Could America Remain All Powerful with Enviro-weenie Cars/Trucks?

[Jay2TheRescue]

No emissions equipment, plus I upgraded it to electronic ignition, and platinum plugs. I also drove it like my grandmother stole it... LOL. If you behaved and set the cruise at 65 it would regularly get high 20's. I thought it was fantastic when I bought Rusty, because I thought "Imagine how far I could go on dual tanks" The answer - I needed dual tanks to go as far as 1 tank took me in the 74.

[theholycow]

Also, consider that an old full size pickup has much less frontal area, and probably not much worse drag coefficient, than a modern full size pickup; less weight; maybe a smaller engine; and far less power...though maybe no overdrive gear.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Lightweight, yes. It was so rusty that my brother in law joked that I was only driving 1/2 a truck... LOL

It had a 350 w/ a Rochester Quadrajet, and a TH350 transmission. Rust holes in the fenders so large you could stick your arms through them, but had an a/c that was so cold it would frost up the windows on a 90 degree day, and would regularly get 25-27 if you were light on the pedal.

EDIT: I know what the difference is!!! The 74 Chevy pickup had hidden wipers - when not in use the wipers pulled underneath the hood, out of the airstream... LOL

[dkjones96]

Originally Posted by theclencher

Yeah- a carb "emulsifying" fuel better than injection? I don't think so.

A 1990 Corolla with the 4A-GE, a 4 speed auto, and port injected is rated at 22/30.

A 1988 Corolla with the 4A-G, a 4 speed auto, and feedback adjusted carburetor is rated at 23/31.

They are the same generation, transmission, and curb weights. The only difference was fuel injection.

Don't get me wrong, I love my EFI, but carburetors do a better job if they are tuned properly.

[theholycow]

Interesting. I wonder if there's a way to compare apples to apples like that between a carburetor and a modern EFI that supports DFCO and etc.

[imzjustplayin]

Originally Posted by dkjones96

A 1990 Corolla with the 4A-GE, a 4 speed auto, and port injected is rated at 22/30.

A 1988 Corolla with the 4A-G, a 4 speed auto, and feedback adjusted carburetor is rated at 23/31.

They are the same generation, transmission, and curb weights. The only difference was fuel injection.

Don't get me wrong, I love my EFI, but carburetors do a better job if they are tuned properly.

That's just bad design. A FI vehicle is capable of far better fuel economy than a carbureted vehicle ever could. It's possible they tuned the FI car for better performance instead of economy. Why else would one buy a car with a carburetor instead of FI unless they were trying to save money.

[Jay2TheRescue]

When I initially bought Rusty, I was looking for an 86 because it was easier/cheaper to find people to work on Carbed engines. Now its the other way around. Its a challenge to find someone who knows what they're doing when working on a carb.

[dkjones96]

Originally Posted by *************

Why else would one buy a car with a carburetor instead of FI unless they were trying to save money.

Same reason people don't buy electric cars. Because in the off chance they go on a road trip they want the ability to do it without trouble. You can't go in a carbbed car from Phoenix, AZ at 1,100 ft to Flagstaff, AZ at 6,900 ft and expect the car to run correctly there, it needs adjusted, and there is only 145 miles between those two towns! Either you do it or a mechanic does it. When you go back, it needs adjusted again. There is no reliable system for adjusting the mixture to compensate for altitude, only new jets.

EFI is more reliable, especially over time where a carb needs service at least once a year(recommended) an EFI system can go 200k with nothing more than an oxygen sensor change(if even that, my tracker had 110k on the factory O2 sensor and it worked flawlessly). EFI offers the ability to just program in a new fuel ratio by changing numbers in a chart. EFI offers a way to troubleshoot without knowing anything(code readers). EFI offers a way to centrally control all aspects of the emissions system. EFI lets you log mileage.

There are A LOT of reasons to use EFI.

[theholycow]

EFI is easier to start, too.

I bet that if someone wanted to put the effort/money into it, they could develop a carburetor with electronically-adjustable jets.

[Jay2TheRescue]

My Buick has a carb with electronic mixture control. Its a piece of crap that nobody knows how to work on. Buick only made it for 2 years before they decided to say screw it, we're putting fuel injection in them....