TuningyourDCOEstyleCarburetor

SoyouhaveaniftyWeberDCOEorS&KRacingsidedraftcarb,setup
foryourvehicle,you'rereadytochewgumandkickbutt,andyou'verun
outofgum.YouboltedonthecarbinplaceofyourSUsorZenith
Strombergandvoila!Youhaveworsegasmileage,andthepowergainis
slightenoughtobepsychological.Whattodo?
First,youmustdecideyourtargetbehavior.DoyouwantPOWER,
TORQUE,orMILEAGE?Aproperlysetupsystemwillimproveoneortwo
butprobablynot3ofthoseitems(youmightwinthelotteryifitis
particularlymisconfigurednow,though).

Icannottakecreditforthebulkofthe
wisdompresentedinthisarticle.IfI
couldrememberwhereIfoundthe
originalarticle,therewouldhavesimply
beenalinkhereandnotthefull
document.
So...sinceIhadtosomewhat
formatandrewritethelayout,Iwill
takecreditforthepageitselfandthe
factthatthisinformationisavailableto
whomeverneedsit.
Thecreditfortheoriginal
informationaspresentedhere,goesto
MikeKimballandJohnTrindle.Isimply
addedabitofformatting,interarticle
WWWlinking,andpagelayout.

Next,setyourtiming!Makesureyourignitionsystemisgoodfrom
oneendtotheother.Getridofthoseoldfouledplugs,checkdwelland
advance,andmakesurenothingisintermittant.Seteverythingtobook
values,unlessyouhaveafirmgraspofwhat'sbetterforyourcar.
OneissuewithWeberconversionsisvacuumadvancesignal.Ifyour
distributortookvacuumfromthemanifold,youshoulddothesamewith
thenewmanifold.Youmayhavetomodifyit,oruseaportintendedfora
lessimportantfunctionsuchaspollutioncontrol(pollutioncontrolmods
shouldbedoneonlyforoffroadvehicles).
Ifyourdistributortookvacuumfromthecarburetor,youshould
probablyjustignoreit.TheS&KRacingcarbdoesofferathrottleplate
vacuumportwhichyoucantry.Asystemwithnovacuumadvancewill
requiremoreinitialmechanicaladvancethanbookvaluesforpartthrottle
tractability.Startwith5degreesmore,youmayendupwith10degrees
more.
Finally,setyouridlemixture.MaximizeRPMwiththeidlemixture
screws,thenreduceidlespeedto8501000(lowestsmoothidlespeed)
withtheidlespeedadjustmentscrew.Tweaktheidlemixturescrewsagain
atthisspeed.Repeatuntilnofurtheridlespeedincreaseisobserved.
Youridleadjustmentscrewsshouldbe11/2to21/2turnsoutfrom
fulllean.Iftheyarefaroutsidethisrange,youridlefueljetisthewrong
size.Increasejetsizetoreducethenumberofturns,decreasejetsizeto
increasethenumberofturnsoutfromfulllean(allthewayclockwise).

Roadtests:
Usetimedroadtestingtosetadvance.Stopwhenyouareatbesttimefortherunswhich
reflectyourdesireddrivingpattern.Toreducevariability,useWideOpenThrottlewhereverpossible,
makeyourrunsonlevelground,anddomultiplerunsinbothdirections.Pleasedoallthisinanopen
areawithgoodvisibility,andslightornotraffic.Theroadwhichrunsalongtheriverorcoastlineisa
goodbet.Considerthatyouwantyouraveragespeedoverthecoursetobesimilartoorslightly
belowthespeedlimit.Thatwillattracttheleastattentionandtieuptheleasttraffic.Note:This
considerationiswhy060testingonopenroadsisNOTrecommended.Pickanarrowerspeedrange.
UseaSTOPWATCH,notaregularwatch.You'llneedtorecordtimestoabout0.1seconds.Use
abuddytotimeifatallpossiblewhileyouconcentrateondrivinginaconsistentmanneroverthe
sameground,andlookingforothertraffic!Trytorunallyourtimedrunsinthesamebasic
temperatureconditions(10Ftemperaturedegreechangeisworthabout2%changeinairdensity,
andsomixture).Also,trytomaintainasimilarweightinthecar(withorwithoutatimingpartner,
fullgastankvsnearlyempty,bagsofcementorcasesofOldClem'sJoyJuiceinthetrunk,etc).
Ifyouareshootingforbestmileage,yourtestsshouldconsistofsustainedrunsatthespeed
andovertheterrainyouplantouse.Testingwithanormalmixofhighwayandaroundtowncanbe
misleadingsinceyourmindsetaffectsyourgaspedalusage.Changesoflessthan2or3mpgina
normalmixcanbeascribedtopsychologyasmuchasphysics.So,youshouldfillthetank,driveat
least1/4ofatankatsustainedspeeds,andthencheckthemileage.
Nowyoushouldhaveasetofbenchmarkresultsforfurtheruse.Openuptheaccessportinthe
topofyourcarb,andremoveandinspectthemainjetassembly.Thepart/sizenumbersare
stampedonthesideofeachcomponent.Recordallnumbers.

DCOEThumbrules(useasastartingpoint):

VenturiSize:Ifyourcarbwasindeedsetupforasimilarsizedengine,youshould
beOKonthis.Increasingventurisizewillresultinslowerbutgreaterairflow.Thiswill
movethepowerbandUPinRPMandreducetorquedownlow(foragivenjetting).Let's
assumethatyourventurisizeisappropriateforyourengine.(Approprioateventurisizeis
roughlyproportionaltothesquarerootofdisplacementxpeakHPRPM.Butitvariesquite
abitwithcamcharacteristicsandsoiswaybeyondthescopeofthisarticle).
MainJet:StartingpointVenturisizenumberx4.InthecaseoftheMGB,this
shouldbe36x4=144ora145mainjet.
Aircorrectionjet:MainJetplus60,orinthecaseoftheMGB,about200or205.
Emulsiontube:Wewon'tcovertheemulsiontubeitself,aseffectsaretoosubtle
forroadtesting(emissionscontroltestequipmentwouldbemoreappropriate).
Idlejet:50forMGB(Mike,Ineedathumbruleforthis?
Altitudecompensation:Reducemainjetsize0.05forevery5000feetofDENSITY
altitude.Densityaltitudeisdependentbothontemperatureandairpressure.Although
calculatingactualdensityaltitudeisafairlycomplexoperation,youcanapproximateit
withactualaltitudewiththisforumla:
DensityAltitude=75feet*(OutsideAirTemperatureF(59FAltitude/300))+
ActualAltitude
ThisisacrudemeasureandyoumaywishtostickwithActualAltitudetoavoid
overleaninginwarmweather.
TochangebehavioroverthemidtohighrangeofRPMs(morethan1/6
throttle),changemainandaircorrectionasfollows:
Foragivenaircorrectionjet,alargermainjetwillflowmorefuelacrossthe
RPMrange.
Foragivenmainjet,alargeraircorrectionjetwillreducefuelflowinthe
higherRPMrange.
Ingeneral,forracing,theaircorrectionjetwillbesmallerthanthethumbruleabove,and
themainjetlarger.Thisallowsformorefuelflowoverthewholerange,andfurtherenrichmentat
highRPM.
Foreconomy,thethumbrulesareclosebutmayrequiresmalladjustment.Thequestionis,
whyareyoulookingforeconomyinsteadofpoweratWideOpenThrottle?

Optimizingforpower:
So,outwegotoourtestroad.Warmuptheenginecompletely(Idrivefor6milestogetto
mytestroad)andmakesuretheairpressureinthetiresisright,andfillthetank.
First,runanotherbenchmarkseriestogetabaselineforcurrentweatherconditions.You
shouldhaveenoughpracticebynowtoevaluateyourrunsforconsistency.
Themainjetsaretheeasiesttoworkwith,sowe'lltrythemfirst.Theyareinthetipofthejet
assembly,andhaveapointed"nose".Increasethesizeonestepatatime,andrunabenchmark
series.Ifyouwererunningtoolean,youwillnoticeadecreaseintimespentabove3000RPM.Ifyou
gotoorich,thesoundoftheenginewillchangedramatically,andtimesincrease.Gobacktothe
nextleanersize,anddoanotherruntoconfirmtheproblemandcleartheplugs.
TheaircorrectionjetsareintheTOPofthejetassembly,andrequirethatyouseparatethe
threadedportionfromtheemulsiontube.Begentle...graspthecomponentstoseparateinPADDED
pliersandwigglethemapart.Twistingdoesn'thelpmuchasthesearepressfitandnotthreaded
joins.YouwillREDUCEtheaircorrectionjet(ithasaflatnose)onestepatatime.Thismakesthe
mixturericherintheupper(4500+)RPMranges.Ifyougotoofaritwillincreasethetimes,and
maketheenginesoundoddintheupperpartofitsrange...Igotterriblegarglingandhesitation
reducingfrom190to180.(Ididn'thavea185).Switchbacktotheprevioussizeandretestto
confirm.

Nowwegetintoaspectsofcarburetorperformancewhicharetransientorhardertoquantify.
WemoveawayfromtheknownsettingofWideOpenThrottletogasmileageandthrottle
response.

Inhighwaycruisingatlegalspeedsinmostofourvehicles,thethrottleismostlyclosed.Thisis
becausethegearishigh,theRPMsarerelativelylow,andthehorsepowerrequirementis10%orso
ofmaximum.Thiscausesthemainjettobeshroudedandsomostofthegasbeingusediscoming
throughtheidlejetandprogressionholes.
Overallflowtoidleportandprogressioniscontrolledbytheidlejet/emulsionassembly.Flow
outtheidleportitselfisfurtherrestrictedbytheidleadjustmentscrew.Fuelispulledfromthis
portbyairflowthroughthemainthroat.Itwillbeasomewhattrivialportionofthefuelflowabove
idle.
Fuelflowthroughtheprogressionholesissignificantaboveclosedthrottlebutbecomesless
soaftertheedgeofthethrottleplateclearstheprogressionholes.Thisisbecausefuelisdrawn
fromtheprogressionholesbyhighspeedairflowpastthrottleplate.Asthethrottle
platemovesawayfromtheprogressionholes,lessfuelisdrawnfromthem.Atthispoint
themainventuriisbecomingunshroudedandmorefuelisflowingthroughthemainjet.
Duringhighwaycruisethethrottleplateisneartheprogressionholes.Changingflow
throughtheidlefueljetandidleairholeswillthusmostsignificantlychangecruisemileage.
Modificationwouldinvolve:
1)Increasingthesizeoftheidlefueljetmayallowmorepoweratagiventhrottle
opening,increasingtheloadatwhichthetransitiontothemainjetoccurs.Ifyouhave
largemainfueljetsforgoodpowerathigherRPMs,youwillfindmorefueleconomyat
lowerRPMsbystayingoffthemains,andontheprogressionholes.
2)Ifindeedyouhaveenoughfueltostayoffthemains,butstillhaveloweconomyat
cruise,youhaveeithertoolargeanidlefueljet,ortoosmallanidleairjet.Increase
thesizeoftheidlespeedairjethole.
Howdoyoudetermineallthisrot?Youneedtoseewhatyourmixtureisatyournormal
cruisespeeds.Theonlywayoutsideadynoistodoplugcutsaftersustainedoperationsatthose
speeds.Thismeansyouturnofftheengineandtakeitoutgearafterasustainedtestatspeed.
Coasttothesideoftheroadandpulltheplugs...comparingcolor.Youarelookingforachocolate
brownordarkgreyforallresults.Whiteistoolean,andblackistoorich.Lightbrown/greyisalso
somewhatlean.
Anoteonplugcuts.HighperformancesparkplugssuchasChampionGoldandotherhigh
temperature,antifoulingplugs,canmakeithardtoreadplugcolor.Youwanttohavethestandard
temperaturerangeplugsinstalledforthesttests.Inaddition,oilfoulingwillmasktruemixturecolor.
Ifyougetoilfoulingonyoursparkplugs,fix>thatThefollowingtestassumestheidlemixture
adjustmentscrewhasbeenproperlyset.Thespeedsarerepresentative,andshouldbealteredfor
yourcruisegearinganddesiredRPM(ontheMGBthiscorrespondstoabout2K,2.5K,3K,and3.5K
RPM).
Onemethodwouldbe:
5minutesat35,checkplugcolor
5minutesat45,checkplugcolor
5minutesat55,checkplugcolor
5minutesat65,checkplugcolor
Iftheplugsarepaleat35and45,andgoprogressivelydarkerat55and65,youridlejetis
toosmall,oryouridleairjetis"toolarge",oryouaretransitioningtothemainjettooearly.
Iftheplugsareblackat35and45,andgotowardsbrownorstayblackat55and65,
youridlefueljetistoolargeforyouridleairjet.Increasethesizeoftheidleairjethole.In
extremecasesyoumighthavetoreducethesizeoftheidlefueljet(checktherecommendedsize
foryourengine).

Ifyouridlefueljetisextremelysmall,youmaybealreadyonthemainsat35mph.Thisis
unlikely.Youwouldhavenoticedthisinthebenchmarkstepwhenyouridleadjustmentscrewwas
severalturnsoutfromfulllean.
Whenyouhavearelativelyevencoloracrossthespeed/RPMrange,fillthetankwithgasand
drivenormally.Withluckyouwillhaveincreasedyourpartthrottlecruisemileagenoticably!Your
mixturecontrolwillbebetteracrosstheoperatingrangeandyourenginewillbehappierbecauseof
it.
endofeconomyoptimization

Nowwegetintoanevenmoresubjectiveoptimization...
Throttleresponse.OnecomplaintfolkshaveabouttheWebercarbversustwinSUsisa"flat
spot"ordeadzone,orbog,onthrottle.SometunersadviseagainsttheWeberforthisreason.

Well,nowthatyou'veoptimizedthemixturecurveovernormaldriving/racingparameters,you
haveprobablyvirtuallyThemissingpieceofthepuzzleistheacceleratorpump.Thisdeviceshould
actuallygivesignificantlystrongerinitialthrottleresponsethanaconstantdepressioncarbwithout
one.
Whenthethrottleplateopenssuddenly,airflowslowsdownsuddenly.Bernoullitellsusthat
suctionintheventuriiscausedbytheairintheventuritravellingquickly.Whentheairslowsdown,
thesuctiondecreases,andlessfuelispushedintothethroatofthecarbbyambientpressure.
Inordertocopewiththeleanconditioncausedbymoreairandlessfuel,theaccelerator
pumpsquirtsadditionalfuelintothethroatofthecarb.
Whenyoumovethethrottleplateopen,alinkagepullsonaspring.Thisspringmovesapiston
whichforcesfuelintotheacceleratorjetchamber,andthroughtheacceleratorpumpjet,through
ameteringhole,andintothethroatofacarb.Fuelnotuseddrainsbackintothefloatchamber
throughasmalldrainbackhole.
Thereareseveralthingstoconsideraboutthissquirt...Volume,Pressure,and
Duration.Theyareallinterrelatedbuthere'showyoucanthinkofit:
Ifyouincreasethesizeofthemeteringhole,PressureDrops,Volume/unittimeincreases,
anddurationdecreases.
Ifyoustrengthenthespring,Pressurerises,Volume/unittimerises,butduration
decreases.
Ifyoudecreasethesizeofthedrainbackhole,Pressureisslightlyincreased,volumeis
increased,anddurationisincreased.
Sowhatdowedonow?
ThetypicalsymptomonabookvalueWeberconversionisabog
unlessyoubabythethrottle.Thisisbecausethemixtureleansoutwhenyoutrytosuddenlyinvolve
themainjetswithinsufficientairflow.Whenyoubringairflowupmoregently,theprogression
circuithelpsyouout,andtheairismovingfasterwhenyougettodemandingfuelfromthemain
jets.
Thisshowsthatfuelvolumeisinsufficentforfastthrottlemovement.Weincreaseaccelerator
pumpvolume/unittimemosteasilybyenlargingthemeteringhole(thisitemisaseasilyaccessible
asthemainandidlejets).Useapinviseandasetofdrills6180tograduallyenlargethemetering
hole.OntheMGB,Istartedabout77andendedupat69.MoremayberequiredasIgetusedtothe
difference.
Trytoreproducerealistictransitions,fromrealisticRPMs,inallthegears.Youmaynoticeasyou
enlargeatsomepointtheinitialresponseisgood,thenashortbogbeforethingskickin.Thismeans
thedurationistooshort.
IfyouseethisproblematextremelylowRPMs,youmaywanttoreevaluateyourrequirements.
DoyouneedtoSLAMthethrottlefrom1400RPM?Inanycase,stopenlargingthemeteringholeif
yourunacrossthisproblem.Goinganyfurtherwillrequiremodificationofthedrainbackholeto
provideabiggerfuelsupply.