07/09/2025
Carburetors (left) vs EFI (right pic)- Part 1:
I've been asked by several folks to share my opinions on fuel injection vs carburetors based on my experience with both. The bottom line is that they both have a place, depending on your combination and how much you're willing to tinker.
I'll lay down my experience for each version of each engine:
1) We started out with a freshly rebuilt (in my garage) "Relic" engine in 2015 and 2016 - a traditional 350 cid Gen I SBC, iron "double hump" (462) heads, and a healthy road race cam. It was topped with a Quick Fuel carb (650 CFM) on an Edelbrock air gap intake, port matched to my heads.This engine made ~420 HP. It was a solid combo. Good enough to win runner-up in WDCR Solo in 2016. On this lower HP engine, I really had no complaints with the induction. The engine ran almost flawlessly, easy to tune.
2) Wanting more power, in 2017 we had a local speed shop build a high-revving 400 cid Dart SBC. Induction was an Edelbrock Supervic 2 and a 735cfm carb. Dyno tested at 621 HP. Not being a carb expert, I struggled to tune the carb for this higher powered engine on the track and on the road. I finally got it, but then experienced a significant drop in performance at the track on a hot humid day at high altitude. It was at that point that I decided to try EFI. My observation was that for an engine making more than 1.5HP per cube, it became much more sensitive to changes in tuning and the environment. I thought EFI would be the cure, especially since EFI systems "self-tune"🤨
The above was the last time we used carbs until now, but there are 4 more iterations until we get to today. More to come.
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Rear: Ford 9" from
Brakes:
Wheels:
Suspension:
Coil Overs:
Cross Ram Engine 2.0:
