I`ve been thinking of swapping from my tpi set-up to carb,I`m still in the planning phase though.WHAT ARE THE REAL ADVANTAGES OF CARBS,other than power and what kind of gains have yall seen?I`ve read of about 70 hp and tq insrease at 5250 rpm`s.I do like my tpi setup butwith my mods i`m about topped out of its power ability I believe.So its either carb and longtubes or stealth/street/miniram and longtubes as far as i can tell.I mean power is one damn good reason to switch but i`d have to buy a whole bunch of crap to do it and change or loose some of the featuers i really like about computer controlled efi.I thought i saw some carb intakes on here somewhere that looked like someone had put injecter holes in but how would you run map or maf?Thanks

 

Going to a carb is cheaper than going to a mini-ram. That's the advantage carb has.
If you're comfortable with a screwdriver, you can tune a carb.
If you're comfortable with programming, laptops and custom cables, FI is for you.
Which do you prefer?

I think 70HP is a bit of an exaggeration though.

 

For reference, Scoggin-Dickey, while developing their Vortec TPI base, found the 330 horse HO crate engine only made 290 with an otherwise stock TPI on top (that's about the same as the f-body L98's net power rating). The 330 horses, of course, was with a carb set-up; everything else was equal between the TPI & carb set-up dyno runs. However, torque was up quite a bit in the lower RPM ranges with the TPI.

As always, it's a trade-off. Just putting on a carb won't necessarily make you faster.

 

I was wondering how much of a difference a carb would make since my heads and all are more designed for the tpi with the smaller high velocity intake runners.I`ve read alot about trying to get all of your engines parts to work together towards a single goal which is why i chose most of the stuff i did for the tpi.Do yall think it would be benificial,power wise, to make the switch or is it not enough to be worth it.Thing is i would like to make more power without spending a grand and more on mini-ram etc.I`m just about out of bolt-ons besides new headers and a port job and maybe just a few other little things that would sqeeze a few more hp out of this engine.Iknow a new cam may net some more power but i`m not qiute ready to change the daily driveability and idle i get with a factory style roller.I guess if i want to break into the 12`s,which is one of my goals along with around 350 hp,with a street/stripe type ride I`m gonna have to use nitrous.I thought the net hp rateing for the L-98`s was 235 to 245 or so.Guess i`m just thinking outloud though excuse my rambling.

 

The basic pros:

Ease of tuning

Cost (cheap)

Power Gain


At loss of:

Mileage

 

That is correct. 290 gross knocks down to about 235-240 net.

 

I was always curious, does that 240 net translate to 240 at the wheels, or just 240 on the motor with open exhaust and no accessories?

 

"Net" means at the flywheel, with the engine equiped as it would be in the car - complete induction, complete exhaust, ECM, emissions equipment, water pump and alternator running (but not AC or PS), etc. That's why you can have different net ratings for the same engine in different cars, with nothing but an air cleaner or exhaust changes.

Rear wheel means through the drivetrain with their associated losses.

 

Okay thats how I always figured it being. I remembered there was a dispute in the 70's about GM advertising gross and net hp and how it was misleading so they had to change the way they advertised.

 

i switched, but it was because i had more of a built motor with all stock tpi and dirty sensors and injectors...just a big mess. plus i got a great deal on a package from a friend. gas mileage isnt much worse, but there is a difference. i would keep fi if i were you unless you get a deal. then again you could sell all your aftermarket tpi parts. its all up to you, benefits have been stated already.