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View Full Version : Best Carb poll.....



Donziweasel
04-15-2009, 05:20 PM
While I know Carbs have been discussed in depth before, just wondering on a quick poll what everyone thinks is the best for marine applications.

Selection should entail 1. price 2. performance 3. tunability 4. ease of tunabilty and operation 5. longevity

I need a new one for the 540. Buizilla and I discussed it in length today and he made a good suggestion which I am going to take.

BTW, anyone got a Barry Grant 850 CFm w/ mech sec and choke for sale?:biggrin:

mrfixxall
04-15-2009, 05:43 PM
holly hp series or a berry grant..but a proform would be my first choice,dont know it they make them in a marine version which i made mine into one tho..


http://www.proformparts.com/

smokediver
04-15-2009, 09:05 PM
AED makes a really nice Holley based carb and can make anything you might need .

MOP
04-15-2009, 09:15 PM
Jim will have the most spot on suggestion!

harbormaster
04-15-2009, 09:19 PM
John, When you called today, I told you which carb to get.

I told you to buy a carb from Nickerson performance. They will make your 540 run better than it ever did. In my opinion all new carbs are broken. Nickerson performance fixes them to perform best with your particular engine.

VetteLT193
04-15-2009, 09:54 PM
I'm not sure on your weather and altitude because I have no experience but my BG without the choke is great starting wise.

I think according to the BG chart you should be in the Mighty part of the chart, which is the one I have.

Eddie has a 825 Mighty Marine Demon on his HP500, it's been kicked up a notch so I doubt you are much different power wise. I have read that you should run a bit smaller with a Demon than other carbs so it makes some sense.

I'm running a 650 Mighty Marine Demon on my small block. It isn't totally dialed in yet because I just don't have enough run time. adding the carb + a couple other things though added a few hundred RPM so I like the performance so far!

Mr X
04-16-2009, 05:26 AM
John, When you called today, I told you which carb to get.

I told you to buy a carb from Nickerson performance. They will make your 540 run better than it ever did. In my opinion all new carbs are broken. Nickerson performance fixes them to perform best with your particular engine.
I agree 100 %, I have delt with Dean before. he does the best work in the industry!

Pismo
04-16-2009, 06:37 AM
Twin Quadrajets on a tunnel ram......

ITTLFLI
04-16-2009, 07:04 AM
I cant answer what is the "best" carb but FWIW I will tell you I have run my Holley 950HP on my 540 for 4 years without any issues.

Donziweasel
04-16-2009, 07:18 AM
Scott, I tried Nickerson all day. I think the line is disconnected. I got a wierd noise when I tried to dail.

Last Real Texan
04-16-2009, 07:25 AM
+1 For Nickerson.......Keep trying the line, it will be worth the trouble.:drunk::drunk:

Carl C
04-16-2009, 07:55 AM
Scott, I tried Nickerson all day. I think the line is disconnected. I got a wierd noise when I tried to dail.

Maybe you have the fax # by mistake? I have no experience except with outboard carbs so am staying out of this. Good luck. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Demon though.

VetteLT193
04-16-2009, 07:57 AM
Maybe you have the fax # by mistake? I have no experience except with outboard carbs so am staying out of this. Good luck. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Demon though.

FYI: Barry Grant makes/is Demon.

Carl C
04-16-2009, 08:05 AM
FYI: Barry Grant makes/is Demon.

Well that explains that! :cool!:

Donziweasel
04-16-2009, 03:22 PM
Alright, spent some time with Brad from Nickerson today. Definetly has opinions on all three models listed in the poll.

He can build me a carb for my specs that he guarantees will make the 540 rip. Going to go up slightly on CFM for the future blower. Oh, BTW, he has some definet opinions on blowers too. He ain't cheap, but then again, when it comes to boating, what is?????

I can definetly saqy he know his chit.....

If anyone wants to know his recommendations for carbs in general, PM me. Let's just say there was some serious brand bashing....

mrfixxall
04-16-2009, 04:11 PM
Alright, spent some time with Brad from Nickerson today. Definetly has opinions on all three models listed in the poll.
He can build me a carb for my specs that he guarantees will make the 540 rip. Going to go up slightly on CFM for the future blower. Oh, BTW, he has some definet opinions on blowers too. He ain't cheap, but then again, when it comes to boating, what is?????
I can definetly saqy he know his chit.....
If anyone wants to know his recommendations for carbs in general, PM me. Let's just say there was some serious brand bashing....


i know demon was one of them:)

BUIZILLA
04-16-2009, 04:33 PM
If anyone wants to know his recommendations for carbs in general, PM me. Let's just say there was some serious brand bashing.... you may as well put it out here...

Donziweasel
04-16-2009, 06:11 PM
you may as well put it out here...

Alright, as long as everyone promises not to kill the messenger.

On Holley- From what I got, at least in my application (Victory Marine and Van Alstine also mentioned this), Holley carbs were not set up right from the factory for Mercruiser applications, especailly my engine. The secondaries are too much, blades are wrong, etc..... Basically, Merc took stock carbs and slapped them on engines without designing them for the engines. Doesn't mean they didn't work, just weren't right. He said, by changing a few things, mainly blades and secondaries, they will work much better in stock applications. Sounds too me like Merc was just too lazy to do some R and R into the carbs they were putting on thier engines, especailly the HP series.

On Barry Grant- Got the whole history of them and Holley and the resulting bad blood. He said the older Barry's are good, but very simple technology. He thinks (remember Jim, I am just the messenger) the newer ones utilize very old technology, and are junk. He said he fixes more Barry's than any other and they are not worth the money.

Edel was not discussed ( I was scared to mention it after the Barry synopsis:biggrin.:)

As for blowers, he said that all are pretty good and he has done a lot of carb setups for them. The biggest problem, whether it is Whipple, Procharge, etc....is that the people installing them don't follow directions to a T and while they can talk mechanical crap, they really aren't mechanics and don't really know what they are doing. Point in case, the guy who has never turned a wrench, buys a blower thinking he can juice up his Mustang over the weekend, and doesn't have a clue what he is doing. Basically, when you burn down an engine or a blower, it is usually because of poor installation or tuning by the purchaser, not a fault of the blower. I happen to agree 100% with him. Of course you might be the 1 in a 1000 who gets a bad unit, but most are user error.

Now, I know damn well many members have had great luck with Barry Grant and love them. I think a professional carb guy, who many here respect, also has some merit to his personal experience.

As for me, 2 days of talking to people about carbs is giving me a headache. I decided to pony up and have him build me a carb setup for my engine, for my altitude, and for a future blower. It will be a Holley body with his own internals and setup @ 850CFM. Gonna cost around 1000.00. That includes a lifetime warranty, access to technical help, etc.....

Whether you like Holley, Demon, or any other, I checked around and everyone seems to respect Nickerson. Everyone seems to recommend him. So, done deal.

And now you know the rest of the story, this is John saying........good day.

ITTLFLI
04-16-2009, 07:34 PM
Gonna cost around 1000.00. That includes a lifetime warranty, access to technical help, etc.....

Money well spent! :shades:

The Hedgehog
04-16-2009, 07:59 PM
Just to muddy the water, I have a friend that had a problem with Nickerson. He flew out to California to dyno his engines and it ran like crap. They fooled around with a whole slew of jets until he pulled the carb off his other engine. The other carb ran fine so he used it. He went back home and took each carb apart piece by piece until he found the bad carb to have a different sized air bleed. Nickerson did not want to own up to it.

Most else I have heard about Nickerson is good. I guess if you make enough stuff everyone will have problems.

I spoke to Barry Grant once. They did not seem to want to deal with me so I moved on.

I imagine that you will be just fine John.

BUIZILLA
04-16-2009, 08:05 PM
how's it going to work with a blower..

choke?

we didn't discuss the blower option..

BigGrizzly
04-18-2009, 10:00 AM
OK, Like Harbor master said merc carbs are broken to start. Nic is ok but like anybody is not infallible. They have an issue with BG, and I won't go into it but it is not real nice from either side. I like BG, but Holly works well too. The only thing I totally agree with is the size and the fact that people think they are blower mechanics, the mustang stereotype, that was stated. The old technology is bunk Nic has that issue too. This is carbs not rocket science. It is in the tuning and ventury size vs CID/RPM and engine setup. Nobody can set up a carb correctly for an engine they havn't seen. They can get close, but that is it. Now especially at your altitude, he is dreaming. As for the choke thing loose it. Remember I have had a blower carb engine for over 8 years and I am sure I have more first hand experience than almost anyone in the application owner department. So do what you feel conformable with, that is all that really matters. BTW I did not vote, they are all good in their own world. These statement are just thrown together by me this morning because I am really tired, so just sift through them.