carb vs. efi

[Clare Snyder]

>he'p me out here .... have a friend that's a died-in-the-wool
>Holley carb fan and thinks I've made a big mistake going to efi
>(I'm not racing)
>
>He's an engineer, has worked as a mechanic, owned a speed shop
>and raced for a number of years, so I regard his opinion.
>
>He argues that no top racer (NHRA is his game) runs efi.  I admit
>that's probably right, but the reason isn't because it's not better,
>but rather that it's too danged difficult to change at the
>track ....
>
>what do the Formula 1 guys (and others) do ??
>
>Like I say, he'p me here .... 
>
> - he says he feels the carb gives better atomization -- and I
>can see that a constant fuel flow rather than pulsations might
>(though the pulsations are at high pressure)
>
> - the efi gives better fuel control, I'd think, though that may
>not be important for racing
>
> - clearly port injection gives better fuel distribution -- but,
>at 8 to 12 k does it matter ??
>
>  ???? anyone ??
>
>Tom Cloud
>
>    Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're NOT out to get you !!
>
NHRA = Not Having Real Applications.
Drag racing uses either carbs or mechanical injection because that's what
the guys understand, and they can make balls of power - not having to worry
about emissions, driveability, mileage, etc. Even reliability is not a big
item - it ONLY has to go 1/4 mile at a time. For street use, EFI wins, hands
down, for reliability, driveability, mileage - no matter how you slice it.
As for better atomisation, I would tend to disagree, and port injection sure
solves the fuel distribution balance gremlins. Whenfuel is sprayed, at high
pressure, onto the back of an open, hot valve, there is no way for a carb to
improve on the atonisation/vapourization. The valve port swirl and velocity,
along with the heat, does a very good job. Now, if you are trying to
overload the cyls, for max power, high rpm, hang the cost acceleration, that
may be a different matter.