Mechanical vs. electric fuel pump?

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mshred

mshred

The Green Manalishi
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Hey guys,
went to fire up the scamp today and its ready to go except for the fact that my carter mechanical pump is toast (its an old one)...from a performance standpoint, what is better an electric or a mechanical? i am aware of the strengths and weaknesses of both- I am know that a mechanical will be easier to install, just stick it on and go, as opposed to an electric that has to be mounted and grounded, with a regulator, etc... The car is a street car first and foremost but at the same time i plan to take it to the strip and i do plan on adding more horsepower, quite possibly in the forum of nitrous...my dad keeps telling me go mechanical and avoid the work of an electric, but im thinking the electric is the way to go...there isnt much selection out there for smallblock mechanical pumps that are high performance, atleast not that ive seen....

so what do you guys think? id appreciate any and all opinions on this....id like to decide by monday so i can go ahead and order my pump on tuesday after thanksgiving for us canadians and have it come in to get it on and fire up the car

thanks!
Matthew
 
You could get a Carter strip pump. Flows quite-a-bit from what I remember. You'd have to regulat that pumpas well.
 
I run the Carter Strip pump but like rumble said you have to run a regulator. I first ran a Holley Blue pump and while it worked good the regulator they send with it is total junk. I went through 3 before I got a good one. But the main reason i took it off was it was so noisy it drove me crazy. Dang thing sounded like a small chain saw running. I've heard alot of guys say that too. Only the gear rotor pumps are quiet but your talking well over $200 for one of them. If street is your main driving stay mechanical. Even the Carter street pump will easily feed 400 hp.
 
dont get me wrong guys, i want to stay mechanical as it is less work for me at the moment, its just im trying to think of future upgrades at the moment...ive been told the electric is better because it delivers constant fuel no matter what, and that on the top end on the strip some mechanicals may starve the motor....my dad has a holley blue on his big big dart and he cant stand the noise either, but i kinda like it and after awhile dont even notice its there (he has no radio so maybe thats why it drives him nuts)...Ive even been looking at the racepump brand of mechanical pumps but they are flippin expensive, plus you need to buy there expensive regulator, and not everyone that has used them has had a good experience so i kinda find it iffy.

the carter strip pump is actually the pump i was looking at for my car out of all the mechanical ones, but i plan to shoot some nitrous on this motor sometime in the near future and i dont want to be starved of fuel....will it be able to supply what i need? there are guys running holley blues with their nitrous and they are just fine, and the strip pump flows 10 gph more (110 vs 120)...fishy68, do you know how much the carter strip pump is rated too? i was searching mechanical pumps and man do the chevy guys have an awesome selection...it figures the mopar guys have like 4 brands to choose from sheesh
 
When I first got my car running I had starved my carbs. while showing some zipperhead my tail lights. It was almost an embarrassing situation! So when I rebuilt the car, I planned on adding the electric and installed the line and wiring. My thought was to make sure I never sucked the carbs dry again, and if I add power, I can get more flow. I also fabricated a nice, sturdy fuel pump mount that also holds my pre-pump filter. Made real nice rubber insulating mounts and tried to think it out.
SANY0027-vi.jpg

I mounted everything with rubber when I bolted the pump & filter to the bracket.


SANY0022-vi.jpg

Then I mounted the assembly to the trunk extension with 1/4" rubber pads.
SANY0024-vi.jpg

Everything engineered, including this splash-shield behind the tire....

And that damn pump drills-away making me nuts..... Almost as annoying as the Flowmasters I want to replace. I tried to make mine as quiet as I thought I could, but due to space limitations, I had to mount it there. And it was a bad choice as it's hollow behind it and it howls. It still sounds like it's mounted to the quarter panel with sheet metal screws. I'm going to try and insulate the inside of the trunk extension to try and quiet it down. But it will flow. And Hot-Rods aren't exactly quiet, are they? 8)
 
Hey John,

I have to say the more i see of the fab work on your cuda, the more it is evident alot of hard work went into it...very nice peice! Is that a holley red pump on there? what regulator are you using and is it holding up okay? the noise of the electric pumps actually go along with the whole drag car sound for me (I grew up listening to my dads holley blue and i love its sound even though he hates it lol)...The situation you had is what im worried about- i dont want to go spending the money on a mechanical if it will starve my car, but im not really sure if it will or not...if it will then it just makes more sense for me to buy an electric but im interested to hear what anyone else has to say about high flow mechanical pumps...like i said nitrous is in the future for me, so im gonna need all the fuel i can get...is your tank sumped?
 
1 is noisy and don't take kindly to running low or out of gas very much, the other eats up about 4hp but is quite, on the other hand if the diaphrm in the mech was to leak well.... never had it happen on a mopar but a plumber friend of mine had it happen on his 327 chevy and it filled the oil pan with gasoline... he drove it till it shut off.

I bet that was real good on the bearings!

Yes don't angle them too much on the frame there or it won't work right or for very long.

Try and get the elect pump about as high as the bottom of the tank and no more.

Remember electric fuel pumps are pushers not pullers, unlike mechanical pumps pull/push.
 
And when you put them behind the rear tire you're asking for trouble.

All the road crap=water,oil, tire chunks, road debris will all bash and coat the pump.

I've always tried mounting them on the inside of the frame @ the wheel well, if exhaust permits.

I like the box john, would be cool to make a sealed version.
 
1wild&crazyguy said:
1 is noisy and don't take kindly to running low or out of gas very much, the other eats up about 4hp but is quite, on the other hand if the diaphrm in the mech was to leak well.... never had it happen on a mopar but a plumber friend of mine had it happen on his 327 chevy and it filled the oil pan with gasoline... he drove it till it shut off.

I bet that was real good on the bearings!

Yes don't angle them too much on the frame there or it won't work right or for very long.

Try and get the elect pump about as high as the bottom of the tank and no more.

Remember electric fuel pumps are pushers not pullers, unlike mechanical
pumps pull/push.
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not sure which type of pump you are advocating here?
 
I'd run a stock type mechanical for now. No sense in spending when you "might" make a change later. That change will bring it's own special needs. So i'd wait and budget a new systen when you upgrade. A stock pump will supply 400hp with a 5/16 line.
 
moper said:
I'd run a stock type mechanical for now. No sense in spending when you "might" make a change later. That change will bring it's own special needs. So i'd wait and budget a new systen when you upgrade. A stock pump will supply 400hp with a 5/16 line.
Click to expand...

kinda sounds like an echo of my father LOL...well you know how i feel about your opinion dave....i was kinda leaning towards the mechanical in the first place but thought what the hell go electric....but who knows when ill get around to my new upgrades, so i think ill stick with a mechanical for now...depending on how much a stock one compares in price to the carter strip pump i will decide which i will pick up from there...thanks for all the opinions and input guys!
 
fishy68 said:
I run the Carter Strip pump but like rumble said you have to run a regulator. I first ran a Holley Blue pump and while it worked good the regulator they send with it is total junk. I went through 3 before I got a good one. But the main reason i took it off was it was so noisy it drove me crazy. Dang thing sounded like a small chain saw running. I've heard alot of guys say that too. Only the gear rotor pumps are quiet but your talking well over $200 for one of them. If street is your main driving stay mechanical. Even the Carter street pump will easily feed 400 hp.
Click to expand...

hey fishy, i called carter about the strip pump (#M6270) and the tech guy told me they flow 6.9-8.1psi...does that still need to be regulated? as far as i knew most holley carbs have a needle and seat value that can handle 8psi, so would i be okay not running a regulator?
 
Not sure what part number Carter you currently have but Mancini Racing sells a rebuild kit for M6902 and M6903 Carter pumps; $44.95. Maybe a good interim option.
 
Demon 408 said:
Not sure what part number Carter you currently have but Mancini Racing sells a rebuild kit for M6902 and M6903 Carter pumps; $44.95. Maybe a good interim option.
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unfortunatly mine is the non rebuildable type, otherwise i would consider it...not sure what part number mine is as its a very old one (atleast 22 years) but i can tell by looking at the outside since the diaphram is crimped on
 
mshred said:
kinda sounds like an echo of my father LOL...well you know how i feel about your opinion dave....i was kinda leaning towards the mechanical in the first place but thought what the hell go electric....but who knows when ill get around to my new upgrades, so i think ill stick with a mechanical for now...depending on how much a stock one compares in price to the carter strip pump i will decide which i will pick up from there...thanks for all the opinions and input guys!
Click to expand...

Stock pump= $16-$18

Carter muscle car pump $33.99
Carter strip $99.00
 
mshred said:
hey fishy, i called carter about the strip pump (#M6270) and the tech guy told me they flow 6.9-8.1psi...does that still need to be regulated? as far as i knew most holley carbs have a needle and seat value that can handle 8psi, so would i be okay not running a regulator?
Click to expand...

I just run the regulator so there won't be any chance of it flooding since we hit the road alot and sometimes are quite a way from home but I think your right about a Holley taking 8psi ok. I cranked it up once for awhile to see how it acted and it seemed fine but I set it at back down to 6 psi just to be safe.
 
I run only a Carter hi-volume mechanical pump on my big stroker motor with a 3/8" line and pick-up from tank to carbs. It will adequately empty my gas tank in a hurry without any shortcomings in delivery.
 
thanks for all the replies guys! fishy68 and 1wildandcrazyguy ill keep in mind what you both said...be prepared to see a vid posted up sometime this week of the pump strapped on and the scamp fired up with open headers!
Longgone, what kinda car/motor are you running just out of curiosity sake...is it the same carter strip pump that flows 120gph?
 
I`m running it on my 440-496 stroker motor. It`s been a while since I installed it but if I remember correctly it flows over 100 gph, I think about 110 but it may be as high as 120 gph. It`s at a reasonable pressure too, somewhere around 7psi., so I don`t have to use a regulator. Many serious racers will back up a mechanical with an electric. I had one in my 440-6 Super Bee, but like John was saying I hated the sound of that thing running back there. I wouldn`t suggest installing one unless you start making mad horsepower.
 
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