Do any of you use fuel pressure regulators? I have a friend of mine that has one. He was going to use for a nitrous set up and discovered he needed one with an extra output so he said I could have that one and a pressure gauge. Like I have said before I am noob on this stuff but it seems that having one would be a good thing to know how much fuel pressure is going to the carb.
I also need to buy a fuel pump and water pump which will probably be Eddlebrock or Holley just because I know those brands and assume they will be easily compatible. Any suggestions on gph or psi and insights are welcome.
T
On a stock engine or even mildly built. You don't really have to worry about GPH, as virtually any pump, will put out way more then your engine can use. As far as fuel pressure is concerned most carbs can handle about 7psi maximum, otherwise the pressure starts to push the needle off it's seat and you get an over rich condition. The typical range should be 4-5psi. Just about all electric fuel pumps form Holley and Edelbrock will be set for this basic pressure, if they are spec'd for a carbeurated engine. So the use of a regulator/guage is cool but not really necessary. That's probably why cars never came with them. Hope this helps. JTS 71 Mach1
Ok thanks again for the info. I know even less about carbs than engines. I am having the one that came with the car rebuilt just to make sure things are fresh and working right. I guess I will see if my friend wants that regulator back or I will ebay it or something. I am still going to keep the gauge because it sets on some blue aluminum pipes that feed the fuel into the carb and looks much better than my old one.
Are the electric fuel pump better to use than the mechanical ones?
I guess it depends who you ask but personally I like the mechanical pumps better for a few reasons. One you can hear an electric fuel pump running so they can be a little noisy; two, they can be unsafe in the event of an accident because they can keep pumping fuel as long as there is power running to it even if the motor is not running.
You may get different opinions but I think they are more appropriate for racing than just good old cruising.
Just make sure your engine builder puts the fuel pump eccentric in or you will need to run an electrical fuel pump.
Excellent answer Mike you're dead on. They are much more suited to racing.
I was going by the fact he was talking about using a guage, and I assumed that meant an electric pump as there is no reason to use one at all with a mechanical pump. Guess I was reading to much into the question. JTS 71 Mach1