carb vs. injection?

[jmj_camaro]

well besides my 94 Z28 which is a big enough pain by its self i have a 67 camaro that im restoring oh yeah it gonna be awsome!!! but one of my problems is deciding between carbs(2) on a tunnel ram or an injected ram air set up. they both have about the same stats but whats the difference?

[Morley]

One of the biggest differences is that with FI you can safely run up to 11:1 cr on pump gas...with carbs you can't

[jmj_camaro]

cool i didnt know that. i just talked to a guy that said that the tunning was actually easier with fuel injection. any thoughts?

[Morley]

Tuning with FI isn't "easy" but it is easier to see when you have it right and it is more precise, which is why you can run higher compressions.
Once you have the tools needed to tune FI and understand how and why they work it becomes easier, but it is a steep learning curve to get there.

[NoRiceHere01]

i disagree on one thing:i dont see a problem running 11:1 on a carb engine. 11:1 is 11:1 no matter how the fuel gets into the cylinder, it still has to be burned by the same spark plugs. you will face the same situation as far as what octane gas to use whether its injected or carbureted

[Morley]

Originally Posted by NoRiceHere01

i . you will face the same situation as far as what octane gas to use whether its injected or carbureted

No, you won't. Because the FI's ECU has precise control over how much fuel each cylinder gets and it controls the spark advance/retard and receives feedback from various sensors (ie knock & 02 sensors), it knows the state of the combustion process and can adjust as required. A carb on the other hand is "dumb", it has no ECU to keep it informed, can't control ignition, can't vary its fuel delivery, etc.

[72' Stang 351 H/O]

My dad's Mustang (hides) runs 10:1 on a carb it's fine(89 octane).

[wrightz28]

Originally Posted by 72' Stang 351 H/O

Mustang

go to your room!

[Whoaru99]

Originally Posted by jmj_camaro

well besides my 94 Z28 which is a big enough pain by its self i have a 67 camaro that im restoring oh yeah it gonna be awsome!!! but one of my problems is deciding between carbs(2) on a tunnel ram or an injected ram air set up. they both have about the same stats but whats the difference?

Tunnel rams look pretty cool, but IMO, unless you are building it as a race car I wouldn't use one.

Properly set up carb and FI ultimately make about the same max/peak power. However, the FI car will almost certainly have better driveability overall - just my opinion.

[Nate355RS]

Gas milage is a biggie if your worried about that. FI>carb in that respect.

[poormillionaire2]

One of the only things I can think of that carbs trump FI over is their ability to move air. FI is limited to air flow through manifold design, but carbs can move large amounts of air though the engine easier.

[Whoaru99]

Originally Posted by poormillionaire2

One of the only things I can think of that carbs trump FI over is their ability to move air. FI is limited to air flow through manifold design, but carbs can move large amounts of air though the engine easier.

There are several FI manifolds that can move some serious air - more than enough for darn near any streetable setup. TPIS Mini Ram, HSR, Accel Super Ram, etc. not even considering other FI manifolds based off carb designs modded to take throttle bodies and injectors.

[wrightz28]

Originally Posted by poormillionaire2

One of the only things I can think of that carbs trump FI over is their ability to move air. FI is limited to air flow through manifold design, but carbs can move large amounts of air though the engine easier.

2 words, Stealth Ram.

My input is that the major difference is the quality of fuel delivered to the cylinders for combustion. EFI will deliver a much more finely atomized spray of fuel vs. a carb any day, with far less mechanical tuning. With either system tho, there are plenty of ways to increase or improve flow to the cylinders.

[jveik]

when comparing initial price, a carb is better, because it takes an expensive fuel injection system to be able to make as much high end ponies as a carb can. i have seen dynos where over 50 horses were lost up top by replacing the carb with injection. however down low an injection makes more torque on streetable rpm levels. besides, if you drop enough cash into it, the fuel injection will be just as powerful up top.

another thing is that carbs are easy as hell to fix and dont have computer crashes or whatever or sensors going bad and making idiot lights go off in the dashboard.