Question regarding carbs. Should I or should I not?

[sonofzzzap]

Hey guys, I have been contemplating the many things one can do to a 77280Z and I keep asking myself... what should I do after I have straightend out my body work and paint.. I am merely brainstorming, seeing as I will start moding most likely in march, give or take a month... I have considerd maybe replacing my EFI with carbs... but I have read on other forums that the EFI can be more finly tuned(however difficult). While carbs are easier to maintain and use but are not as accurate when tuning... I would like everyones opinions on this one...

Thanks guys, Im still learning with my Z

-ZZZap

[sblake01]

In my experience, I wouldn't say that carbs are easier to maintain than EFI. I have spent many years reading, lots of trial and error, but I've reached the point where I feel I can handle any problem that could develop in the EFI system. As far as carbs, I don't have extensive experience but some. Believe it or not, I probably know more about flat tops than round tops. I had flat tops on my 510 and with the help of a long time friend and Z mechanic, became fairly proficient at tuning them. That's why I feel that they are no worse than the round tops. That's a rather unpopular viewpoint here so I won't elaborate on that topic! As far as carbs vs. EFI, I guess it really comes down to what you want to do with the car. If I was to build the 'ultimate L6' it would probably have triple Mikunis or Webers. But the turbo guys would most likely debate that.

[e_racer1999]

^^ very good point, stephen. there seem to be 2 basic schools as far as ultimate l-series go.... awesome 3 carb (or even well tuned SUs) and turbo EFI systems.... it's kind of a toss up for me

[Bruce Palmer]

Stephen,

Those flat top 38mm carbs on the 510 are then same as the round top 38mm 2 bolt mount Hitachis. The round top were SSS1600 510 JDM and the flat top were JSDM SSS1800 610. This is why they were so easy to tune.

The flat top Z car carbs were the smoggers that got changed out in a lot of cases when the cars were new.

We just had a guy here swap out his EFI because pieces to keep it running were NLA or not easy to find. His car runs really strong and he is having the time of his life. He thought this would be a good way to keep his car alive without worrying about a bunch of 30 year old wiring and plastic pieces going g-fritzen!!

[sblake01]

I'm not sure of the origin of the flat tops that I had on my 510. That was nearly 30 years ago but I do remember that my friend and I installed them. He set them up and tuned them and I maintained them. As far as the EFI goes, I have a big enough stash of the parts I need to keep both cars going for quite a while.

[Dtsnlvrs]

Redline/Weber and MSA are in the testing process for a "NEW" FI system for L-engines. No word yet on price but probably alot cheaper than the TWM systems. It is built around a dcoe intake and throttle bodies. Comes with its own brain box and all other necesary items. Top End performance has already started to advertize the sys, but just the generic stuff...not Z specific.

Redline FI