carbs tuning video

Retired carburetors specialist Carlo Sgarbi tuning my carbs just with a screwdriver and no gauges, yesterday.

 

Hope you like it

 

ciao

 

nice

 

 

Awesome vid Albert

I wish I had a guy like that here as I am still tinkering with mine to find that perfect sweet spot.

I am getting very close however I am still not there. Maybe by the time I am ready to retire I will be that guy.

Thank you all.

 

 

I wish I had a guy like that here as I am still tinkering with mine to find that perfect sweet spot.

I am getting very close however I am still not there. Maybe by the time I am ready to retire I will be that guy.

 

Maybe if you offer a plane ticket to Sgarbi, that is a retired man and has plenty of free time, he will visit you with his screwdriver

 

He is really an artist and very cheap.

 

ciao

Tutto ... Tutto ... proprio quello che ha fatto il vostro esperto di fare? Sembra lo stesso e probabilmente corre lo stesso!

 

Paulus

No carbs...no worries!

No carbs...no worries!

 

 

True, i spent a huge amount of money to tune the carbs: 30 euro (less than 40 USD).

 

And then you are right: Ford Taurus... no worries!

 

ciao

 

 

 

 

True, i spent a huge amount of money to tune the carbs: 30 euro (less than 40 USD).

 

And then you are right: Ford Taurus... no worries!

 

ciao

 

30 Euro's, it's worth paying the plane ticket and some accomodation at those rates. . .

30 Euro's, it's worth paying the plane ticket and some accomodation at those rates. . .

 

He completely redid my carbs two years ago (every single piece disassembled, cleaned, checked and tuned, every single gasket changed, also the leather ones): 700 euro.

Hey Albert, so you are getting your carbs setup every 2 years? Is this standard or just something you do. I'm interested as reading a lot of forums, most people tend to think that once the carbs are set, you can leave them alone for a period of time.

 

Regards

Rob

Hey Albert, so you are getting your carbs setup every 2 years? Is this standard or just something you do. I'm interested as reading a lot of forums, most people tend to think that once the carbs are set, you can leave them alone for a period of time.

 

Regards

Rob

 

A small 30 euro tune (half an hour of time) for the carbs should be done every year or, better, twice a year (when hot and when cold), if you are looking for perfection. But usually once a year or once two years is enough for low mileage use. In my case the tune was necessary because a mechanic tried to do what he had not so we had to repair his errors. Carburators specialist Sgarbi always tells me this: when you tune a carb, you know that the engine will work well for that day, but it's not sure it will work well the next day or with a different weather or temperature.

 

ciao

OK, many thanks

R

A small 30 euro tune (half an hour of time) for the carbs should be done every year or, better, twice a year (when hot and when cold), if you are looking for perfection. But usually once a year or once two years is enough for low mileage use. In my case the tune was necessary because a mechanic tried to do what he had not so we had to repair his errors. Carburators specialist Sgarbi always tells me this: when you tune a carb, you know that the engine will work well for that day, but it's not sure it will work well the next day or with a different weather or temperature.

 

ciao

Sounds like a big pain in the tushy to me!

Well clearly… if you are a racer…in which case air temp, barometric pressure, humidity and pressure altitude are all taken into consideration and changes are made to jets, air correction and aux venturis. But in the real world that is a 20 minute operation on a 4 cylinder race motor (think Cosworth)… on a 12 cylinder motor without ready carb access it is a 1-1 ½ hour job…for a 1-2% power adjustment…you know what… life is way too short for that

 

Paul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A small 30 euro tune (half an hour of time) for the carbs should be done every year or, better, twice a year (when hot and when cold), if you are looking for perfection. But usually once a year or once two years is enough for low mileage use. In my case the tune was necessary because a mechanic tried to do what he had not so we had to repair his errors. Carburators specialist Sgarbi always tells me this: when you tune a carb, you know that the engine will work well for that day, but it's not sure it will work well the next day or with a different weather or temperature.

 

ciao

 

Well clearly… if you are a racer…in which case air temp, barometric pressure, humidity and pressure altitude are all taken into consideration and changes are made to jets, air correction and aux venturis. But in the real world that is a 20 minute operation on a 4 cylinder race motor (think Cosworth)… on a 12 cylinder motor without ready carb access it is a 1-1 ½ hour job…for a 1-2% power adjustment…you know what… life is way too short for that

 

Paul

 

 

Sgarbi needed less than 30 minutes to tune them all: i was there and i was in a hurry too so i often looked at the clock. Of course it was just a small tuning, the car was already tuned last year, but someone did some mess with the air adjusment screw of the right rear carb so it did not work correctly. Of course there are people that never do carbs tuning as they do not care if there is some small mixture problem or if not all carbs work at the same level (yes, we are not racers so it's not a "must do" thing, you are right), but a small check once every year or two is not a bad thing for a car that has so many carbs.

 

Last year, Sgarbi needed more or less one hour to tune the carbs from zero at the very first start of the engine after a 4 camshafts change and carbs full rebuilding.

 

ciao

It seems to me that 30euro is a cheap price to pay to tune a stunning car in to the sweet spot. The extra few percent can make a big difference to the driving experience.

 

I have sat in Alberts car.

 

Bella Macchina

So...you can feel a 2-3 HP difference on a car that weighs 3400 lbs ? Then be prepared to spend the 1.5 hours every time you take it out, you know to maintain that "sweet spot"

 

Paul

 

It seems to me that 30euro is a cheap price to pay to tune a stunning car in to the sweet spot. The extra few percent can make a big difference to the driving experience.

 

I have sat in Alberts car.

 

Bella Macchina

 

So...you can feel a 2-3 HP difference on a car that weighs 3400 lbs ? Then be prepared to spend the 1.5 hours every time you take it out, you know to maintain that "sweet spot"

 

Paul

 

While the carburetors can be a pain at times what would you suggest one do?

 

Convert them to FI? Hang them on a wall? Stop driving them and just let them sit?

 

I don't hear to many Lamborghini enthusiast's complaining about the carb's on the Miura's.

Over the past 40 years I have used Webers, Delortos, Mikunis and PMOs on my race cars and street cars…so I know their strengths and weaknesses very well.

 

I don’t worry about them, because I do know how to set them up for whatever prevailing conditions are…but I only do this for my own cars.

 

However, I cannot imagine wasting time trying to “weather conditions” tune a Weber or Delorto on a street car.

 

There are plenty of old Lambos, Maseratis, and Ferraris in Montreal and when someone asks me to look at their “Webers”… I always suggest they…go and do a “leak down test”. And when I tell them a motor needs to be at no more than 8% leak or preferably 3-4 %...and theirs is 15%...why bother…carbs and ignition cannot fix mechanical problems in an engine !

 

Paul

 

 

 

 

 

 

While the carburetors can be a pain at times what would you suggest one do?

 

Convert them to FI? Hang them on a wall? Stop driving them and just let them sit?

 

I don't hear to many Lamborghini enthusiast's complaining about the carb's on the Miura's.

 

Over the past 40 years I have used Webers, Delortos, Mikunis and PMOs on my race cars and street cars…so I know their strengths and weaknesses very well.

 

I don’t worry about them, because I do know how to set them up for whatever prevailing conditions are…but I only do this for my own cars.

 

However, I cannot imagine wasting time trying to “weather conditions” tune a Weber or Delorto on a street car.

 

There are plenty of old Lambos, Maseratis, and Ferraris in Montreal and when someone asks me to look at their “Webers”… I always suggest they…go and do a “leak down test”. And when I tell them a motor needs to be at no more than 8% leak or preferably 3-4 %...and theirs is 15%...why bother…carbs and ignition cannot fix mechanical problems in an engine !

 

Paul

 

 

You are right, of course. But i HAD to tune the carbs as there were two spark plugs completely black due to a bad work done on a carb. And then, if you race, you are always full throttle so you do not feel and do not care if there are some small problems at low rpm. If you just travel at low speed with a vintage car (like i do), you feel every single air mixture imperfection and the sound that your engine does is not so pleasant like you would like to be. So i suggest to tune the carbs every now and then (once a year or once two years), just to ear a better music and above all be sure the fuel/air mixture is correct, a thing that adds durabilty to your old but precious engine. I mean that an 1% improvement could be very pleasant for your ears and very useful to preserve your engine, as if the fuel air mixture ratio is too poor you will wear valves and valve seats, if it's too rich you will wear cylinder liners. I think it's better doing it, but of course it's not necessary.

 

 

ciao

It seems to me that 30euro is a cheap price to pay to tune a stunning car in to the sweet spot. The extra few percent can make a big difference to the driving experience.

 

I have sat in Alberts car.

 

Bella Macchina

 

 

Thanks, mr Darth Sidious.

 

Hope to see you again.

 

ciao

Over the past 40 years I have used Webers, Delortos, Mikunis and PMOs on my race cars and street cars…so I know their strengths and weaknesses very well.

 

I don’t worry about them, because I do know how to set them up for whatever prevailing conditions are…but I only do this for my own cars.

 

However, I cannot imagine wasting time trying to “weather conditions” tune a Weber or Delorto on a street car.

 

There are plenty of old Lambos, Maseratis, and Ferraris in Montreal and when someone asks me to look at their “Webers”… I always suggest they…go and do a “leak down test”. And when I tell them a motor needs to be at no more than 8% leak or preferably 3-4 %...and theirs is 15%...why bother…carbs and ignition cannot fix mechanical problems in an engine !

 

Paul

 

I agree with what you are saying with temperature variations and the slight improvement in performance is simply not worth the hassle.

However the 5 liter 2 valve Countach engine is know to be a challenge while coming off of the idle circuit and crossing over to the main high speed circuit.

When it is not correct the car becomes a major pain in the ass to drive to the point of being a hazard or accident waiting to happen.

I have got my carb's set fairly good however I still believe I can achieve more out of them. IMO there can be a distinct difference with performance in this area alone.

 

 

I agree with what you are saying with temperature variations and the slight improvement in performance is simply not worth the hassle.

However the 5 liter 2 valve Countach engine is know to be a challenge while coming off of the idle circuit and crossing over to the main high speed circuit.

When it is not correct the car becomes a major pain in the ass to drive to the point of being a hazard or accident waiting to happen.

I have got my carb's set fairly good however I still believe I can achieve more out of them. IMO there can be a distinct difference with performance in this area alone.

 

+1, that's 100% correct.

 

Some tricks:

 

-let the engine run for some seconds at idle before turnig it off.

 

-change the spark plugs often

 

-check throttle linkages and bearings in the engine bay

 

-DCOE have a leather gaskest (on the shaft?): it must be changed every ten years or so. I saw them when Sgarbi showed me my old gaskets he took out from the carbs last years, i'm not a carb expert at all so i cannot tell you more.

 

ciao

If you just travel at low speed with a vintage car (like i do), you feel every single air mixture imperfection and the sound that your engine does is not so pleasant like you would like to be. So i suggest to tune the carbs every now and then (once a year or once two years), just to ear a better music and above all be sure the fuel/air mixture is correct, a thing that adds durabilty to your old but precious engine. I mean that an 1% improvement could be very pleasant for your ears and very useful to preserve your engine, as if the fuel air mixture ratio is too poor you will wear valves and valve seats, if it's too rich you will wear cylinder liners. I think it's better doing it, but of course it's not necessary.

 

 

ciao

 

I don't just travel at low speed, but Albert is completely right. I get my carbs tuned at least once a year by Roberto Grimaldi at Grimaldi Engineering. It makes a big difference to the enjoyment of the car when the carbs are just right, especially when driving in traffic. Grimaldi also tunes them with just a screwdriver and his ears.