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How Getting A Good Carb-on.. Means Less Carbon..
Posted by Chris Gilmour on October 07, 2008
JK Carb Upgrade Kits. Spend a Little - Save a Lot!
How getting a good carb-on.. Means less carbon…
With fuel prices reaching almost comedic levels, there has never been a better time to look at your VW and figure out ways to make it more fuel efficient. Some things are easy (and cheap!) to do. Check your tyre pressures, don’t run with any unnecessary weight or accessories, don’t drive with your foot welded to the floor.. That kind of thing.
There is one area of improvement on most stock engines however, that while requiring a little investment on your part, will soon reap financial dividends - AND make you VW much nicer to drive in the process. The carburettor.
As with most things in modern mass-production, this is a component that was produced down to a price, rather than up to a quality. It was also engineered to cope with the lowest common denominator of ownership, the lazy individual who failed to maintain it properly, never adjusted it, never cleaned it.. and so on. It also had to be quick to bolt on in a hectic production line. So the stock carb is designed to be many things. Cheap, reliable, easy to fit; but economical and efficient? That was well down the list! In addition to the commercial pressures adhered to by the poor old factory carb, technology and manufacturing have come a long way since the ‘60s and ‘70’s, meaning that today’s replacement carbs already have a head start in terms of their design and efficiency, even before you unpack them.
While a replacement carb kit may initially look a little steep at around £300, the maths soon tells a different story. All engines are basically just a pump. By allowing air and fuel to more efficiently enter your engine, it breathes better, making it more powerful. Crazy as it sounds, a more powerful engine, needs a lesser throttle opening to work efficiently, therefore using less fuel. In addition to the car suddenly becoming much smoother and more responsive to drive, the fuel consumption will plummet. Often the difference between a tired old carb and its brand-new efficient replacement can be up to 8 or 9 mpg. Over an average 12,000 miles a year, this could mean a difference of between 500 and 600 litres of fuel being used. At today’s prices of £1.20 a litre, you could save over £700 in the first year alone! Even if you pay to have the carb professionally fitted (which is a pretty fair idea, by the way) It should easily pay for itself in the first year of average driving. Keeping both it and your car well maintained each year, should see you motoring off into considerable profit in year two!
So there you have it. A modification you can make to your VW that pleases both your heart and your head. Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it?
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