Not sure if this is ok by the rules but anyway:

What do you all think will happen as far as the future of modding cars/drag racing? Will the the non-computer controlled carbed cars dominate, or will it be the new stuff (DOHC 4.6, LT1, LS1, LS6, etc.) get good enough at tuning with comps that they will win out?

As of right now, IMHO, it is cheaper to build say an 11 sec carbed sbc than say a LS1 or 4.6 pushing the same times. Whether or not it is easier is hard to say.

 

LS1 numbers out of the factory where under rated and they react very well with simple mods.

Seems like more people are moding LS1 and Lt1 as they become older.

Newer is better but right now older is easier and cheaper.

 

It's pretty clear what will dominate. EFI!
Doesn't matter if it's a 4-banger w/a twin cams or a pushrod V8, the computer-part, of the whole package, will squeeze out the last ounce of performance from any engine combination.
Carburators ARE on the way out.....slowly but surely.

 

I've been hearing that for about 15 years now. And it seems that there are more carbs from more manufactuers now than ever. Obviously we won't be seeing any more production carbs, but unless EFI comes way down in price, cars from 85 and older will still be modded with carbs. It does seem like carbs should be on their way out, but the market just seems to get bigger for them. Weird.

 

you will start to see more people understand EFI

and less people left that understand Carbs...




but carbs will always be around....

 

Agreed on the last statement
Carbs are going to be fazing out...in the long run
As long as Computers are still so damn expensive..the carb is going to stick around for the easy bang for the buck

 

No actually its really easy to build a 11 second ls1. Guy I know has a 02 TA with a slp catback, and uh 150 shot of nitrous. Automatic car with 3.23s and it ran a 7.7 spinning in the 1/8th.

Thats a ~12.056 in the quarter. Once he gets some traction and the 4.10s in his car you can bet he will be well into the 11's.

Stupid LS1s

 

carbs will always be around i think, there will always be people out there building up SBC. they have faded out alot already do u no how hard it is to find a shop that knows about carbs and how to tune them, i still have not found one around me. right now they seem to be makeing cars more fast then ever, but wont it stop at some point and go down then go back up?? aint that how it works?

 

This is probably best suited to the theoretical board, but I'm not a mod so I don't care

 

If they aren't on their way out then simply name one new vehicle that's equipped with a carb. If you can think of one then you're better than I am because I can't think of any.

 

We'll obviously they're still being used like crazy in the racing and aftermarket world. I can't see that going away any time soon, and it certainly won't even wane until this generation of "good ol boys" keel over.

 

there are alot of parts in the country where you dont have emmisions or inspections...

thoes are the places where you find 2000 chevy pickups with SBCs rigged into them with carbs......... its amazing what some people do.....




as long as the FI can be modded to suit the modifiers needs, most people will soon keep EFI if they have it.

that is HOW most carbs are being phased out........

 

kind of sad in a way I love the look of a carbed engine, it's so clean looking!

 

People are always more impressed with a nice carbed engine bay than a new ls1 engine bay.

Pop the hood of the ls1 and people are like damn thats alot of crap...pop my hood and people are like damn thats nice and clean

 

I think that EFI is better for drivability especially with a large cam on a street car.

The LS1 guys are running 430-470 rwhp N/A on VERY streetable motors w/ the right head/cam and bolt-ons on stock bottom ends. You're talking 10 sec, N/A, daily drivable cars there. Just a cam and bolt-on LS1 car can get over 400rwhp on stock heads, run low-mid 11's, and have GREAT drivability. AFR is coming out with their LS1 heads soon and there is a new intake on the market for the LS1, which is unproven yet, but may deliver even more of a boost in power.

Bottom line, you are going to see 500+rwhp, N/A, stock bottom end LS1's that are daily drivable thanks to EFI. That is better than a carbed car that drives **** poor in my book. The drawback is price though. These are not cheap motors to build when compared to a carbed SBC. But if streetability is a big concern, this is the way to go.

As the far as what we'll see in drag racing, who knows. I suspect that with the control that EFI gives you over what is happening with the motor, it will surpass carbs. On the street though, I think EFI is far superior b/c of the drivability it offers.

 

An automagic LS1 with a 4000+ stall convertor, longtube headers, ls6 intake (stock on 01-02 ls1s), and a few other boltons launching on some bfg drags or et streets with some minor weight reduction is an 11 second ls1.. stock heads, stock cam.. the more weight reduction and boltons you do, the lower of time you get.. Hence why there is a top 50 list of LS1s on ls1tech.com in the 11's on stock internals Ranging from minor weight reduction at the 11.9's all the way down to stripped out with lightweight k-member etc. down in the 11.20's range. Did I mention that a stock internal ls1 gets well into the 20-25mpg range during cruising? Obviously the answer to the question is EFI. Oh, btw, I have a cammed LS1

Cheers,
Josh

 

I submit that carbs may be easier, hell I grew up with them too. But if you look at MPG figures paying for the computer and intake will pay itself off in SAVED GAS. This is a major concern if you live in Hawaii where regular is 2.02 a gallon for crap gas.

I'm about to drop a 383 in my 89 TBI RS, I'm switching to a stealth ram com950 set up. Once I get a t56 I sould be able to pull the same or better gas mileage than my stock auto 305 w/2.73 open in the back. With twice the Power. I could easily throw a 750cfm carb for an 8th of the price. But I could only expect maybe 8 MPG in town which is un-acceptable.

 

You want easy 11 sec slips?

Z06, 03 cobra with pully mods, LS1 fbodies with major bolt ons and some engine work (or spray). Thoes are the cars that seem to be the top of the new-muscle car heap.
Z06 running 11's can come down to a good driver, good tires, and some tinkering.

03 cobra's are... sad to say but i think we have heard this before abotu 5.0's... easy to mod with just some messing with the blower, they throw out 500hp.

LS1 fbodies can get into the 11's and keep getting there more and more and more. A friend of mine hit 12.02 at the track... but since he was running heads up he didnt wana break out(but he did) so he slammed on his brakes and his car did a nose dive before he tripped the lights.. and he still pulled off 12.02 with spray and a TC.

and this is just the begining... rumor is the new C6 out next year will have a Z06 version pushing 500hp. The GTO will get a 421hp judge package from SLP pushing it twards the low 12's, perhaps high 11's. The Mustang will be built ona new chassis with a new motor that is said to push out 320-340hp... little mods there will get it to 11's. and yes... the camaro will be back with a 390hp top of the line mill with maybe more. Just some cool info. Sorry for the highjack and or breaking the rules.

 

From a purely technical standpoint, I think the question has merit. I've been wrong before, however.

A great contradiction is NASCAR and the Busch Series cars. They still run carburetion (and sometimes with restrictors), but use a computer that's a helluva lot more sophisticated than our old ECMs.

IRL, CART, GP, and F1 use EFI and monster 'puters to run everything and relay telemetry. They're running weenie little engines making great gobs of RPM and HP (no torque, but HP). I haven't seen a carburetor from Michigan in almost 12 years. I think you'll even see tractor and truck diesels using electronically controlled mechanical injection across the board very soon.

 

HES ALIVE!! Hey Vader.

Anyway.. F1 cars doent even have a cam!! they use electronicly actuated valves... now that is where engiens are going. MB has tried it, as has BMW and GM. Problem is that power in a 12v system is no where near enuff for the solinioids to move the valves. Direct injection and DOD are other forms of new age performance to increase fuel economy.