Do you have baffles?, Need to know pros and cons Options

[914 Paul]

I've been told lots of autocrossers with 914's use baffles in their carbs.
I have been asking around and have only had a reply form a person on the East coast. Is anyone using them on the West coast? If so what are the pros and cons? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Brad Roberts]

Paul,

The problem is: most people are fuel injected and not carbed. I can only think of 5 cars total at the Alameda AutoX who had carbs and 2 out of the 5 where not running at the end of the day (5 cars total including 911's)

Ask Bill what he is running next after blowing up his 2.7 at Buttonwillow a few weeks back. (injection)

JP Stein is one of the very few people on this BBS who runs carbs on a 2.7 and autoX's his car more than 4 times a year. Very little difference between your car and his car as far as engines and setup goes. JP does have a much better ignition system, but even that is up for debate over the setup you have.


B

[Gint]

use baffles in their carbs

What?

What are we talking about here?

[Brad Roberts]

I installed baffle plates in the bottom of his Webers. The epoxy came apart. Then another shop reinstalled them while I was attending Parade. I install them in 2 barrel and 3 barrel Webers/Solex and so forth for race cars. The epoxy I used F-'d me on this job.



B

[Gint]

For the purpose of?

[Brad Roberts]

Hard cornering with Webers can leave the pickups in the bottom of the float bowls "dry" for split seconds of time. You modify the pickup area and install baffle plates in the bottom of the float bowl to keep gas over the pickups. Pretty easy mod spelled out in Bruce Anderson's book. Works well when the epoxy stays in place.


B

[Gint]

Thanks Brad. I've think I'd heard this before but forgotten.

Where's JP? Now I wanna know what he did.

[TimT]

Besides the baffle you should grind away the boss where the fuel leaves the bowl...There is a raised area around the jet well, use a dremel w/ a ball end cutter and smooth out the area....The raised area was there to prevent some of the spooge in the bottom of the bowl from being picked up, but it prevented fuel pickup in some corners. This mod+baffles+the float bowl vent mod, and all should be well (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[J P Stein]

+I didn't realize that these were the carbs that you did, Brad. 914paul hasn't been very forthcomming with information....now I know why (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
He did do the intake boss, Tim....as I recall from pics he showed.

Mine are not done. If I were to do it, I would make the baffle a tad oversize and "spring" it into place & make it out of SS. Gas proof epoxy???dunno, I thought most of em' were.....but I've been wrong before. Howza bout JB weld?. Not the kind of thing to guess at, tho.

Failure of the epoxy could get messy should it get into the fuel passages.....high probability, I'm afeared.

Since I've never had a starvation problem, I haven't had to worry this install to death. As I said when this came up before, I "think" most of thses problems are a result of improper float settings. The guys that need to do this are track racers with losto grip that find themselves in a looong high G sweeper.....I have absolutely no facts to back that up, tho (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Webers in general:
It took me a year of dickin around to get mine set up ...I hate to say "right".....maybe "prettyfuckin'closeenuff". The final piece to the puzzle was the MDS ignition.
I never had to change jetting from the original BA set-up. All them little twisty thingys were the problem. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

[J P Stein]

Paul,

The problem is: most people are fuel injected and not carbed. I can only think of 5 cars total at the Alameda AutoX who had carbs and 2 out of the 5 where not running at the end of the day (5 cars total including 911's)

AAUUUGGHH......propaganda.

Carbs rule......It's the twit turning the screws that fucks things up (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

Write this down: Learning Curve

If you can't/don'twanna learn, don't take the curve.
If you're gonna hot rod stuff, ya gotta learn to deal with it. Otherwise, buy a Boxster...plug in driver and play.

Carbs are THE simplest form of fuel distribution.
Anyone that thinks FI (in all its forms) is easier to set up is kidding hisself.

[Downunderman]

If you set the float heights correctly with the sight glass tool slightly lower than the factory setting (19mm??) they should handle just about anything without surging or flooding. After I had a problem in Adelaide in 02 I got the tool and messed around for the best part of a day getting them perfect. Haven't had a problem since, including a couple of test days at Eastern Creek, which has a long LH 4th gear sweeper. If it was going to surge it would do it there.