Driving a carb car from the reef to the coast

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smashedmink
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Driving a carb car from the reef to the coast

Post by smashedmink »

Hey guys (and girls)

I am in need of some advice.

I’ve never owned a carbureted car until the Fox so there are still some things I’m learning.

I’m planning a trip down to the coast at the end of the year and will be driving the Fox.

What I need to know, is there anything I need to worry about regarding the atmospheric pressure?
Would I need to do anything to have her run properly down at the coast?

Wouldn’t want to get stuck or have my car run shitty down there, no FI means no automatic compensation.

Any advice would be great!
Thanks in advance...


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Current: 1991 VW Fox 1600L

Ex: 2003 Mk4 Golf GTi

132hp/98.5kw & 204nm atw @ Oettinger Edenvale

Ex: 1998 Mk3 Jetta CLi 2.0


116.6hp/87kw & 179nm atw @ Stealth (Coastal + NF 5ron)
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ICE King
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Re: Driving a carb car from the reef to the coast

Post by ICE King »

No Issues , I nail my carb at the coast all day every day , it will suck more fuel if there's more air but only till a certain small extent,

If anything , you'll gain more power considering theres more air.
1992 Mazda 323 B3 - Masala Mods
2008 VW POLO GTI - 76mm DP + 63mm exhaust , induction, FMIC, Thanas Tuned
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smashedmink
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Re: Driving a carb car from the reef to the coast

Post by smashedmink »

ICE King wrote:No Issues , I nail my carb at the coast all day every day , it will suck more fuel if there's more air but only till a certain small extent,

If anything , you'll gain more power considering theres more air.
I’m assuming your car was jetted at and for the coastal air?

The jets will only allow so much fuel thru, so I’m wondering if my carb that’s jetted for the reef air won’t run lean...


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Current: 1991 VW Fox 1600L

Ex: 2003 Mk4 Golf GTi

132hp/98.5kw & 204nm atw @ Oettinger Edenvale

Ex: 1998 Mk3 Jetta CLi 2.0


116.6hp/87kw & 179nm atw @ Stealth (Coastal + NF 5ron)
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panic-mechanic
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Re: Driving a carb car from the reef to the coast

Post by panic-mechanic »

Yes it will be slightly too lean at the coast IF the jetting was actually modified for the reef. If it has the factory jetting it it's actually jetted for the coast.
Stephan van Tonder - Jhb - Putfontein Benoni
'05 Audi A6 3.0L TDI Avant
'09 Touareg 3l TDI
'13 VW CC 2l tdi (repair project)
'05 Touareg v10

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ICE King
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Re: Driving a carb car from the reef to the coast

Post by ICE King »

smashedmink wrote: Tue Jul 17, 2018 6:24 pm
ICE King wrote:No Issues , I nail my carb at the coast all day every day , it will suck more fuel if there's more air but only till a certain small extent,

If anything , you'll gain more power considering theres more air.
I’m assuming your car was jetted at and for the coastal air?

The jets will only allow so much fuel thru, so I’m wondering if my carb that’s jetted for the reef air won’t run lean...


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Nope , original factory Carb on my Mazda 323. Never had to tune or repair it since 12 years of ownership and had the car at reef as well.

Keep in mind we use 95 at the coast since the air pressure is higher.
1992 Mazda 323 B3 - Masala Mods
2008 VW POLO GTI - 76mm DP + 63mm exhaust , induction, FMIC, Thanas Tuned
MrMazda
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Re: Driving a carb car from the reef to the coast

Post by MrMazda »

I've driven many carb cars to the coast on holiday trips etc, never reset carb/s just drive it love the extra air down there.
VAG Fan
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Re: Driving a carb car from the reef to the coast

Post by VAG Fan »

When I took my Fox (same HM engine as yours, completely stock, never re-jetted the carb) down to the coast, it pinged horribly, especially at medium engine loads around 2000-2500 rpm, e.g. pulling up a winding old mountain pass in 3rd gear at 40-50 km/h. I didn't have my timing light with me, so I gritted my teeth and just kept going, gearing down for higher revs and lower loads. I presume it pinged because the previous owner's workshop may have somewhat advanced the timing to give it more oomph on the Reef. Or they didn't remove and block the vacuum advance pipe before setting the timing (which one should for the HM). I never bothered to check the timing here in Pretoria, because it never pinged. It was a nasty surprise at the coast.

The least you should do, is get as much octane into your tank as you can.
If you have a timing light, you could take it with you and retard the timing by a few degrees once you get there.
Even better, you could check the timing before you leave. According to the German spec sheet I have, it should be 6° BTDC @ 950 rpm, without vacuum advance.
Centrifugal advance, also without vacuum advance, should be
... 12-17° BTDC @ 2000 rpm (i.e. a total of 18-23° if you've already set the basic timing to 6° BTDC)
... 33-37° BTDC @ 4400 rpm (i.e. a total of 39-43° if you've already set the basic timing to 6° BTDC)
Mark R.
- - - - - - - - - -
2004 VW Golf TDI, type 1J, AHF, 317k (2016-current) --- daily
1990 VW Fox, type 16, HM, 304k (2005-current) --- spare runaround
Previous:
1992 Audi 500 SE, type C4, AAR (2001-2020) --- nice while it lasted
1983 VW Golf GTS, type 17, FR (1992-2005) --- most fun car I've ever had
1978 Audi 100 GLS 5E, type 43, WC (1991-92) --- died in the side of a Rekord who cut me off
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smashedmink
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Re: Driving a carb car from the reef to the coast

Post by smashedmink »

panic-mechanic wrote:Yes it will be slightly too lean at the coast IF the jetting was actually modified for the reef. If it has the factory jetting it it's actually jetted for the coast.
I did have the carb reconditioned at SP Carbs in kempton park about a year ago so I’m hoping they replaced the jets with the standard sizes in that case... thanks for the advice Panic!


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Current: 1991 VW Fox 1600L

Ex: 2003 Mk4 Golf GTi

132hp/98.5kw & 204nm atw @ Oettinger Edenvale

Ex: 1998 Mk3 Jetta CLi 2.0


116.6hp/87kw & 179nm atw @ Stealth (Coastal + NF 5ron)
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smashedmink
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Re: Driving a carb car from the reef to the coast

Post by smashedmink »

ICE King wrote:
smashedmink wrote: Tue Jul 17, 2018 6:24 pm
ICE King wrote:No Issues , I nail my carb at the coast all day every day , it will suck more fuel if there's more air but only till a certain small extent,

If anything , you'll gain more power considering theres more air.
I’m assuming your car was jetted at and for the coastal air?

The jets will only allow so much fuel thru, so I’m wondering if my carb that’s jetted for the reef air won’t run lean...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Nope , original factory Carb on my Mazda 323. Never had to tune or repair it since 12 years of ownership and had the car at reef as well.

Keep in mind we use 95 at the coast since the air pressure is higher.
I also only use 95 at the reef for extra unicorns ImageImage


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Current: 1991 VW Fox 1600L

Ex: 2003 Mk4 Golf GTi

132hp/98.5kw & 204nm atw @ Oettinger Edenvale

Ex: 1998 Mk3 Jetta CLi 2.0


116.6hp/87kw & 179nm atw @ Stealth (Coastal + NF 5ron)
User avatar
smashedmink
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Posts: 726
Registered for: 10 years 8 months
Car Make: VW
Car Model: VW Fox
Membership No: 1929
Location: Roodepoort

Re: Driving a carb car from the reef to the coast

Post by smashedmink »

VAG Fan wrote:When I took my Fox (same HM engine as yours, completely stock, never re-jetted the carb) down to the coast, it pinged horribly, especially at medium engine loads around 2000-2500 rpm, e.g. pulling up a winding old mountain pass in 3rd gear at 40-50 km/h. I didn't have my timing light with me, so I gritted my teeth and just kept going, gearing down for higher revs and lower loads. I presume it pinged because the previous owner's workshop may have somewhat advanced the timing to give it more oomph on the Reef. Or they didn't remove and block the vacuum advance pipe before setting the timing (which one should for the HM). I never bothered to check the timing here in Pretoria, because it never pinged. It was a nasty surprise at the coast.

The least you should do, is get as much octane into your tank as you can.
If you have a timing light, you could take it with you and retard the timing by a few degrees once you get there.
Even better, you could check the timing before you leave. According to the German spec sheet I have, it should be 6° BTDC @ 950 rpm, without vacuum advance.
Centrifugal advance, also without vacuum advance, should be
... 12-17° BTDC @ 2000 rpm (i.e. a total of 18-23° if you've already set the basic timing to 6° BTDC)
... 33-37° BTDC @ 4400 rpm (i.e. a total of 39-43° if you've already set the basic timing to 6° BTDC)
Thanx for the advice! I’ve got a timing light so I’ll take it down with me, I guess apart from literally swapping out the jets, adjusting the ignition timing is all I could do in the case of any problems.

Let’s hope for the best!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Current: 1991 VW Fox 1600L

Ex: 2003 Mk4 Golf GTi

132hp/98.5kw & 204nm atw @ Oettinger Edenvale

Ex: 1998 Mk3 Jetta CLi 2.0


116.6hp/87kw & 179nm atw @ Stealth (Coastal + NF 5ron)
MrMazda
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Re: Driving a carb car from the reef to the coast

Post by MrMazda »

The only carb fitted cars I ever driven down to the coast were all Mazda just& just filled with higher octane fuel as soon as its available (in the old days)
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smashedmink
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Re: Driving a carb car from the reef to the coast

Post by smashedmink »

MrMazda wrote:The only carb fitted cars I ever driven down to the coast were all Mazda just& just filled with higher octane fuel as soon as its available (in the old days)
Pity we don’t get 98 at the coast anymore


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Current: 1991 VW Fox 1600L

Ex: 2003 Mk4 Golf GTi

132hp/98.5kw & 204nm atw @ Oettinger Edenvale

Ex: 1998 Mk3 Jetta CLi 2.0


116.6hp/87kw & 179nm atw @ Stealth (Coastal + NF 5ron)
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panic-mechanic
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Re: Driving a carb car from the reef to the coast

Post by panic-mechanic »

unless specifically tuned for 95 up at the reef there is no advantage to using 95 as that setup cannot compensate for the octane. So you are really just wasting money.
Stephan van Tonder - Jhb - Putfontein Benoni
'05 Audi A6 3.0L TDI Avant
'09 Touareg 3l TDI
'13 VW CC 2l tdi (repair project)
'05 Touareg v10

Perfect Power dealer. I do dyno tuning.
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