carb or efi?...

thethirdeye88 · Feb 18, 2009

im getting real close to getting my engine put together but im not sure on how i want to feed it...i can put together a carb setup cheaper i think...im pretty sure the efi setup will cost more, which means it will take longer to get the car running...

if i go the efi route, i am wanting the BBK upper and lower plenum, throttle body, injectors (not sure what size yet), cold air intake...

if i go the carb route then i want the edelbrock nascar rpm manifold and a demon carb (probably a 650)...

i will greatly appreciate any input...

nmcgrawj · Feb 19, 2009

thethirdeye88 said:
im getting real close to getting my engine put together but im not sure on how i want to feed it...i can put together a carb setup cheaper i think...im pretty sure the efi setup will cost more, which means it will take longer to get the car running...

if i go the efi route, i am wanting the BBK upper and lower plenum, throttle body, injectors (not sure what size yet), cold air intake...

if i go the carb route then i want the edelbrock nascar rpm manifold and a demon carb (probably a 650)...

i will greatly appreciate any input...

Well....i look at money as more than just the actual coin...but time invested.

Unless its some radical engine like a big block, or a non-ford engine, i would never personally run a carb in my 95. One of the things i love about it is new technology with good old pushrod power.

Anyway, running a carb is more than just getting an intake and a carb. You have to re do the fuel delivery also. Now i dont know much about it, but maybe you can use the stock pump with a regulator of some sort to reduce the pressure.

What about gauges/sensors/etc? Will the computer still think everything is ok? If not, is this ok with you?

I think it will take more of your time to make it carb, while the parts may be cheaper. The car is made for EFI, yes you will have to spend more potentially to get the parts, but once you have them you can drop them straight in. What if you run into headaches switching to carb?

Hunt the classifieds, u may not find a cheap bbk intake, but you can definitely find an edelbrock or trickflow. You will be able to find injectors. And make your own CAI for $15.

Whats your engine setup anyway? EFI might need tuning after. Maybe you can tune a carb yourself, maybe not. But i always thought carb was for WOT performance, where EFI was good for everything else.

Killercanary · Feb 19, 2009

I agree with everything Nate said. I'd never own a late model mustang with a carb, I almost view it as a sin. Technology is your friend! As soon as I see a carb under the hood of a newer stang it totally ruins the car for me and I think the owner half assed their build.

94-302-vert · Feb 19, 2009

Killercanary said:
I agree with everything Nate said. I'd never own a late model mustang with a carb, I almost view it as a sin. Technology is your friend! As soon as I see a carb under the hood of a newer stang it totally ruins the car for me and I think the owner half assed their build.

As for me... A carb is good for WOT power under specific conditions (Temp, humidity, elevation)... OK for drag racing....

EFI is good for everything... I vote EFI. Sure it will cost "more" but in the end if you enjoy the total investment a lot more than the few beans up front is worth it...

I will never go carb since EFI is proven to be better all around and I am not looking to just drag race my (or any) car... ever...

If $$ is an issue go with what you can find in classifieds... start watching craigslist... I mean look at Adam, he has almost made watching cragslist an art...

Perosnally I have $250 in my exhaust right now... Paid $100 for headers, $50 for the O/R H and $50 for the dumps... $50 for gaskets and hardware (at most)...

The deals are out there you just need to look for them...

nmcgrawj · Feb 19, 2009

haha yea...carbs just suck IMO. Nothing is sexier than a cleaned up EFI engine with hidden wires, filled in holes in the fender, etc. And you can make an EFI compete with a carb. Its just that most EFI setups are long runners which promote torque, rather than all out power. Get a short runner/box EFI intake or a spider efi with an elbow and you'll be in carb territory. Althugh without the right displacement, low end will suffer.

I use google and craigslist.... i'll put "craigslist.org _____________(whatever part)" and it will find the parts across the country. There is a specific website for this i heard about but i forget what it is.

nmcgrawj · Feb 19, 2009

Example:

Not sure of your combo, but Mustang/lightning, intakes, rear ends, heads, etc.... . I have had people ship stuff i found on craigslist in california etc.

BlackVert · Feb 19, 2009

i almost carbed my 95. i actually bought the lower intake and carb for it and now they are sitting in my basement collecting dust.

i don't think i can provide an opinion on your situation until i know your purpose for the car. starting from scratch, a carb solution will cost less than an efi solution. but if you already have the injectors and throttle body and whatnot, then a carb won't save you any money.

for a carb, one of the bigger hassles is that you will need to pull your fuel pump and install a pickup and an external fuel pump ... the fuel pressure for a carb setup is much lower than it is in an efi setup

daily driver: stay efi,
track only race car: carb would be ok
combo: i'd prefer efi

SQUEEZE&STROKE · Feb 19, 2009

Where are you at?

If you are near CA, I will make you a smokin' deal on an entire carb setup.

The O.G. · Feb 19, 2009

love the cleaned up hidden wires and what not on efi

seems less confusing..
which is good for me

what cam , hr/sr?..heads?
high rpm motor?

a little :OT: but can u run ac still somehow?
cause that would suck for me
luv that stuff

i can think of plenty of carbed cars that were fast and not just at wot

thethirdeye88 · Feb 19, 2009

ok, hopefully this will shed light...its going to have full forged internal 306, pro heads, 10-11.1 compression, comp cam, t-56 tremec, 3.27 gears and a backup set of 3.73's, 8 point roll cage, 4 point harnesses, already got QA1 coilovers all around, tubular A arms and K-member, upper and lower control arms, and i plan on running either 99-04 cobra brakes or Aerospace brakes...

i am building the car as a track car for road courses and occaisional 1/8th mile runs...

i know several profession builders, one of which builds and races dirt track cars, he's the one that has the QA1 hookup (they're stainless too), and the guy doing my engine is also a professional builder, he makes roll cages in his spare time and has been building engines for 15+ years...

so the swap to carb wont be difficult, its just a matter of money, and i am doing the fuel pump regardless. i have to take my fuel tank out and swap the rubber seal cause it leaks...but the car is going to be completely done over...

i hope this helps with your input, i appreciate it...

and i live in arkansas...

The O.G. · Feb 19, 2009

oh
thats a bit serious

your cam solid,or hydraulic

i would still want a/c road racing

you do see pretty good carb /solid roller cam/ higher rpm motors

thethirdeye88 · Feb 19, 2009

hydrolic roller...i think im right when i say its gonna have a high duration cam...i have to look at the box again...its supposed to be a custom grind from comp...

final5-0 · Feb 19, 2009

This is such an interesting thing to ask

Like the others have said ... I'd not want a carb on my 95

It has nothing to do with if I like carbs or any of that old school stuff

I love all that old school stuff ... heck fire I grew up with it

Like Nate said ... you get the best of both worlds with our 94-95's

Another thing about the efi/pcm setup ... everything is in place for a
person to gather the data they need for a really sharp tune to be had

I was talking to my best friend just the other day who is in the process
of doing a 67 Coupe and he asked me how I'd tune it.

I looked at him and asked if he remembered how we did it back in the
late 60's early 70's.

His reply was he wanted to be more accurate than just reading plugs
and using a jet size that produced the lowest et.

I did have to think about it some and the only thing that quickly came
to mind was something along the lines of EGT

Grady

thethirdeye88 · Feb 19, 2009

thanks...but i can get it moving with a carb setup or use my stock intake setup...but it wont perform right with the stock unit...

im really thinking about going with the carb setup...

or this manifold

thats a holley 650cfm double pumper...
edelbrock nascar performer rpm manifold, 1,500 to 6500 rpm
and
edelbrock victor jr. manifold, 3,500 to 8,000 rpm

95WhiteVenom · Feb 19, 2009

I almost carb'ed my carback when i had some electrical issues that turned out to be a dizzy when several techs said they would have to rewire the whole car. I searched and with the help from a friend here on stangnet we managed to find out through phone conversations. I'm glad I didn't go to a carb set up. Not to mention the pitfall of paul thinking that I am a douche with a late model carbed mustang... LOL

nmcgrawj · Feb 20, 2009

You seem pretty set on going carb where as some of us would refuse to. So i guess why dont u tell us why NOT go carb? If you cant answer that, then maybe the carb is for you. Besides, even if 10 people in here all said to keep EFI...its your car. Do what makes you happy.

Just another comment after i read your combo details....doesnt seem like you have skimped out on ANY part of the car up to this point...so why at the end are you trying to save $1-200? Is this about only money or are other factors involved?

My comment earlier wasnt about saying carbs dont make power outside of being WOT. Its just that EFI is more accurate and offers more drivability. The design of a carb enables it to make more power at WOT. EFI and all its sensors enable it to have more control at part throttle. You can make EFI mimic a carb at WOT....besides some sensors are not even used at WOT in EFI.

Im a rookie to road courses but will a long runner efi intake offer you an advantage in terms of area under the curve, from idle to say 3,500rpms? With a 306 it seems like you'd be giving up power down low with a carb and such a short runner intake compared to a long runner efi intake. When you're coming out of turns and such, you arent in the upper rpm's...are you?

Disclaimer: ABSOLUTE rookie to carbs so excuse me if my assumption is wrong LOL Just tossing around ideas.

94-302-vert · Feb 20, 2009

I still say that unless you are always going to run your car at 80'F, 50% humidity, and 1000' elevation than EFI wins the tuning argument since it can self tune and adjust...

I would stay EFI as you can find intakes for the EFI that make good power (evne home porting your stock lower) will make great differences...

Ultimately it is your car, do what YOU want... but it seems that for all around use and/or lack of constant maintence EFI has it...

carb or efi?...

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