i would switch to a count that encourages side counts. the effort is not worth it for hi lo
rather, hiopt 2 would be better. hiopt 1 gets a bad rep, because it performs poorly, but that is because people forget it was meant to be played with both an ace and 7 side count.
as a rule of thumb, side counts increase your PE, playing efficiency, or how often your going to do the right thing (hit instead of stand, etc.) your count now, simple hilo, has a great BC, betting correlation, which tells you how much to bet before the hand is dealt. after that, the PE, or what to do with your hand, is lower, around .53 i believe. a side count increases your PE (think about it. aces very rarely cause you to bust. but using them to determine what to do, instead of what to bet, is less efficient. thus the need for sidecounts.)
because many people here recommended you switch systems, here is a software to help you compare systems. it allows you to change rules, number of decks, etc.
http://www.qfit.com/cvcxonlineviewer.htm