92WhiteRS

Alright, I have never touched a carb before in my life and plan on putting one on my car soon. Well, I have heard that Holley's are one of the best for the price carb performance wise, but they do require tuning. On the other hand I heard edelbrocks are normally bolt ons a majority of the time of stock engines but don't produce as much power. My question is, how hard is it to actually tune a carb??? I really want to learn how, but this car will be my daily driver and I need it to drive. Also do holley's really make more power...or is that just a stigma? I would appreciate any advice.

Matt

Bunker82

First thing is to use the search feature on this message board and you will learn alot about these carbs. You will find people have varying opinions on carb brand. From the way I see it any carb will work well provided it is dialed in properly to match the engine it is feeding. For all out horsepower I think Holleys will get the nod. I haven't seen concrete evidence like true back to back 1/4 mile runs or dyno tests however. My guess is that since there is so much adjustablilty in those carbs that you could make it the most efficient fuel mixer. But with that I also think it makes it more daunting to tune unless you know some people who have alot of experience with them around. I have never touched a Holley before however. With Edelbrocks they do seem to work well out of the box, but you should take the time to tune it. I have an Edelbrock 750 on mine right now. They are easy to tune. I am used to it. I carry all my jets and metering rods on the passanger seat and sometimes pull over and find a parking lot and swap jets or something and then a few minutes later I drive off again. A great tuning aid (even though it might not be too accurate) is an air fuel gauge. That will help alot. Also when tuning for power I think one of those g-tech do-hickies would work great to but that all costs $$.

Whatever carb you get, you should get a book on how to tune it. If you get a Holley their web site is supposed to be informative. For Edelbrocks they come with a good manual that is also available to read on their web site. But I think good advice is to get a carb that someone you know has experience with. I didn't have anyone to help me, but I have learned and this board is a great help too.
HTH

92camaro

I would get a Holley Carb. I have had nothing but bad luck with the Edelbrock carb. You could tune and tune on the Edelbrock carb and the car would never run right. So one day I bolted my dad's holley carb on the car and the difference was like night and day. So I have never used an Edelbrock since then. I have been helping a buddy tune his car and he is running a demon carb. We are having very good luck with the demon but there seems to be alot for tuning involved with it. Just do a search on this site and you will find all kinds of info on all the different carb. Good Luck!

fakezcar

Going from experience at school....Demon-best-lots of tuning

Holley-better power-still needs lots of tuning.
both of these it I'm not mistaken need to be rmoved from the vehicle to jet them (maybe not the demon)

the Edelbrock you can do on the side of th road no problem. It definately helps to have someone that knows what they're doing. Any way you go they're gonna need to be tuned. BTW if anyone wants to trade an Edelbrock 600 for just about anything that's a 750 let me know.....My 357 doesn't like the small carb withut a choke, it's getting cold outside now.

Rancid87

there's nothing secret about carbs. nothing overly difficult. nothing that you can't pick up with a little experience and initiative. out of the box they are usually 'close' enough to work but aren't 'optimized' to the motor. i've used both Carter AFB's and holley carbs. i prefer the holley's for performance, ease of tuning, looks, parts availabilty, etc . The Carter i have is a very nice carb. very forgiving. doesn't really need much tweaking to run well.
in the end a carb is a carb is a carb. no matter what you use if it's totally out of tune it'll run like crap regardless of what brand it is.

Jester

Get a Holley, much better carb. And jet changes can be done on the car..with only 4 bolts to remove.

Edelbrocks don't have the same performance and they have way more problems.

ben71

I'll have to agree with my brother (Bunker82) on this one! We were talking about this earlier in fact. I am currently breaking in my blown 377 and have an Edelbrock 800 on top. This is my first motor and I have heard how much of a hassle tuning a Holly can be. But with all the options and parts for a Holly they have got to be infinitely adjustable and probably make more power.

When I have some more experience under my belt I may venture into the realm of Holleys. I would have to concede that Holleys would probably make more power. But I think that the Edelbrock may be a little less intimidating for a beginner. But again my experience is minimal. The Edelbrock can be easily tuned like my brother said. Do research and talk to people. I am a fellow beginner and (right now ) enjoy my Edelbrock.

Ben71

Berlinetta00

When it comes to carbs, the AFB design (edelbrock, carter) is much simpler, a single pump setup that is closer to stock design than a true racing carb. Thus, they are relatively easy to tune, which is requiried to make your engine perform to the max of its ability. Holleys on the other hand are more complex, most often with a dual pump design. This allows them to be highly versitile in extracting every pony from your engine, but more difficult to tune.

As far as power goes, Holleys are gennerally considered to be able to produce the maximum for any engine in any situation (circle track, street, drags) as opposed to edelbrocks, which are better for all around tuning and performance, and are defenitly the winner off-road.

The power/cfm factors are the most confused in the industry today. Just because the carb has a 750 cfm capasity does not mean that it will ever reach that capacity on a 305 or a 327. The oppisite is true as well, where just because you have a 383 does not mean your carb has to be a 850 or 1050 cfm to get the most power out of it. Generally, the Small-block chevrolet was designed (all the way into the mighty small blocks) to run well if not their best using a 600 or 650 carb. Now, when heads are changed as well as cumbustion dynamics, the need for a larger carb might arise (Such as poted and polished 15* heads). But until then, the lower CFM carbs will give you the same power on small blocks with less gasoline and smoother idles than large CFM carbs. This is true for both AFB and Holley carbs.

Hope this helps,

-Berlinetta00

SSC

A Holley is simple to use a 4160 is just as easy to use as an edelbrock and makes more power. Jester has a dyno proof thread some where, I'm too lazy to search.

Anyways, people get confused with Holleys because of the reverse idle system so they tune them wrong. A standard clockwise lean system A/F screws have a pointed tip (>) at the end, counter clockwise system have a blunt (-) tip. There goes 99% of holley confusion. Jets are easy to change 4, 8MM or sloted bolts to change power valves just take those 4 bolts out and pry the metering block off with a screw driver.

jwfirebird

iTrader: (2)

everyone wants the most power out of their car. you would have to learn how to tune either carb so buy a holley and do like i did, go to borders and get the book "Super tuning and modifying holley carbs". We change jets in the car between runs at the track all the time. Its very simple when you know what your doing. There is no sense wasting the money on an edelbrock carb unless thats all your used to tuning.
ive have seen proof at the track to prove a properly tuned holley will make more power than a properly tuned edelbrock.we use 4150's though not 4160's. i like to have two acell pumps and mec. secondaries.

Harley83

Ive seen well tuned Holleys, Edelbrocks, Demons, Carters, Quadrajets, etc.. Really I think it's just a matter of preference. But in my honest opinion I think that as far as street use a 600 or 650 cfm will work better with a 350 as far as throttle response and gas mileage. But the 750 can perform better at the track if tuned properly but will not give the most desirable results for a street driven car. Im partial to Edelbrock's but go with what your heart desires just make sure you don't over do it because according to Engine Analysis Equations a Chevy 350 with a 100% Volumetric Efficiency making maximum RPM's at 6000 will only need 607 CFM's to perform at it's best not just meaning maximum horsepower but including throttle response air-fuel mixture efficiency and will still perform very close to a 750. Think about it a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado with a 8.2L 500 engine uses a 800 cfm carb Just something to think about.