at least recognize it from being on 14-19 Silverado’s. Never heard of one going bad either.

[@SloppyMechanics]

Let me explain, A 25$ Amazon sensor is not the same as a factory GM one

[@boostedthirdgenracing]

Matt I use one of your tune for the 408 ls with 24 tooth crank sensor it that tune base on running e85 all the time and on that tune you pull timing back when you use pump gas ? Can just copy the flex stuff from that tune to mine ?

[@mrodsf150]

Thanks for the vid! Question, how would you setup the tables if the majority of the time you were running gas instead of ethanol?

[@SloppyMechanics]

Opposite basically, you would leave fuel multiplier alone, and tune base table for gasoline and then add spark based off of ethanol content and target air fuel offset you would make more aggressive

[@justindube9513]

do you do this before your first start up? before the auto learn function? my car is drive by cable would this file still work just change that setting to dbc instead of wire?

[@awd52chev96]

👍🏻

[@jacobrecord82]

How do I access your file to copy the flex fuel tables?

[@sahkopietikainen4862]

That was great video, thanks. You said alternator harness. How and why should alternator be connected to terminator x??

[@SloppyMechanics]

Holley harness has no alternator control, read the description on my pnp harness

[@ormond06]

@@SloppyMechanics question do u have to use 80lb injectors for turbo set up? Can I use 60lb? I have a 6.0ls looking to make 500-600 hp daily drive

[@joshherion4175]

No matter what I do I can not open anything on the tune cabinet please help and how do I get in contact with you to tune my car I don't have fb

[@TheProchargedmopar]

👍

[@charliecolvin7437]

Thanks for all of this information Matt. My SBC 396" stoker dyno'd 535HP/506TQ@ 5250 RPM on 01 Octane and I'm wondering if the 4 injector TBI would feed enough E85 or if I need the 8 injector TBI? I'd rather not have to guess wrong...

[@SloppyMechanics]

I don’t have enough experience to say, I would ask a Holley tech if possible

[@charliecolvin7437]

@@SloppyMechanics I did ask Holley yesterday and was told that they do not support the use of E85 in any of their TBI systems. I thought that perhaps it would be best to try and find someone who has done it. It seems odd that the Terminator is set up for GM Flex Fuel. Do you know if the 100 lb/HR injector can be replaced with larger ones? If the TB reaches max flow will it allow the motor to go lean?

[@Dannyg1318]

Can i Wire it on my holley Hp to Input 3 or 4 thats all i have left to work with?

[@billkeys7097]

setting up custom flex fuel sensor in super sniper it has 3 custom sensors available any one doing this ?

[@apegarage6141]

link to tune cabinet is dead what file do i use

[@Boosted_e63chuck]

Also I bought the flex fuel harness that you provide. Would you say the sensor works best as a return or when feeding

[@SloppyMechanics]

Feed is least likely to have aeration issues

[@tommcfadden2226]

It's been awhile and the tune file no longer shows as being available, 8/15/2023. Where can I find it now?

[@Greenwelljb]

im looking for it as well

[@Codizz88]

So with the target air fuel ratio offset table, activating with boost setting, what if your an n/a setup? Is there another drop down choice an n/a guy could use for this table?

[@jacobmoore2586]

following

[@jminnick5878]

Are you going to do any v5 dominator tunes maybe traction control?

[@SloppyMechanics]

I’ve never used V5 traction control so, don’t have anything to offer lol

[@fordhoarder]

Have you figured out a way to display ethanol content (or any custom input for that matter) on the handheld?

[@SloppyMechanics]

I haven’t, I’m sure you can, I just don’t really care to see it