carbed or efi?

[wgpaintballer]

Im looing for a setup that will make 350-400 rwhp... im a student with a part time job... im looking at getting my friends ported iron heads i kno but cheap.. a cam and intake sooner or later i will stoke it and maybe a sc but thats a while down the road.. i will have a rebuilt t-5 with 3.73's dont care about the tranny waiting for more money.. haah so wut do u guys suggest it will be a weekend or late night car with seeing the track maybe once a month... i will also do a full exhaust.. sr for the long post

 

[JBeezy53]

gpaintballer]will make 350-400 rwhp... im a student with a part time job...

To make that power w/o a s/c you will need a good H/C/I plus all the usual bolt-ons. If the car is already efi keep it that way, but if its not go the carb route because it will be cheaper.

 

[matm347]

You should build your motor for boost. It's much better for a daily driver than a 400 WHP all motor setup. You'd get your goal with ~11-14 psi on a mildly modified 302.

 

[90mustangGT]

Student with a part time job, and 350-400rwhp don't belong in the same sentence, unless your parents are helping you a lot. Carb or EFI, it's going to cost some serous money. Then even if you get a motor that beefy, what about the rest of the car. A gear in the diff would be a great start.

 

[jrichker]

Carbs are great for the track and make good power. Step on the pedal and flush - it's a gasoline toilet!

EFI RULES on the street for a car that is driven in all kinds of weather, up and down mountains and gets great gas mileage. EFI will make just as much power as a carb and be easier to drive on the street. If isn't hard to tune if you know what you are doing.

There is more tuning flexiblity in EFI with pressurized induction. A Dyno tune & Tweecer can easily be set up with 2 programs, one for the street and another for the strip. You can taylor the A/F and igniton timing for best results without resorting to doing weird stuff to the distributor curve and ignition boxes.

Whatever you do, plan on spending many cubic dollars to get the most from your cubic inches.

 

[1SLO306]

i would go EFI. u would loose gas mileage with a carb set up.

 

[Shadrack]

If you want to race, go carb.
If you want a DD street car, go EFI.

 

[stang302v8]

i'd go carb. get a big arse 4 barrell with mechanical secondaries. duel feed/double pumper-that's something EFI cant offer

 

[Duro5341]

I agree go carbed, and go with a mechanicial fuel pump, so much cheaper, and easier to fix than electric pumps

Personally, I prefer carbs. There easier to work on, and diagnos
true you will lose some MPG, but you'll get it back when you have to fix it

Nothing beats the sound of a lumpy cam, with a carb................no EFI can touch that sound. Don't cheap out on a carb, this controls everything..........remember you get what you pay for

Duro

 

[8950HO]

Student with a part time job, and 350-400rwhp don't belong in the same sentence, unless your parents are helping you a lot. Carb or EFI, it's going to cost some serous money. Then even if you get a motor that beefy, what about the rest of the car. A gear in the diff would be a great start.

^^^100% true for RWHP and even FWHP.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

Carb Pros:
Simpler to tune(different than easy!)
Simple in general
Less expensive than EFI

Cons:
Less fuel efficient
Sometimes nee more "fiddling with" to make truly right.

EFI Pros:
You already have it
More efficient
You can burn chips yourself if you have the equip/know how.
More precise fuel control.

Cons:
Tremendously more complex
More expensive due to complexity(parts to buy).

If you have EFI now and want a blower later, keep the EFI. You can still do a blowthrough carb setup easy enough, but stay with what you have until the "broke student" part is over, especially if you have to drive it all the time.

 

[vristang]

Step on the pedal and flush - it's a gasoline toilet! .

That sums it up pretty well, so I won't go on my rant this time.













What was I thinking!
CARB
CARB
CARB
EFI CARB
CARBEFI
EFI EFI EFI EFI EFI

If your car currently has efi, you will not pass emissions with a carb (if that is a concern then forget the swap idea now).
Those that say carbs are "easier" to work on/tune are just too lazy to learn new technology. Buy a book. Besides, it is not a matter of which is easier, Apples cannot be compared to Oranges.
My opinion is that EFI is a better system because it provides better control of the a/f ratio. This simple fact means that you will be able to find a better compromise between fuel economy, power, and emissions.
I have never seen a side by side cost comparison between efi and a comparable carb setup. I am not convinced that converting to efi would save you any money.
How is efi too complex? The system is pretty simple really. The computer uses a series of inputs to control fuel metering.

Hope I didn't really piss off any of you carb guys, I know how passionate you are.
In my opinion though the carb is slowly going the way of the Buffalo.

Good Luck
jason

 

[65ShelbyClone]

I didnt say EFI was too complex; I said it was tremendously more complex. Its simple in theory, but all the things that have bearing on how the engine runs could make one's head spin. Its not the least bit simple. However, its works worse and worse as features are removed.