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Setting up carbs
Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 23:22
by fueltheburn
I suspect at some point this thread has been covered but I can't find it. I need to retune my carbs after recent changes. I believe my carbs to be running über rich. They were setup and balanced when the exhaust had a hole in it. Now the hole is fixed, the carbs have gone out of tune.
I want to be able to setup the carbs myself instead of relying on 18 yr old tuners who don't know what a carb is.
I am thinking of getting an exhaust gas analyser to help set them up myself.
Is this something that is fairly easy to do myself or best waiting and leaving to someone else to set them?
Thoughts, opinions and advice
Re: Setting up carbs
Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 23:26
by amarshall
Might be worth perusing this thread and buying the book first :
http://www.lotusexcel.net/phpbb/viewtop ... =25&t=5744
Carbs aren't that hard to get just about right, contrary to popular opinion.
Re: Setting up carbs
Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 00:12
by fueltheburn
I will probably buy the book and do it myself because my local halfords seems to have a gunson gas analyser in stock.
A few more stupid questions. If the carbs are already balanced would I need to re-do them if changing the mixtures?
1 more stupid question. Do I need to block off one of the exhausts whilst taking a gas reading to get a full flow reading from one tailpipe or will taking a reading from just one be ok?
Re: Setting up carbs
Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 17:39
by AndyC
Both exhaust pipes should read the same, it's mixture of gasses not volume that's measured.
Ideally go from scratch, balance the air bleeds out on one carb then balance the other carb to that, then go to mixture. Mine was way off for balance between carbs, possibly just caused y the engine getting slightly different compression on the cylinders.
Re: Setting up carbs
Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 20:30
by fueltheburn
Cheers for that. I wasn't sure if it was relative volume. Incidentally after using the gas analyser - it showed a CO reading of 3.2. After rebuilding the carbs, having someone else set them up, new plugs, up-rated ignition coil and 10k biost de-coke, it was a result that disappointed me. After spraying carb cleaner directly in each throttle, it runs healthier with a CO of 1.4% it's still not perfect but now it's more drivable.
It's sometimes the smallest things which make the biggest impact!