Predator Carburetors

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Oct 28, 2003 | 11:16 PM

Kevin Duffy

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Predator Carburetors

I ran a search but no luck. This may have been already discussed. I was wonder what everyone thinks about this carb. I dont have any experience with one. But they seem to fit the bill when it comes to tunability/price/reliability. So what would you do? Stick with a more common Holley/Edelbrock, or go for the Predator?
Jegs sells the street version for $543.00
http://www.predatorcarb.com/home.html

Oct 29, 2003 | 07:07 AM

jwtaylor

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Well I looked the site over and well they make it sound good, actually given all things are as they say it appears it would be the best carb available if you wanna pay $543 for it. The only thing that came to mind when I read the info was there are no vacum lines so you will have to retune your distributor being there are no timed vac ports for your vac advance, just a thought not the end of the world. For the money I like edelbrock and I would give demon a shot as well just because demon take a holley and make it better and the demeon jr. is the same money as a regular holley or edelbrock. IN reality I don't think you could go wrong with any of them if you set them up correctly. However the predator does, given proper setup , provide a more precise air/fuel mixture for a given rpm range and demand. Good luck with your choice

Oct 30, 2003 | 10:03 AM

TorqueKing

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If you wanted to run vacuum advance with a Predator carb, you could just run manifold vacuum to the distributor.

Oct 30, 2003 | 10:35 AM

jwtaylor

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STill have to tune the distributor as the stock distributor works off a timed port. True?

Oct 30, 2003 | 02:53 PM

TorqueKing

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I read an article some time ago about using timed vs. manifold vacuum, and what it boils down to is tuner's preference. I personally prefer timed, but the fuel economy is greater with manifold vacuum at the very slight expense of part-throttle power. The Predator manual describes the procedure for drilling and tapping for a timed vacuum port within the carb for those who desire timed vacuum for the advance purposes.

I'm still not convinced that these things are as great as some say. First off, they run way richer than any other carb on the market, and the mixture is constant nomatter what the engine load is. The beauty of either a Holley or Carter design is that the fuel mixture is variable based on the engine load. Wether by power valve, or more effectively through a step-up piston and metering rods, the fuel mixture may be leaner under light loads and richer under heavy loads. In fact, one of the first FAQ's on their website states that their carburetors will not acheive the same fuel economy as Holley or Carter, so this automatically DQ's them in my book. Clever design for a weekend warrior, but not for real daily driver. TK

Oct 30, 2003 | 07:55 PM

Kevin Duffy

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Thanks for the input guys. Keep it coming.

Nov 4, 2003 | 01:20 AM

jesse460

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i have a jeep cj7 that has a built 401 in it i had a 750 holley that ran very good but every time i would try to climb a hill more than about 30 degree incline it would flood the engine from fuel coming out the vents. anyway i put a predator on it and it runs much better the only complaint i have is the throttle response, it is too quick if i am driving on a rough road and hit a bump and my foot hits the gas peddel a little harder the whole jeep takes off. it is very responsive. it is almost scarry in my jeep but it is a shortwheelbase with alot of hp and alot of lift 20+ inches and it is geared very low 2.5 ton military axles that have 6.72 to1 with 44s for street driving a predator is a little much. aslo they are very easy to rebuild i got a cheap one of ebay for $75 and put a rebuild kit in it. ive seen new ones go for as little as 150 there too.