carb balance tools/corner weighing

[miked]

However, I kind of agree with what Steveww said at the time. It is a light car and the use of a spirit level on the bones and careful adjustment can yield good enough result. This is what is have been doing as the scales thing takes a lot of time if your floor is poor like mine.

Mike

Cut down magnetic spirit level.



And here is old link with the chat at the time.

http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14157

[alexblack13]

Hi Guys. Thanks again for the info. Two excellent tips /ideas etc. I know I might be overdoing it here and Just setting the car up height wise would be fine. I just happen to have fitted the adjustment capability and thought it would be good to set it as good as is possible. I am now thinking of taking it to a person I know who 'runs' a few people in Club Lotus up here at race meets various. He has I am certain the required equipment to do this, and set up the carbs for me (although I have the engine running fine) A more pro set up will I am sure help. I will get him to watch me do it and advise/teach as need be. See what happens!

I had a go at starting the little bu**r this Am. God it takes some doing when its been sitting for any time. I suppose its fuel evap/run back? I think... Takes a good battery and a jump from a spare to get it running. After that, say a day or two later, it fires up 2nd turn over. Normal I am told. Cold weather don't help I suppose.

Brrrrrrrr.....

Roll on summer eh!

[miked]

Alex,

Somthing I have been doing, when I remember, is to put my 1 foot (60 watt) tube heater under the sump. If I leave it over night it helps no end with the spin over and oil thickness. Just takes the chill off. Just a tube heater from the elec' wholesale shop mounted on bit of floor board (to slide under).

Mike

[Bill]

Elancoupe

Did you have to drill / tap the manifold or webber carb bodies to fit the Carbtune?

I still use the tube and ear method to reasonable success.

We got 2 feet of snow here in Lotus land (Vancouver Island) before Xmas.

Bill

[paddy]

God it takes some doing when its been sitting for any time. I suppose its fuel evap/run back?

Do you have a mechanical fuel pump? I have an electric pump and after sitting for a while it takes ~10 seconds to fill the float chambers (Webers). With a mechanical pump that probably corresponds to 20-30 seconds of cranking - not good when the engine and battery are also cold.

Paddy

[alexblack13]

Hi All,
Yep I have stuck with the mechy fuel pump for now but I am considering a change there. Sounds sensible..

Just to check this I have a spare fuel con' to the carbs and I am going to attach this to a fuel container and let this gravity feed the carbs. I will wait a few weeks to try this. I have it all set up.It will allow me to fill the carbs b4 spinning it up/trying to start. C what happens.

lecy pump? Whats best??

Thanks Paddy/ All....

[alexblack13]

Mike... Thanks for the tip on the heater idea. I will give that a try.It will take the load of the starter if nothing els.

TA....

[redskatejbf]

I have been away for a few days so I have only just read this thread but this is my experience so far - the colour tune I have used for years and found to be quite successful but I worry about the gas tight seating as the unit is quite deeply down in the plug recess. Its difficult to get the correct `feel` for the seating and worrying about stripping the thread in the head,the thread on the colour tune is short in comparision to the plug thread.
The Carbtune is excellent and easy to use, but I think you need a more modern Webber carb to fit the vacuum connections (these are standard on mine) but I think you could drill/tap and fit these on the older models.
I am fitting vacuum take off points on my Strombergs so that I can use the Carbtune on these when that engine goes back in.
A bit of kit that has not been mentioned is the Innovate Motorsports LM-1 Digital Air/Fuel Ratio Meter, I have not got one (I dream on) but I think this would be great for setting up carbs of all sorts. O K it might be overkill at around ?300. but I am sure this is the way to go for getting the AFR right and keeping it right.

HAS ANYONE GOT ONE, WHATS YOUR OPINION?

Regards John.

[twincamman]

a recent way to set up the carbs is to invest in a remote thermometer ---pointing the beam at each header pipe when hot reveals if the carbs are rich or lean by reading the temp of each pipe -have not tried it myself but am told its the bees knees ---but more money than a UNYSIN and about as accurate ---ed

[john.p.clegg]

John

Not got the LM-1 but the WBO2 which is even better or just as good?....used it for the last six months and it seems I'm running rich all the time....sometimes ridiculously rich.....good to know.

John

P.S. the infra-red thermometer is also a hoot.

[richardcox_lotus]

Following on from John's post above, can anyone supply a diagram as to where the Vacuum take-offs may be on the modern Webers. I've seen the necessary pictures for Dellortos again & again, but never for Webers. Can anyone oblige ?

[neilsjuke]

Hi Richard is it back then? your Webers do not have vac take offs
Neil

[stuartgb100]

Twincamman said:

"a recent way to set up the carbs is to invest in a remote thermometer ---pointing the beam at each header pipe when hot reveals if the carbs are rich or lean by reading the temp of each pipe -have not tried it myself but am told its the bees knees ---but more money than a UNYSIN and about as accurate ---ed "

Well, I must have been talking out loud, 'cause someone bought me an infra-red digital thermometer for Christmas !

Not having started the Elan for more than a month, it took a while ( < 1 minute), but when up to temperature, I took a few readings:

Nos 1&2 pipes showed at 170/180 whilst 3&4 gave 270/280 degC.

Now, either I can't operate the unit correctly, or it's faulty, or I've got a mixture/balance problem ?

Going down past zero now, so perhaps tomorrow I'll pull the plugs to get an idea on mixture.

Anyone else had experience of these things ? Useful, or just a toy?

Regards,
Stuart.

[richardcox_lotus]

Hi Neil - yeah just before Christmas, which means I'm running in now.

As you know, it's been a tad freezing last couple of days so not taken
it out since Sunday.

Good to be back in the saddle though - obvoiously now back into fettling mode - so catching up on all those old queries.

On my Webers (40 DCOE - 151's) - which are only about 3 or 4 years old, I have a component on each side of each carb body - topped with white caps. It made me wonder if they were available to take a vacuum take-off reading from.

My original carbs from 1972 didn't have these.

Rgds

Richard

[trw99]

A bit of kit that has not been mentioned is the Innovate Motorsports LM-1 Digital Air/Fuel Ratio Meter, I have not got one (I dream on) but I think this would be great for setting up carbs of all sorts. O K it might be overkill at around ?300. but I am sure this is the way to go for getting the AFR right and keeping it right.

HAS ANYONE GOT ONE, WHATS YOUR OPINION?

Regards John.

John

Keith (type26owner) used to post a lot on here and was superb at helping with carb problems. A search of his posts will fill in time over the New Year period and be very informative.

He still posts regularly, under the same 'handle', on the Innovative Motorsports forum. Go to http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/forums/index.php

Tim