I am asking because my car seems to take a solid 2-3 seconds of cranking before it starts. To me that seems long, probably because before i got my Camaro, i had been driving late model cars that start up instantly. But i just want to see if my car might need like spark plugs or something, or TBI cars are supposed to start up alittle slower than TPI or late model cars.

FYI..when it cranks, it sounds healthy and fast. Its not like choking or anything... Just thought i might add that.

 

That is normal. The longer the car sits the longer it will take to start up. With a wet flow injection system you have to take air and fuel from the top of the motor and distribute it through the intake manifold to each cylinder. TBI systems have only two large injectors that feed the whole motor from a location that is not close to the cylinders. Most late model cars utilize multi port set-ups which have an injector for each cylinder located in the intake runner. This introduces fuel and air quickly and precisely into the chamber to promote fast starts and efficient operation.

When your motor is hot you have an air fuel mixture already present in intake that is atomized, hot, and ready to go. One quick crank sucks this mixture in and fast start-ups result.

 

Thanks shifty...i just wanted to make sure. I guess everything is A-OK then!

 

The most common reason for a delay at start up is that the fuel pressure regulator will not hold fuel pressure after the engine has been shut off. This usually take over night to happen but can happen quicker if it is really bad.

Steve