Ben Thongsai
Bimmers.com, Chicago, Illinois
Tips
- Do you care about originality? If you do, the
stock Solex (either 1bbl or
2bbl) can be rebuilt and set up to work acceptably
well.
- Do you have to pass a visual inspection? If so,
it's limited to the stock
Solex or the one approved Weber 32/36 kit.
- How much extra performance are you looking for,
and how much are you
willing to put up with in terms of extra hassles?
Sidedrafts can be set up to
work well and behave very well, but it usually takes
a little experience.
- What other engine work do you have? Lots of cam
will only work properly
with sidedrafts, while a stockish motor won't
benefit much from sidedrafts
and probably will be better off with a regular
downdraft.
Preference
I like the Weber 38/38 DGAS for the best bang for
the buck on a stock/lightly
modified motor. It offers noticeably better
performance than the regular
32/36 without the set-up/installation hassles of
sidedrafts. This carb is not
jetted anywhere near correctly out of the box for a
2002. The intake manifold
also needs to be opened up to match.
The 32/36 DGAV (I like the water choke the best) is
a good standard
replacement for worn-out stock carbs, because it
offers decent performance
improvement over the old 1bbl Solex and a little
improvement over a good 2bbl
Solex. Jetting is not too bad out of the box, but
the intake manifold needs
to be opened up to match for best results.
Personally, if I were going
through the trouble of buying a new carb and
matching the manifold, I'd go
with the 38/38 and get a greater performance gain.
40/45 DCOEs are always the classic choice for "high
performance" setups.
Contrary to popular belief, if these carbs are
mounted on good manifolds,
have a good linkage setup (good cable or center pull
rod) and are jetted/set
up properly, they are quite livable. I wouldn't
bother with DCOEs unless the
motor has had considerable internal work (cam, high
compression); the extra
breathing isn't really well utilized by a stock
motor.
Approximate Cost
Figure on about $225 to $250 for a new 32/36 setup,
plus time to match the
intake manifold and install. The 38/38 is about $300
plus the same labor. Add
another $30 to $50 for proper jetting. DCOE setups
are more money. Figure on
$600 to $800 for a new setup plus installation and
tuning. Used setups
usually go for about half.
Mileage
It should remain the same as stock with the 32/36.
Figure on a 1 to 3 mpg
drop with the 38/38, depending on how heavy your
right foot is. DCOEs can
give you anywhere from 10 to 25 mpg, depending on
what's in the engine and
how hard it's driven.
Improvement
Over a good stock Solex? Little or no improvement.
Most Solexes by this time
are worn-out or improperly adjusted, so a new
carburetor will typically give
a better idle and better all-around driveability.
Modifications under the Hood
The 32/36 and 38/38 need to have the intake manifold
matched to the carb. An
adaptor is available to utilize the stock 2bbl Solex
air cleaner assembly, or
a small K&N unit can be installed directly on the
carb.
A healthy stock fuel pump is enough to feed any of
these carbs.
Postscript
The '02s that I normally drive are all tiis. :)
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