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Thu Nov 06, 2014 6:18 am

I'm not sure if this helps further this topic or not, but something I'm starting to realize having had plenty of my own carb difficulties in the past is that people might be trying to hard to make the equipment that previous owners installed work regardless of it's age or application. I'm sure an arguement can be made that any setup can be made to work if you know how to do it. But I think there's something to be said for researching the best carb for your setup and putting the $ into a new kit that has been purchased from a tuner that can build them to run right out of the box. When all is said and done I think most people end up wasting more time and $ on finicky carbs that might not even be right for their rig than if they had just started from scratch when they bought the vehicle. Of course, some people just like to tinker, but from what I've seen and heard most people don't want to have a degree in Webber carbs by the time their finished tuning. They just want it to work like it should.

I really wish someone who is in the know AND objective could do a write-up of ALL carbs put on VW's and what their strengths and weaknesses were. Maybe not so much how each one is tuned but what arrangements can be put together, ease of adjustments, performance, longevity. Then I think if people could chime in about their personal experience with certain carbs and pictures of how theirs looks that'd be of even more value to those who need to figure out if their wasting their time or not.

I apologize if there's already a thread like this but I don't stray much from the Off-Road section and I really believe "off-road" driving from a carb operation aspect has some characteristics that could stand out from a general use thread under a different forum heading.

Thu Nov 06, 2014 7:40 am

Dont think there is enough bandwidth to put up a write up on "all" carbs put a VW motor...

For a dual carb setup for a make it happen motor, think Webers (IDF) or HPMX or Dellorto are probably top dog along the line.... Unfortunately Dellortos are out of production and one has to accept used/rebuilt and a questionable parts supply....

With the Weber's there is much that has been written and a "search" of i-net can give you a overload of information, and the thing with HPMX is everything the applies with Weber's also applies to HPMX as the HPMX is a clone /copy (down to last detail ) of the Weber IDF, even to the fact jets interchange....

If I were the adventurous type I would consider EFI as there is more performance coupled with better fuel economy (and cleaner if you are tree huger) the carb ever hope to be but there is also the complexity and the approximate 4X price....... BUT THIS DISCUSSION is NOT about EFI...

Dale

Thu Nov 06, 2014 8:25 am

Excellent idea ORANGECRUSHer that was a spot where I banged my head on the wall for a while. Started with some kadrons and could never live with it only idling on 2 cylinders. I thought with my rig and the cc of the motor it may spend a lot of time at a idle 900-1000 rpm. Went to Decade 40s {weber IDF clones} With a rough tune and rough jet change it became an animal idles well gobs of torque down low and revs out nicely. then the lights came on and I new the wide band sensor I picked up but had not used yet will only bring power and drivability to the table. I think guys have a motor with maybe more CCs than VW had or different heads etc. and it may run ok but with a wide band you can see where it is rich/lean. Then with guidance or a formula you can change the correct jet bigger smaller to step in the derection your unique motor wants to be all it can be. If it has a different dist, heads, stroke, bore, intake,at altitude or even air filtration than VW had then you can bet your bottom dollar it is unique!!! Do yourself a favor and be able to see the fuel#s and when it is rich/lean through the whole RPM and LOAD range.I am a terrible tuner and just don't have the feel or senses to know what my motor wanted to be all it could be. the wide band just gave me the #s and pointed me towards the light They have gotten very inexpensive probly cheaper than a carb that you think is junk I would think that there is carbs that are more suited to one application than another BUT it has to be tuned Just my thoughts. Good luck and choose wisely {not my strong point}
Terry

Thu Nov 06, 2014 8:30 am

Single brosol 30/31 choke housing milled off and idle cutoff solenoid blocked ...
Easy once dialed in. I've had all the others above. With that being said, I agree with Dale and terry. Webers are nice and HPMX. Dont need to go scrounging for Delorto parts but if you already have em, keep em.

The thing about carbs is that they really are not plug and play. First thing to do is take it apart before using, new or old or you might end up with a shitload of frustration in the future. Just make sure the passages are clean and the pump/s work correctly....gaskets good needle and seat not the cheap shit blah blah

Thu Nov 06, 2014 8:32 am

+1 on this being a good idea.
A thread like this would help me choose the right carb for my car and I feel it would help others as well.
I have only used stock carbs but am upgrading my entire engine and want a larger carb.
Though I don't know wether to use two small carbs or a single idf.
Of course there will always be people who don't research before they ask but then one of us could just post the link for the Carbs for Idiots thread.

Thu Nov 06, 2014 8:45 am

This is a good read if you've never used duals
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=572107

Thu Nov 06, 2014 8:56 am

This setup has always been one of my favs.

Thu Nov 06, 2014 9:21 am

holy cow that is a lot of $$ spent

Thu Nov 06, 2014 10:34 am

Holy chit man you take dat offroadin :lol:

Thu Nov 06, 2014 11:35 am

I wish I could submit multiple votes for carbs because several of them are the "best" carbs... just depends on what they are going on.

Personaly, I am partial to the factory Solex single pict and dual pdsit carbs. But then again, I am partial to stock motors. On stock motors with stock ignition systems, the factory carbs are dog-gone hard to beat when set up right. They may not yield the maximum peak power out of your engine, but they run smooth and drive well. To me that is more important than all out performance.

For that high performance fire breather a dual HPMX kit with an SVDA works pretty smooth as well, gives good power, and EMPI makes a high quality carb.

What is "best" just depends on what your build goals are I guess.

On a different note, I am plucking away at a factory pair of dual 34mm Solex pdsit carbs for my project. When I start putting things back together I can take a bunch of pictures, upload them, and tack on a pdsit rebuild post to this thread.

Thu Nov 06, 2014 11:54 am

Well I guess we have enough interest to get things started here, so how about from here on everyone post up a little snippet about a setup they actually ran/run. It might help search function if you change the subject line in your reply to the name of your carb. Pictures if you have time would be nice too. Maybe we can all start to recognize what people are talking about when we read Weber DCOE-ABCDXYZ.

This is a place to state your opinion and I want everyone to feel open to giving theirs so lets avoid any desparaging remarks about anyone's choices. While a carb's performance is based on application and execution, everyone's gonna have different setups/abilities and therefore a different experience with said carb.

Thu Nov 06, 2014 11:56 am

HERC wrote: This is a good read if you've never used duals
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=572107

that's a good thread from just a year ago with pics too

Thu Nov 06, 2014 12:42 pm

Single carbs need carb heat. Without carb heat, you get carb icing, even in June in sunny Nuevo Mexico.

The carb heat tube is also a carb support. The manifold is just a long tube held up by rubber sleeves. the heat tube holds the manifold in the correct position

Why I bring this up: the carb heat tube flanges on my Baja exhaust headers were solid. you have to drill them out to allow hot gases to flow to the heat tube, and to the carb. If you don't know that, you're going to have weird problems.

Thu Nov 06, 2014 2:55 pm

Relevent Material:

http://www.aircooled.net/vw-carburetor-options-selection-101/

Thu Nov 06, 2014 7:36 pm

On my street legal Baja with DP1600 I am running dual Kadrons. If they
are in decent shape they are very easy to rebuild and tune, and there are
several reputable folks to rebush etc, if they are not in the greatest shape.
The really good shops(Kaddy Shack-57Baja) will set you up with correct jetting based on your engine components. I am running Weber 44IDF duals
on my sandrail, 044 heads, 1776 cc. They are genuine IDF carbs and I set them up before parts became plentiful and they were not cheap to go through.
Mine have been re-venturi to 40mm and I played with the jetting forever
to get them running right. Once properly set up the only adjustments I ever
make are to clean the idle jets. I am NOT a carb tuning guy and I was able to
get both sets of duals up and running and tuned well. I have never had a single carb VW that I was happy with. My current Baja is number six for
Bajas and number eight for ACVW's.

Sat Nov 08, 2014 1:28 am

There is no perfect carb/carbs for any thing, they can only be tuned for ONE RPM any thing above or below that is a compromise. With that said I think IDF's can be tuned close.

Casey