how often should one tune a carb? does it depend on temperature or brand? simple details on tuning?

thadd

 

All of the above, mixture, idle, jets, metering rods and more come into play. Usually a carb out of the box will be fairly close if you don't have a heavly modded motor. It is a little complicated but I learned how to tune my carb in about a week. It just takes practive and help from the wizzards on this board. You can ask specifics when you get into the tuning process. I can definatly help you with edelbrock carbs now.

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1983 Camaro Z28
Goodwrench 350ci V8, Edelbrock TES Headers, Flowmaster Catback, MSD 6al and Blaster 2 coil, Edelbrock Performer intake, Edelbrock Performer 600cfm carb. T5, 373 rear, Eibach springs, Cervin Vega speakers, Rock. Fos. Sub, Pioneer CD,
email-chris4421@hotmail.com
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"I used to be a Mustang Guy! I didn't know the power of the dark side!!"

 

I would suggest that unless you really know what you are doing to not mess with carb, they are realy touchy and will really mess up your cars performance if done wrong. Just some helpful advise so you don't have a car that runs like ****.

 

i don't know much about carbs yet. what is a good beginners book? i don't like to rely on other people to work on my car when i can learn to do it myself.

thanks,

thadd

 

What kind of carb do you have? HP Books makes some decent books as well as Haynes.
You can get some great information on these boards...in fact i have seen very little if any bad advice given as if it was the Gospel.
I suggest you learn everything you can about the principles of operation and all the parts before you mess with it. Carbs are very responsive to changes so dont be afraid to try differnet things

 

Tuning carbs via. a NEW 02 sensor (can't stress the word new enough) isn't all that complicated for Holleys. If you want detailed instructions on tuning a Holley I can help. I'm not much for Q-jets (a little more complicated than holley's because of two main varibles instead of just one).


Personally, I tune mine twice a year. I do one in average winter temp for around here then I do one in average summer temp. if I tuned it in the summer and tried to make it run on a really cold day it'd definetly be quite lean and vice versa would make it rich.

Like he said, most carbs out of the box are tuned well enough for daily driving but I like that little extra touch of performance and throttle response.

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1984 WS6 Trans Am Hartop
Former L69 Car under restoration
1984 WS6 Trans Am T-top car
4-bolt main 350, headers, Holley 650, T-5 and 3.23's.
Daily driver and restoration

 

And if you're talking about a stock CCCS you don't need to tune it at all, ever once you have it set right. At least not seasonally. You might want to recheck the TPS and idle dwell every now and then to verify things are OK, but thats it. At worst you turn a couple screws and are done in 5 minutes, barring some mechanical failure.
...ed

 

I have an Edelbrock 1406 carb, and mine runs like crap. I can never adjust the screws on the front to make the car run good all of the time. Chris, if you have time, please email me some tips to adjust the carb correctly.
Thanks.
Manny Desantos
zepher@sybercom.net


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Zepher
'86 Pontiac Trans Am WS6, LG4 305, 5 Speed, CF DF Clutch,
Edelbrock 1406 Carb, Edelbrock Performer RPM 7101 Intake Manifold.
Edelbrock Open Element Air Cleaner: Flowmaster Exhaust, 160* Thermostat,
Grant GT Steering Wheel, MSD HEI Coil, Taylor 8mm Wires, Recaro Seats,
Alpine CD+Changer,Rockford & Soundstream Amps, Premier TS-1040C Subs, Polk Audio highs/mids.
Best ET: 14.94@91.67
WS6 Trans Am