emissions
Elder User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 796
Likes: 1
Well just an FYI, in my experience it is rarely the emissions systems that make the truck run poorly. Rather emissions might make a poorly running vehicle seem to run worse. Usually there is an underlying cause that is not immediately emissions related.
Elder User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 796
Likes: 1
I never said that there aren't aftermarket parts that run fine. Rather the point is that there are so many aftermarket options to choose from and so much mis-information out there that it is extremely easy to get parts that don't work well for your combination.
Likewise there are plenty of different definitions for "runs great."
I know a guy who says that his car runs great because he can run low 12 second quarter mile times but he has to idle at 1500 RPM's and runs around getting 10 MPG with a service engine light on all the time. In my opinion that's garbage because my car is capable of the exact same quarter mile time, idles at 750, gets 18 MPG and does not have a service engine light on all the time. Did I mention his car is stripped down for drag racing while mine still has leather seats, air conditioning, and a stereo?
My point is that just because "some guy" on the internet tells you that a certain carb is the way to go, don't believe it and follow that blindly. If you do your own research and really take the time to learn you can end up with a combo that makes more power, has better street manners, and gets better economy. Best of all, it usually costs less too.
Likewise there are plenty of different definitions for "runs great."
I know a guy who says that his car runs great because he can run low 12 second quarter mile times but he has to idle at 1500 RPM's and runs around getting 10 MPG with a service engine light on all the time. In my opinion that's garbage because my car is capable of the exact same quarter mile time, idles at 750, gets 18 MPG and does not have a service engine light on all the time. Did I mention his car is stripped down for drag racing while mine still has leather seats, air conditioning, and a stereo?
My point is that just because "some guy" on the internet tells you that a certain carb is the way to go, don't believe it and follow that blindly. If you do your own research and really take the time to learn you can end up with a combo that makes more power, has better street manners, and gets better economy. Best of all, it usually costs less too.
Elder User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 796
Likes: 1
Dunno about stock, but "by the numbers" per Summit Racing, Edelbrock, & Holley's carb sizing advice, for a street motor with an 85% volumetric efficiency, a 460 turning 5500 RPM's would only need 622 CFM, so a 650 would be about right.
Cargo Master
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,362
Likes: 22
From: Florence, SC
Great advice, Nathan.
I have seen it many times. Somebody gets an older vehicle with a carburetor. Open the hood, and the little 302 is running a 650 double pumper carburetor-with no choke of course, on top of a single plane intake, big, lumpy cam, MSD racing ignition, with an open element chrome air cleaner behind 3.08 gears. Then the knuckleheads wonder why it is hard to start, difficult to tune, won't idle, no power down low, bad fuel mileage, and gas fumes so strong it will burn your eyes.
Everyone knows that on a modern fuel injected vehicle, you can't just rip off the O2 sensor, the MAP sensor, or the IAC valve and expect the engine to still run good. Yet, people seem to think they are smarter than automotive engineers and can take off items or make changes at will on a carburetor, and it should run "better." Too often a person wants to blame the carburetor when it is usually their own stupidity. The truth is, a properly tuned carbureted vehicle is perfectly capable to run in any weather condition and can run just as good as any modern fuel injected vehicle, PROVIDED all the stock components are hooked up and working as they should.
I have seen it many times. Somebody gets an older vehicle with a carburetor. Open the hood, and the little 302 is running a 650 double pumper carburetor-with no choke of course, on top of a single plane intake, big, lumpy cam, MSD racing ignition, with an open element chrome air cleaner behind 3.08 gears. Then the knuckleheads wonder why it is hard to start, difficult to tune, won't idle, no power down low, bad fuel mileage, and gas fumes so strong it will burn your eyes.
Everyone knows that on a modern fuel injected vehicle, you can't just rip off the O2 sensor, the MAP sensor, or the IAC valve and expect the engine to still run good. Yet, people seem to think they are smarter than automotive engineers and can take off items or make changes at will on a carburetor, and it should run "better." Too often a person wants to blame the carburetor when it is usually their own stupidity. The truth is, a properly tuned carbureted vehicle is perfectly capable to run in any weather condition and can run just as good as any modern fuel injected vehicle, PROVIDED all the stock components are hooked up and working as they should.
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Elder User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 796
Likes: 1
More than once I've seen somebody remove fuel injection because "it's too complicated and I can't do anything with it" in favor of a carb, only to do exactly what you say. They over carb it and end up running worse than when they started with less power and economy.
I have a 1992 Corvette that I have added 110 HP over stock, meanwhile all I have done to the fuel injection system is tune the computer to take advantage of the parts that are there. It's loud and has a lumpy idle by design, but ultimately it drives great, I wouldn't be afraid to let my mother drive it. And I could drive it cross country now only getting a few MPG less than I did stock, a fair trade for the HP.
I have a 1992 Corvette that I have added 110 HP over stock, meanwhile all I have done to the fuel injection system is tune the computer to take advantage of the parts that are there. It's loud and has a lumpy idle by design, but ultimately it drives great, I wouldn't be afraid to let my mother drive it. And I could drive it cross country now only getting a few MPG less than I did stock, a fair trade for the HP.
