Carb or FI?

[Araknid]

I was asked for my preference, but I'd like to hear what you pros have to say.
Also curious, is it a big problem to retrofit an injected engine with a carburetor?
Looking forward to your comments.

[Tappy]

i guess you need to see @ your own capabilleties
Well i had zero experience with cars before i bought the spider , and i 've learned quit a lot already , i've choosen a carbed version becouse i can understand how its working(dont quote me on this later ....) , FI is just to difficult for me to start with. And for me carbed versions are more of a oldtimer thingy ....

a guess a (FI) 82' owner wants a reply on this one ?

damn just re-read, its a pro's question .....

[Europa]

Disclaimer: I am not a pro, more of a greenhorn!

I prefer FI Spiders for its simplicty and efficiency. I also like modified carbed TC's; dual webers, head work etc. Not a fan of the standard carbed engines with the smog stuff.

[kristoj]

I am a diehard stock guy. So with mods not part of the picture, my preference is for the more powerful stock version, which would be the FI models. They are also easy to live with as they start right up and run/idle smoothly without messing with a choke or warm up period -- great for a daily driver.

However, if you are going with mods, the dual weber set up would be hard to beat.

[mdrburchette]

That's a tough one for me. I like my carbed models because I understand them better and can generally repair them. They're also easier to modify for hp...but the girl in me likes the idea of jumping in a car with FI for the ease of starting and driveability.

[Curly]

Give me a carb any day, better yet give me a pair The X and Y generation can play with their injectors, electronic sensors and potentiometers, a carb is what I grew up with, what I understand and still prefer to tinker with. Injection is great for the regular road car, the tow vehicle and the wife's car - they run smoothly, start first time, run economically and are now-a-days generally reliable; but if anything goes wrong, it's off to the dealer
Carbs also have an uncluttered aesthetic appearance compared to all the pipes, tubes and and wires of injection

[kristoj]

I don't disagree with anything Curly said. But as it relates to the Spider (the car we are talking about), the Bosch L-Jetronic FI system is really quite rudimentary and easy to understand. No more difficult to work on (and I would make the argument it is easier to work on) than a carb -- especially a twin carb set up. FI offers real performance advantages, in addition to reliability and ease of use

So while each of us may be more familiar, and therefore more comfortable, with one set-up or another. That alone doesn't necessarily make that set-up superior to other alternatives.

And don't forget that some of us Gen Xers are now over 40

[mbouse]

the original question has been asked time and time again at this and other forums. it will continue to be asked as long as we care to read the posts and reply.

if you are not handy with tools, and are unwilling to research and learn new things, buy it the way it the way you want it to end up. mods are for those that like to tinker. like john said, if it is unmodified performance you are after, then grab a stock fuel injected engine.

also, if you are not handy, good luck finding a mechanic in your area that is willing to touch a carburetor. Do they even teach those techniques anymore? Mr. Goodwrench ain't schooled in carburetion.

i work with computers every day of my life as an accountant. I HATE computers. they like to break down with no discernable reason or cause. their input can be complicated. no fuel injected engine i know of operates without a computer.

and, i like to tinker. personally i believe that the carbureted engine gives the tinkerer more opportunities to tinker. i'll be dead and buried long before i can or will accomplish all of the performance enhancing mods i have in my long range plans for my 1980 carb'd engine.

[So Cal Mark]

in my vast experience, I've only met a few people that understand how a carburetor works. Theoretically, FI should be much easier for the novice to comprehend.
Over the last two decades, the giant hp increases are due to engine management and efficiency, both things that carbs do not do well. Remember electronic carbs of the early 80s? It's no surprise there aren't any of those cars that are considerend collectible

[mbouse]

in my vast experience, I've only met a few people that understand how a carburetor works. Theoretically, FI should be much easier for the novice to comprehend.

do not dispute that one bit for anyone not wanting to tinker with their car, and for anyone satisfied with the performance that comes from a stock fuelie. would highly recommend anyone not desiring to work on their own vehicle to choose a fuel injected model over a carb'd model....much easier to find a mechanic for our "exotics" if it is a fuelie.

but if you wanna be a shade-tree, performance tweaking, weekend greaser like me...you don't have an awful lotta opportunity to do so with a fuelie engine. NO OFFENSE intended to anyone in that comment, it is how i look at myself. and of course, buying the most emission laden vehicle Fiat ever produced has given me the ultimate set of opportunities. wowzers, have i had opportunities!

theory aside, finding a butterfly valve stuck open or a torn diaphram is much easier than seeing if a ECU is functioning properly....but that gets above the 'novice' level. and i wanna be above the novice level. nope, i never will have the amount of experience you have amassed in your career, Mark. Wouldn't think of insinuating that.

for my taste, give me a carb'd car over a fuelie, any day. ya-all have fun with those 'puters.

[mdrburchette]

I agree with you Mike. The only time I've run to a mechanic with my tail between my legs was with that Devil X and it's fuel injection. I believe I could accidently fix a carbed car faster than being able to understand FI.

[racydave]

I have professionally worked on both. Given the correct info, I preffer to work on fuelies. Mine is carbd... my ignition is programable electronic.

[manoa matt]

If its an Italian sports car that you want, then why use German parts to make it go? I said it before and I'll say it again, regardless or your exhaust system, FI cars don't produce that "sports car sound" quite like a carbed car makes. I drive my spider every day, and more than half the fun of it is the sounds it makes, ohh to hear that secondary open up, nothing else like it. With that sound who cares about MPGs.

[nicktheviking]

What all is involved in converting an FI to carb?

[launieg]

If you convert to carbs, I'll be interested in your FI parts for my backup shelf.

My Spider is the first ECU controlled FI car I've worked on, but I worked on many, many carbs in the seventies. I love the FI in my Spider, particularly when I recall endless carb rebuilds and frustrations in the past.

The ECU is not a gremlin - if you take the time to read up on Fi, and explore it to see how it works. (Go through Brad Artigue's manual and others, trying out all the tests - you'll learn fast.) The L-Jetronic (as in my Spider) and subsequent Motronic FI systems are easy to understand and work on, and diagnosis is IMO way easier than with a carb (or two).

Oh, and my Spider sounds great too. I would never convert it to carbs. I guess if you love the challenge of tuning up carbs and the nostalgia, go for it, but don't overlook FI just because you are unfamiliar with it.

No offense to the "carbies" intended. But this baby boomer is converted.