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Interesting story link.
Been playin' with the carb vs. EFI battle for years. Done testing on V-8s to find out which makes more power (as author said, it has been little appreciable difference). But, again there are benefits.
EFI has helped to tune in some severely radical engines (think 9-second street car with an 860hp engine) and the constant adjusting of the EFI helps keep it in tune. Now, can't a carb do the same thing, YES. But it took a LOT more tuning to get a carb there, using many of the tried and true, but since forgotten tricks of carb tuners over the years.
Fuel mileage does increase, due to the better fuel control. One of the best improvements is when the throttle blades are closed and decelerating. Think about it, a carb delivers fuel based on vacuum and with the throttle blades closed, the vacuum is at it's highest. EFI simply shuts the fuel off.
Quick story from a friend who was there. When they put cats on Corvettes back in '75, then Chief engineer, Zora Duntov was testing a pre-production model on the hills for some high-altitude driving and while coasting downhill (on the other side) he put the car in a lower gear and let the engine hold him back. Well, the carb did it's job and the cat got hot, REAL hot and it smoked the floor! That's why the '76 model got a steel plate just over the catalytic converter.
That said, a finely-tuned carb can work well, but truth-be-told, many folks just want to twist a key and go!
Been playin' with the carb vs. EFI battle for years. Done testing on V-8s to find out which makes more power (as author said, it has been little appreciable difference). But, again there are benefits.
EFI has helped to tune in some severely radical engines (think 9-second street car with an 860hp engine) and the constant adjusting of the EFI helps keep it in tune. Now, can't a carb do the same thing, YES. But it took a LOT more tuning to get a carb there, using many of the tried and true, but since forgotten tricks of carb tuners over the years.
Fuel mileage does increase, due to the better fuel control. One of the best improvements is when the throttle blades are closed and decelerating. Think about it, a carb delivers fuel based on vacuum and with the throttle blades closed, the vacuum is at it's highest. EFI simply shuts the fuel off.
Quick story from a friend who was there. When they put cats on Corvettes back in '75, then Chief engineer, Zora Duntov was testing a pre-production model on the hills for some high-altitude driving and while coasting downhill (on the other side) he put the car in a lower gear and let the engine hold him back. Well, the carb did it's job and the cat got hot, REAL hot and it smoked the floor! That's why the '76 model got a steel plate just over the catalytic converter.
That said, a finely-tuned carb can work well, but truth-be-told, many folks just want to twist a key and go!
