L28 Carb? or FI

[Toysport]

Hey Guys - Which is better in performance..the L28 carburated or the fi? Let's just say both are stock engines.

John

[sblake01]

From my experience, stock vs stock, I would say EFI. Others will disagree but I have owned both though my carb cars were L24s.

[beandip]

For overall driveability performance , injection. With out a doubt. For ease of maintainence SUs , HP is about the same between the two. The computer does the thinking for you on cold starts and change of altitude . Injection is much more complicated by a long shot. My 2 cts. I have a 280 flat top engine running SUs. In my 240Z .

[Toysport]

Cool - Thanks for yuor inputs. Has anyone ever tried using the AZ injection fuel rails?

Feedback...

[Toysport]

Super High Flow Fuel Injection - Has anyone tried using one of this? And if so, how well does it perform -Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page ?

http://www.arizonazcar.com/manifold.html

[sblake01]

I would disagree with Gary on the 'ease of maintainence' assesment. After dealing with EFI for over 15 years, I've become pretty proficient with troubleshooting the problems that can occur with the 280Z/280ZX/810/Maxima(RWD) type EFI. It's not nearly as complicated as the modern systems. I guess it's all in what you are accustomed to.

[TomoHawk]

I would disagree also. The EFI system electronic, and isn't more complicated than a set of synchronized carbs. You've got a couple temperature sensors, a trottle position sensor, and an air-flow sensor. The rest is just the wiring to turn on the injectors. The ECU isn't any more complicated than a good MSD controller, and don't confuse the car's electrical system with the EFI system!

Even the auxillary stuff like the EGR valve, Aux Air system, intake warmers, etc., are all mechanically-based and separate from the EFI stuff.

Carbs are more on the 'mechanical' side with a choke cable, inside are bowls, floats, needles and jets...

[Toysport]

Thanks for your imputs! I think I will go with the Arizona Intake manifold and Holley 390 CFM Elec. choke 4bbl carburator due to it's reliability, simplicity and less cost.

John

[SteveK]

I will go with the Arizona Intake manifold and Holley 390 CFM Elec. choke 4bbl carburator due to it's reliability, simplicity and less cost.

And possible lack of horse power !!!!Single downdraft carb installs will never be as efficient as a side draft set up due to the sharp turn at the botttom of the manifold

As for cheapness a decent pair of 2nd hand SU's will surely only be a fraction of the cost of a complete new setup.

[Toysport]

Thanks for your input Steve, but you may want to read this post.

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=92930&highlight=carb

[SteveK]

Thanks Toystory -- read it and most respondents don’t agree either

Arizona car have a vested interest in selling them don’t they

BTW if Holley 4 barrels work so well why do so many "real" race cars still use triple webers or fuel injection with throttle bodies or haven’t they figured things out yet

As one person says

Do you have a 4 barrel customer running 12 second quarter miles???

[Toysport]

Steve - I'm sure that tripple webbers will make more power (at least they should) as will ANY turbocharged car with EFI, again you miss the point. A 12 second quarter mile time is not what this intake was designed for. The objective was to have very simple product that makes a significant mprovement in performance over stock, has beautiful driveability and that anyone with decent mechanical skill can install and maintain.

The Holly 390 seems to work super right out of the box with no rejetting.

The holly parts are available anywhere at pennies on the dollar campared to

Mikuni or Weber parts. the early 280Z's are now coming up on 30 years old it has become a significant liability for many owners......the cost of a new airflow meter (most of the junkyard one are worthless) six injectors, a pressure

regulator, dropping resistors, and replacement fuel pump may well exceed the value of some of these cars. Even if any or all of the above were replaced it doesn't begin to address the issues of the wiring harness (corroded connectors and sensors etc). Again the 4-barrel offers a simple

and cost effective solution to what otherwise might become a parts car.

With electric choke the Holly fires right up, requires no synchronization

,little if any maintainance and still maintains good gas mileage.

A 9 inch low profile aircleaner clears the stock hood but the underside of the one vent on the 77-78 needs to be clearanced slightly.

Here's a breakdown on cost:

4-barrel intake manifold $259

holly 390 CFM elect. choke around $300

cable linkage $25-$39

Chrome aircleaner $25-35

Low pressure fuel pump $29

Total cost should be around $650

Some of the main advantages of the 4Brl setup:

Throttle response/driveability

ease of maintanance/reliability

gas mileage

cleanliness of installation/appearance

When talking about driveability I'm referring to crisp throttle response from right off the line to redline without hesitation, backfires etc.

Again the 390 jetting is close enough right out of the box, jetting tripple webbers for a daily driver is a bit more involved.