skrews
Well-Known Member
Who knew it was this simple.
Edelbrock carb adjustment
- Thread starter skrews
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looks about right. lol
Johnny Dart
Well-Known Member
That's what happens when you never make it past 6th grade.
No, that's what happens when you finally figure out a Holley is worth 2 tenths. lol
Johnny Dart
Well-Known Member
Johnny Dart
Well-Known Member
And this is how the great Holley Edelbrock debate started. 
That guy's a real dumbass.
Well the thing is, one style carburetor is not necessarily better than the other. They are simply different. Metering rod carburetors by nature "don't like" engines with low vacuum signals.....lumpy camshafts, that kinda thing, so they are really geared more toward "stockish" builds that have good vacuum signals. The poor vacuum signal of a really hot engine can cause the metering rods to bounce at idle and really be tough to down right impossible to tune. That's when it's time to step into a Holley. They are much better suited to hotter engines with lower vacuum signals. So it's not which carburetor is "better overall" but which carburetor is "better suited" and a lot of people don't get "THAT". The Carters are actually very, very simple. It's when they are used outside of their element that gets people in trouble.
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Have you ever compared the idle circuit design between a Holley and a Carter to understand why the Carter idles better?
The Carter does not idle better under low vacuum signal conditions. The Holley does. Once your vacuum signal falls below about 11Hg, The Carter starts having problems. I suspect the Carter probably does idle somewhat better with a strong vacuum signal because of its booster design.
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With 9 inches of vacuum the Edelbrock idled better than the Holley. I even went as far as converting the Edelbrock primary boosters to work like the Holley by drilling out the economizer jet and blocking the by-pass so it had only one air bleed controlling it like a Holley and guess what it idled just like the Holley did and worked just like the Holley with 1.5 turns
Again the Carter Design is better but you need to understand why.
Again the Carter Design is better but you need to understand why.
yellow rose
Overnight Sensation
The Holley (or better yet, any decent Holley clone) will out idle, out power and just straight out perform the Carter style carbs.
The biggest problem with Holley and Holley clones was, is and evidently will forever be Holley. They continue to miseducated the public on how their carbs function, send out anything even close to a performance carb double PIG rich at idle, sloppy in transition somewhat clean in the middle and PIG fat at WOT.
All that is relatively easily corrected. As per normal, the books produced for these carbs are basically worthless for most anything other that learning the most very basic aspects of the carb.
When a “technical” book, written for and purchased by guys who at least on some level, want to learn to tune this stuff starts out with this remark (or a paraphrase of it) “changing the different circuits is a complex matter and should be only done by the experts and not at home...more damage has been done to these carbs by guys at home with drill bits than anything else...don’t junk your carb by going crazy and drilling holes...the Holley carb is very close with its factory calibrations, therefore most anything you may do will be wrong, or worse...”.
That is WORTHLESS, stupid and a waste of paper. While carb function and science is complex, if you can lash valves correctly and use a timing light like it was meant to be used, you can understand carb function, the circuits involved and how changing one circuit can and will affect another. And you can understand where to start, and what to do next with pretty basic knowledge.
The Carter/Edelbrock carbs, by their design are much more difficult to alter, and as the power level goes up, much more difficult to correct because the main jet/metering rods are never separate, where the Holley style carbs have a separate main jet/power enrichment circuit.
For the guys who want a simple, bolt on and forget it carb, the Carter/Edlebrock carbs are what they need. They will be close enough that much tuning won’t be needed.
For the guys that want to get the most power, or even economy, the Holley style carbs are infinitely more adjustable. The level of tune achieved with this style carb is only limited by how much time you are willing to invest learning the basics, and buying some pin gauges, drill bits and brass.
The Holley has way more adjustment/adjustable/replaceable/tunable/customized parts that can be swapped out. This is what kills most guys.
The Carter’s metering rods can get pretty low for the vacuum signal. They really shouldn’t have a big issue.
I have to agree with RRR & Yellowrose on there assertions.
Also, that guy is a dumb ***.
The Carter’s metering rods can get pretty low for the vacuum signal. They really shouldn’t have a big issue.
I have to agree with RRR & Yellowrose on there assertions.
Also, that guy is a dumb ***.
Bolt it on and it would still work!
PRH
Well-Known Member
For the “racier” builds.......Holleys, or Holley clones for me, thanks.
Johnny Dart
Well-Known Member
I'm sure the Chrysler engineers didn't have a clue.
PRH
Well-Known Member
They loved them so much they put Holleys on the SS Darts and Barracudas.
You know...... the racier ones.
I'm not arguing. I like the Carter/Edelbrock carburetors. Instead of being vague, why don't you enlighten all of the ignorant? We're all waiting with baited breath.
Johnny Dart
Well-Known Member
Ed Hamburger said a TQ was up to .2 faster than a Holley on an automatic car. He recommended a Holley for 4 speed cars . Both were prepped, but what did he know? For a race car use whatever works for you, you don't have to deal with it every day.
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