I think "cheaper to tune" is a better way to put it and it is, my first vehicle was carbureted (the mercedes was my second) and setting idle is quite easy, adjust mixture till idle is highest and then turn idle down to the proper rpm. But once you get into modified engines with big cams, it gets harder. If you put to big of a carb on you risk running lean and running into detonation and engine damage, if you put to small a carb you are severly hampering the engines ability to make power. And carburetor capable of feeding a 500 horsepower engine would never be capable of getting the 27 mpg and being street friendly that the ls7 accomplishes with ease.

 

man...If you have your heart set on a carb. I say go for it...good luck and have fun with it, thats what its all about.

I hate when everyone turns things into a heated debate and has to $hit on the old timers parade......he jsut wants to do it his way so let it be....

Good luck buddy

 

I'm not sure I follow your post exactly, but I definitely agree that if the OP wants to use a carb, that's what he should use

I was just clarifying the "old timers" issue, that I think there's plenty of us who do prefer EFI, that's all

 

I am another OT who wouldn't **** on a carb if it was burning!

Rich

 

agreed

I'm only 30 though

 

Carbs are great, I'd hate to have a leafblower or lawnmower with EFI. That would be a ton of extra weight.

 

Carb vs EFI aside, the ability to properly tune a carburetors is an awesome skill, and is nearly a lost art. The difference between an OK tune and a carb that is just right can be really dramatic. Please carb your car, and teach some kids how the tuning is done to help keep the art alive!

I'm 2 years into trying to tune the 4 carbs on my homebuilt car for the increased weight and ram air, and it's still only about 90%. It's devilishly complicated. I sure would like to find someone who could get me that last 10%!!!!!!! It would be worth hundreds.

PS: For those who say ram air is worthless at low speeds, mine required jetting up from roughly 135 to 165 for 60-90 MPH range, even with pressurized float bowls.

 

I'm sure there will come a point where people in this generation will say, " What the heck is a carb?" When I was taking some automotive classes several years back, one class I enrolled in was on carb theory, operation, tuning, ect. The first day of the class the teacher informed us of a curriculum change where carbs were not going to be discussed, but only topics of fuel injection. The school's reasoning was that in the "real world," we most likely would not encounter a carbed car.

 

As usual.....we are in 100% agreement.

 

There is no carb on a Top Fuel engine.

From the NHRA 2007 Fan Guide:
Note.... it does not say "electronic fule injected".

I'm an "old timer" by any measure.... card carrying member of the NHRA and AARP. I hate carbs. Its also a bit pointless to discuss ye olde fuel injection systems, most of which were mechanical - e.g. 57-65 Corvette, and my 1975 Alfa Romeo, who's mechanical fuel injection was easier to hate than any AFB 4 bbl or the three 2-bbls on my 1966 GTO. Then there was the Q-jet........

 

Sure enough even wikipedia agrees. so its just EFI that they don't use, not fuel injection in general, according to wikipedia they also use 42 injectors, they may as well just point a fuel line down the throat of the throttle body heh.
My 73 mercedes had EFI, ran quite well. granted the car never got more than 14 mpg and I have no clue what tuning it was like.

 

carbs are stupid on an lt1, go get a sbc if you want to carb an lt1.

 

You can tune the 93's realtime with moates autoprom.

 

From the posts in this thread, I guess no one would have put the time and effort into tuning the carbs on my 'other" street car.

 

Nope, I would've installed EFI. How's it drive, btw?

Rich