The Good Old Carburetor: Is It Making a Comeback?

In recent years, it's surprising to see how many motorcycles still rely on ancient technology – the carburetor. Electronic fuel injection has become the norm, touted for its precision, consistency, and lower emissions. However, there are some reasons why modern-day motorcycles are sticking with these old-fashioned devices.

The Zebra, a leading insurance provider, sponsors this video, which aims to explore if the carburetor is due for a comeback. Esquire Money, a seasoned enthusiast, begins by introducing himself as a lover of saving money and offers The Zebra's free comparison tool to find the best insurance quotes.

Esquire Money explains that The Zebra doesn't discriminate between insurance companies, ensuring users receive the best deal possible. He encourages viewers to compare quotes using this tool, which could save them over $400 per year on car insurance.

However, Mr. Transparent, a mysterious figure who claims Esquire Money is part of a larger universe, decides to shed some light on why carburetors are still used today. Contrary to popular belief, he reveals that modern cars and motorcycles don't necessarily need electronic fuel injection systems.

The venturi effect, which involves passing air through a narrow tube to speed it up, plays a crucial role in carburetion. This principle, combined with a fuel reservoir and a connection tube, allows for the creation of a fuel-air mixture that gets sucked into the combustion chamber.

According to Mr. Transparent, carburetors have served the internal combustion engine well over a century, including being used in iconic vehicles like the Mustang until 1986. However, there are limitations with this technology. Carburetors lack adjustability on the fly and require separate carbs for each cylinder. Changes in elevation also affect the mixture, leading to running too rich.

Fuel injection systems offer more flexibility, but Mr. Transparent claims that they're not necessarily the best solution for every situation. He encourages viewers to consider the pros and cons of carburetors before making a decision.

James provides an analogy: "Better atomization means a better mixture, which means a better combustion – more power."

As we delve deeper into the world of carburetors, it becomes clear that there's more to this technology than meets the eye. Is the carburetor due for a comeback? Only time will tell.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- The good old carburetordied on the automobile vinemore than 20 years ago,but walk into anymotorcycle showroom today,and you'll see a few stragglersstill sucking fuel the old-fashioned way,through a good old set of carbies.(lever clacks)Oh, look at these beauts.What replaced carburetionwas electronic fuel injectionand it's known for being more precise,having more consistent air fuel ratios,producing less emissions,running smoother,makes more consistentpower across a wider rangethan a carburetor.So, why are some of thesemodern day motorcyclesstill stickin' with some ancient tech?They know something we don't know?Is the carburetor coming back?We're gonna figure it out today, let's go.(upbeat music)Big thanks to The Zebra forsponsoring today's video.(light clicks on)- Please, Mr. Money was my father.Call me Esquire money.You know, I love nothing morethan saving that sweet, sweet scratch.And that's why I use The Zebrato compare insurance quotes for freeso I can use my massivemoola on this throne.(hip hop music)Just like how I don't pick favorites,when I go to my 10,000 car garage,The Zebra doesn't pick favoriteswhen it comes to insurance companies.You're their favorite, kindalike how I'm my favorite.That's why The Zebra cares about findingthe right option for you.And they could save you over$400 a year on car insurancewhich means anyone can aspire to be me,Esquire Reginald S. Money.That's right, my middleinitial is a dollar sign.So, head on over to thezebra.com/bumperto compare quotes for free today.(intense music)- Esquire Money,you are part of a larger universe.You just don't know it.- Who are you?- I'm Mr. Transparentand I'd like to talk toyou about joining my team.(plinking sounds)- I'm gonna be frank with you guys.No, the carburetor is gone forgood in the automobile worldbut maybe not for thereasons that you think.And more importantly, all ofthose reasons I listed abovearen't as true as you might think.Now you can look atcarbs like this or thisor even this and you might think,they're painfully complex featsof mechanical engineering,but really, they're quite simple.All they're looking to do is to pass airthrough a narrow tubein order to speed it up.This is called the venturi effect,which in turn decreasesthe pressure insidewhich is the Bernoulli principle.Couple that with a fuelreservoir of some kind,in this case, we call it a float bowland a tube to connect thatfuel to the incoming airand as that air passes over the tube,fuel is gonna get drawnup, mix in with the airand get sucked into the combustion chamberwhere the spark plug doesits thing and Ka-bang,bang baby, we getcombustion. (slaps hands)Pretty simple, right?And it has served theinternal combustion enginefor well over a century.Heck, the mighty Mustangwas carburetored until 1986.You're probably thinking,that's still a long time ago(laughs)and it is, it's like 35 years ago.Don't ask me how I knowthat 1986 is 35 years ago.(losing sound effect) (people aww)But there are somelimitations with carburetion.With carbs, there's noadjustability on the fly.So whatever rate of fuel deliveryyou set them at, it's static.And if you want a differentrate for each cylinder,each of those cylinderswill require its own carb.Even worse, changes inelevation affect that mixtureas the air gets thinner and the carbscontinue spraying the same amount of fuelleading them to running too rich.So, that means everyoneshould be using fuel injection, right?Well actually, fuelinjection isn't necessarilythe best answer to every situation.But before we can go look into that,let's look at how it works.So, a high pressures sealsystem uses a fuel pumpand an injector to injecta regulated amount of fuelinto either the intake manifoldor in a direct injection system,straight into the combustion chamber.These injectors are designedwith a particular flow rate.The four injectors for a1998 Honda civic type R,they flow at 240 ccs a minute,while the eight injectorsa Dodge Hellcat requires,a flow of 600 CCS a minute.So pulses from the ECU determine how oftenand how long the injectorsspray for, as well as when,meaning you can time them to sprayat the perfect momentin the combustion cycledowsing the incoming airin a beautiful mist of combustion fuel.(kissing sounds) Misty baby.And this provides several advantages.Mechanical fuel injections startedwith diesel engines way back in the 30's.And it first became availablein gasoline engines in the early 50's.And it was favored for racing applicationsbecause it allowed for more intermediatethrottle response thanwith the carburetor,which needed to wait forthe pressure differentialto build before more fuel was added.And because today's fuelinjection systems are electronic,these mixtures can be more preciseacross the entire rev range,where carburetors arealways needing to compromiseas they use a system ofcircuits and jets to add flow,as you open the throttle more.Plus, injectors can deliverfuel to each individual cylinderproviding unique timing and ratiosfor every single one of those cylinders.For instance, to only squirt fuel,right when it's about tobe compressed and ignitedas opposed to a carb whichis always delivering fuelif a throttle is open.And because you canadjust for each cylinder,you can change the ratioto benefit cylindersthat might run a little hotterlike the interior cylindersor colder like the outer ones.That's called, tunability.Okay, so it seems prettycut and dry, right?So, why even make this video?Well, things aren't assimple as we made them seemand carbs do have someadvantages over fuel injection.First, the pressure differentialand longer flow pathof a carburetor actuallyatomizes gasoline betterthan spraying fuel through anorifice like a fuel injector.It takes time for gas to gofrom a liquid to a vapor.It has to be atomized andemulsified before it gets there.And with a carburetor thelonger the path the fuel has,it allows for more timefor that to happen.You have better atomization,means a better mixture,it means a better combustionwhich means more power.Or, as James says, "More power,baby". (lightning strikes)Now on top of that, it's often saidthat fuel injection willalways make more powerthan a properly sized manifold and carb.And that is just simply not true.You can optimize both systemsand they'll perform equallywhen it comes to making peak power,but EFI has a broader power bandand has better cylinder tocylinder fuel distributionsince she can determine anddeliver individual flow needsto each of those cylinders.Now, typically carbs are optimalonly over a narrow range,about 1500 RPM at most,whereas EFI performs wellover 2000 RPMs or more.And tests after test showsthat you can make as much powerwith a carb as you can fuel injection.And when you're talkingabout specific applicationslike drag racing, for example,when you're only looking to produce powerat wide open throttle,that broader power bandisn't as much as anadvantage as in a road car.Now on top of that, even the efficiencythat you get with fuelinjection has its own drawbacks.There are some significant shortcomingswhen you're talking abouteveryday passenger vehicles.With direct injection,the fuel isn't washing past the valveson its way to the combustion chamber.Now that's great for flow,since it doesn't have to make its wayaround the valve to get where it's neededbut it's not great foratomization or longevity.Let me explain.With port fuel injection, thefuel hits the intake valve,which helps with atomizationfrom both the impact and the heat,and then flows into the cylinderwhere it has an entire intakeand compression stroke to atomize.With direct injection,fuel may still be sprayingduring the compression stroke.And that doesn't allow alot of time for atomization,emulsification or vaporization.What are the differencesbetween those three?I don't know, let me know in the,let me know down below, Ican't teach you everything.Also, if you didn't know this,fuel is actually a cleaner,specifically, a solvent.In fact, one of the majorcomponents of gasoline,which is benzine, is thego to solvent for chemistsand without fuel passingover the intake valvesthe dirty air that comes with moderncrankcase ventilation and emission systemslike PCV valves and EGR systems,they allow for carbon and other crudto build up on top of the valves.And now, you've got just dirty valves,are in need of a cleaning.- Oh hey, it's me, Slappy valve.- Oh, Hey, it's me, I'm Dirty valve.- Oh, well that's cool,maybe we could be friends?- I don't know, do youlike a little dirty valve?- Oh, I think I could like a dirty valve.Let me just (slapping sounds)- Those are two characterswe created here in B2B,Dirty valve and Slappy valve.Should we make a valve T-shirt?Let me know in the comments below.Now the process of cleaning the valvemeans smoking out your neighbors at bestor removing the head at worst,so they can be media blastedwithout getting any of thatbad stuff into the engine.And the real kicker here,is that the dirty valvesmean that the benefits themanufacturers implementeddirect injection for in the first place,that higher compressionand better efficiency,largely disappear untilthe valves are clean again.So, what do you get instead?Well, you get some misfiring,potentially rough running,hard starting and poor fuel economy.So now suddenly carbs don'tseem all that bad, right?So, what are the real reasons the carbhas gone the way of Myspace?Well, comes down to two Cs.First is cleanlinessin terms of emissions.The efficiency really doesn't boil downto fuel efficiency for the consumer here.Yes, fuel injection is more efficientwhen it comes to fuel use,but where it really comes into playis with regard to unburntfuel, both in the atmosphereand in clogging up yourcatalytic converters.So catalytic convertersconvert toxic gasesand pollutants into less harmful stuffby catalyzing, that means increasing,the reactions that breakthem down and trap them.But cats are not meantto deal with unburnt fuelgetting dumped by a carb into the exhaust.They don't play nice with hydrocarbonsand EFI is just better,about using what they takeor taking what they'regonna use, than carbs.The second C is corn.Yeah, corn more specifically ethanol.Carbs do not like ethanol.As fuel ages, it turns to a varnishthat coats and clogs all the surfacesand ports in a carburetor.Most importantly, thejets that deliver the fuelwhen you need it.Now, that's always been a problemsince ethanol based fuels has been around.Our grandpas, they didn'thave to worry about this.It's only currently when westarted using corn in our fuel.Unless your fuel system isdesigned for ethanol blends,you're going to experience corrosion,seal degradation and O-ring failure.And all of that means,little pieces of not fuelfloating around in your fuel,and that's a perfectrecipe for a clogged carb.And it's not just amateur racersand mechanics like youand I who experience this?Oh no, Even Ducati got it wrongwith their plastic tanksreacting with ethanoland grenading their own fuel systems.And that was only alittle over a decade ago.So why do we see abunch of new motorcycleslike this, this, this, thisstill getting their fuel from a carb?Well, because they aren't as beholdento the efficiency regulationsthat would force themto upgrade their manufacturingand eat up the costof using an electronicfuel injection system.As long as they can getaway with it, they will.And since modern fuel systems can be builtwith ethanol in mind,they can happily chug awaywith their carburetorsuntil the government tells them otherwise.The old government's gonna crack down,they're cracking downhere in freaking Cali.Also a quick note, someof these motorcyclesthat I said are new motorcyclesare really just really old motorcyclesthat are still being manufactured.So, Yamaha makes a bike.Suzuki makes the DR-Z400which still uses a carb.That bike's been around forever.Thank you sharks for joining me today.There are two things you need to go fast,big power and light weight.I've spent hours ofresearch and developmentto bring you this.(hip hop beat music)(man claps)(all clap and cheer)- Thank you guys so much forwatching this episode of B2B.We appreciate you.If you guys wanna see morecontent like this, let us know.Hit us down in thecomments, that helps us out.Follow us here at Donuton Instagram, @donutmedia.Follow me, @jeremiahburton.Till next week.Bye for now.(gentle music)All right, Nick, we're done.You're not done, but I'm done.I'm going home to soak in a bath.(laughs) I know.I gotta put this carb back on.I just want everyone toknow this thing dumped gasand I've been sniffingfumes the entire time.So if I mess somethingup, blame it on the fumes.Oh God, this thing reeks.