29 replies to this topic

[86 Civic SI]

Here is some good advice on Weber/Holley carb set ups...

http://www.carbureti...eber/adjust.htm

http://www.aircooled...les/jetting.htm

Edited by 86 Civic SI, 20 September 2006 - 09:16 AM.

[87CivicDXguy]

I have a 75 secondary idle, one of the biggest available.  I think they only go to 90 or something.  I went up to an 85 and got a rich bog.  I think it helps to feed the CVCC part of the manifold because it is extra valve area with the CVCC valves, but you should be able to run with it completely blocked.  I don't know how this affects the breathablility of the head with the squish and quench zones and all that stuff.

Now that I think about your problem a little more though, it may be that your secondary idle is too big.  I had to go up and up and up on the secondary idle that makes me think you're too lean though.  Your bog may also be due to the secondary emulsion tube.  I got best results with a secondary e-tube with very few holes on the bottom and a lot of holes on the top.  To complicate the issue, I get monster top end with no holes on the bottom part (F59) of the primary e-tube, but the progression is not smooth, so I use the F59 tube for racing and switch to one with two small holes on the lower part for daily driving.  Tuning a progessive carb is complicated having four circuits operating in sequence.  Have patience.

As for the distributor, I haven't a clue abotu the weights, but I run the yellow banded hose from the distributer to the vacuum port on the carb and have the other hose plugged.  It works fine as far as I know.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for the jetting info... sounds like tuning those 4 circuits will take a lot of trial and error and a little insight until it's just right. The primary barrel has gotten fairly dirty from a few 55 mph backfires I've noticed too in the 50 miles or so that I've driven it since I did the carb swap... I think I'm going to play around with the timing a little more yet as well. Anyone got some extra secondary idle screws for a 32/36 they want to part with? Didn't see any on ebay and I don't think anyone stocks them locally.

[86 Civic SI]

Thanks for the jetting info... sounds like tuning those 4 circuits will take a lot of trial and error and a little insight until it's just right.  The primary barrel has gotten fairly dirty from a few 55 mph backfires I've noticed too in the 50 miles or so that I've driven it since I did the carb swap... I think I'm going to play around with the timing a little more yet as well.  Anyone got some extra secondary idle screws for a 32/36 they want to part with?  Didn't see any on ebay and I don't think anyone stocks them locally.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I just purchased a Holley 5200 jet kit which should be the same as the Weber 32/36. Once I tune my critter in, I can let you have the kit and the info for what turned out best for a stock 87 1.5. I just wish there was someone out there that had been through this before to pass on specifics to save a little initial trouble dialing in...

[Omega Mugen]

I'd go to the junkyards and dig around. I think Chrystlers/Dodges and Pintos had the DGV. If you want an exact list, I get one from my book. That's how I get a lot of my jets. I dig around until I find an Italian car like Fiat or Lancia.

[vaughan]

but you should be able to run with it completely blocked.  I don't know how this affects the breathablility of the head with the squish and quench zones and all that stuff

you should'nt block of the cvcc port. it is its owe little cumbustion chamber. it delivers fuel stright to the spark plug. witch is in a little tunnel in the cumbustion chamber. that being the reason i would want to check the color of your spark plug. i know a wide band o2 sensor is an acurate way to check your exshault gases. but by checking the spark plug you would know if your getting a good burn in the cvcc chamber to burn the fuel in the cyclinder . i am runing primary idle 70 aircorretor 170 emulusion tube f50 main 155 secondary idle 60 air corrector 160 emulusion tube f50 main 140 but this is with a si head and pistion at an elevation of 8500 ft so i would think that maybe your running a little lean on the main jets also if your looking for jets look on ebay type in weber jets or look up alfa 1750 he is over seas but the price is right it take a while to get them but he did me right also you might want to look at your primary and secondary ilde jets the see if they are the same or different sizes. if they are your primary will be a little bit bigger and is for a ict but he lists that in his auction

Edited by vaughan, 20 September 2006 - 11:03 PM.

[86 Civic SI]

OK folks, I removed the top of my Holley 5200 carb (initially set up for 1971 Ford Pinto) and extracted the existing main primary jet as a Holley 175 and the main secondary jet as a Holley 231.
I replaced the primary with a 159 from my kit and the secondary with a 191 jet from my primary supply. The good news is that the primary change made HUGE improvements in driveability over the 175 jet especially in the midrange but the secondary change gave worse results...heavy bogging with no extra power. So tomorrow I will replace the secondary with its original 231 jet and see how it goes.....stay tuned for being in tuned...

[87CivicDXguy]

Well, I've swapped the Secondary Idle jet on my Weber 32/36 from a 50 to a 65 (thanks Matt!) and noticed some improvement in performance but it still bogs badly (takes you down to 55 pretty quickly!) and backfires when I back off the gas after reaching cruising speed at 70. Bottom end and around town driving is just fine and it will go to beat hell all the way up to 70 and as soon as you try to maintain a constant highway speed it will lose power and backfire several times until it either shifts into a lower gear or you get back on the gas in that sweet spot right before the secondary opens. The secondary doesn't seem to bog like this in the lower gears when accelerating and seems like it goes too rich when floored at 75mph and then the temp gauge starts creeping toward the red until you lay off it for a bit. Currently running 140 main jets and am getting a new muffler installed tomorrow (to restore some back-pressure since the cat is gutted and has also been running straight-piped)... I currently have no spare jets to play with for the Weber DGV carbs and any insight would be helpful so I don't have to go and try to allocate a box full of various jets to play with until I stumble onto the right combination. I don't know what to change next, the air correctors, the mains or the idle jets or the emulsion tubes (how do you get these out once you remove the air jets?)... Any suggestions/recommendations for the 32/36 on the old Civic guys?

Edited by 87CivicDXguy, 29 September 2006 - 08:49 PM.

[87CivicDXguy]

Well, the new muffler didn't really make of a difference (I didn't think it would) except it's now a lot quieter. I'm still struggling with my Weber 32/36 and would really appreciate any spare jets or e-tubes you might want to part with since it's not very driveable the way it is.
I changed ports on the distributor vacuum advance unit feeding off the carb thinking that was for sure what's causing the backfiring and bogging at times... usually only after I let up on the gas once I've reached 65mph. It did seem to help a little on the take-offs but doesn't seem to have the upper rpm power it did before. Maybe I should try using both of those spigots on the advance and run the other right to the intake?
It sounds to me like the carb is kind hissing or sucking more air and getting lean at the point where I back off the accelerator a little in an attempt to hold a steady speed but it goes away if you give it more gas (obviously) but if I floor it all the way down, it seems too rich and bogs some more until you let off a little or it will overheat and dump coolant! Anyone got an extra air/fuel gauge for sale?
I'm becoming kinda frustrated with this thing and can't even rely on it enough to drive it anymore until I get this problem figured out... The carb is still pretty much set up with the factory jetting and the main mixture screw is exactly 1-1/2 turns out like it should be to get lean best idle which tells me that the 140 main jets are about right for my 16-valve EW1 motor.
I've got new fuel filters and a new fuel pump as well as new plugs, cap, rotor and wires on it too so those shouldn't be an issue here...
The backfiring, stumbling, and overheating is really starting to piss me off and make me think there is something fishy with my distributor as well and I'm going to check the values on the internals sometime this weekend and get a look at the weights inside too. C'mon guys, I can't be the only one with this setup who's had these kinds of problems... some jets & e-tubes to play with would help too!!!

[87CivicDXguy]

Well, I went and re-adjusted my timing a bit and swapped air correctors on the Weber and noticed a dramatic improvement with less backfiring when I try to maintain cruising speed. I put the 160 in the primary and the 170 in the secondary since I know that as soon as the secondary butterfly opens that it will go way rich and bog down. Under heavy acceleration, I can currently match the 0-70mph time of my quite strong-running '95 Blazer with a rebuilt 225 HP Vortec 4.3!!! There are still some things on the 32/36 that I should be able to get working even better with proper jetting... I'm going to order some jets tonight on ebay to play around with since no one around here has any.
I'm still running 140 mains but I think I'll end up going down to 120 or so on the secondary and see what happens... I'll post my jetting results when I get it tuned the way I'd like and am satisfied with the overall performance... I know that the same setup on the same motors can run well with different jetting but hopefully all this will help give others a good starting point when doing this conversion!

[Omega Mugen]

Now, you're talking like a pimp!

[87CivicDXguy]

Now, you're talking like a pimp!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Pimpin' ain't easy!!!

[87CivicDXguy]

Well I got all the jets I needed through ebay from a guy way over in Italy but now it's nearly winter here and I've put my little Civic away in my rear garage till springtime since I don't think it would do too well in the snow here! Besides, it would just be another vehicle to have to shovel out of the driveway all winter.

Hopefully some of you guys running a Weber 32/36 will post your jetting info here as well. I will do so once I get it dialed in and out of storage in the spring!

[87 Wagon]

Well I got all the jets I needed through ebay from a guy way over in Italy but now it's nearly winter here and I've put my little Civic away in my rear garage till springtime since I don't think it would do too well in the snow here!  Besides, it would just be another vehicle to have to shovel out of the driveway all winter.

Hopefully some of you guys running a Weber 32/36 will post your jetting info here as well.  I will do so once I get it dialed in and out of storage in the spring!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Mail me your jets and I will work out this Weber/Holley extravaganza...I live in NC so the weather is good all winter long...where in the hell do you live where you have to close up shop so soon? I have some jets but need smaller ones to make the tune right. Send them here and I'll get it ...

[87CivicDXguy]

I live in North Dakota... most imports don't do too well here in the subzero either due to low ground clearance issues or poor heaters! It's been a pretty mild winter so far and I'm kind of regretting dropping the insurance on my DX but will play around with the jets some more in March or April probably... thanks for your offer to tune it for me but every vehicle is different and it would be difficult to jet properly without the carb on the vehicle it's intended to be used on!

[vaughan]

i live in colo at 8000 ft and love driving my wagovan in the snow. the thing runs great with the colder temps. studded snows it goes anywere. drive it to work everyday. last week it was 10 below in the morning no problems