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Gearheads, like much of society, can be slow to embrace change. In the automotive world, advances in technology often mean considerable improvements in performance, and nearly every gearhead can agree that’s an admirable pursuit. But still we resist.
Changes to cylinder head design and camshaft profiles are areas where little input is required from the end user; they’re merely bolted in place and the owner can begin enjoying the benefits almost immediately. Improvements in other areas, such as fuel delivery, can be just as gratifying, but may require more finesse from the installer, or even the services of a tuner who specializes in wringing the last bit of performance from a carburetor.
Throughout much of the history of the internal combustion engine, a carburetor has been tasked with introducing a combustible mixture of air and fuel through an intake tract, and finally to the combustion chamber, where a spark ignites the incoming charge and converts that energy into work through the engine’s pistons, connecting rods, and crankshaft. As engines evolved, so did the manner in which they were fed fuel. But even with design improvements that allowed the carburetor to function in a wide range of conditions, it still remained (as many would refer to it) a calibrated fuel leak