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Balancing Dellortos & Webers

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EuropaTC:
I'm sure the older hands here will already have either got one of these tools or at least have heard of them, so this is for anyone new to a car with twin weber or dellorto carburetors.  I recently saw a thread on Lotuselan.net praising this little gadget, and as I was fiddling about trying to get my Europa to run a little smoother (like it used to do in those rose-tinted days) I thought I'd give one a try.

So what is it ? Basically a small plastic gizmo that you stuff into an open dellorto trumpet and measure the airflow, thus allowing you to balance the carburetors with some degree of accuracy.  It's a more scientific method than the old idea of placing a length of tubing in each trumpet, listening to the noise the airflow makes and adjusting so they are all the same.

Does it work ? Yes, and far better than I'd ever imagined. After removing the airbox I had exactly the same readings on all trumpets within a minute of starting the engine, it really is that fast.  I followed the instructions about revving and allowing to settle (what you'd do anyway) but even so the whole job was over much faster than I've ever managed it before.

What was surprising was that I'd thought they were about right anyway having used my previous Gunson adaptor & manometer to set them up the previous week, but this gauge identified a slight imbalance which really has made the engine feel a touch smoother.  I think this is due to the fact the Gunson set-up relies on you holding the adapter in place while reading the gauge and making adjustments  whereas with this it holds itself in place and the readings are much steadier than the manometer tube.

Is it worth it ? I paid £40 delivered ($60 ?) which is a lot for something that is made of plastic and feels a lightweight tool. So in terms of tool for your buck, it's not impressive. But in terms of efficiency, doing what it says on the tin and time saved I must say I don't regret one penny of the purchase price.

They are sold in many outlets (including the dellorto website) and at varying prices so it's worth shopping around. It's not an essential purchase because if you have mechanical sympathy then I think you can do the same job by feel and observation, but if you struggle with balancing carbs after so many years of fuel injection systems, then it's a good tool for your workshop.

The pictures show the item, how it fits on the car when you're balancing the carbs and finally my previous method which does work but takes longer.....

Bainford:
Thanks for the info, Brian. I have purchased two types of balancing devices, though haven't tried either one yet. I'm replacing my entire fuel system, including carbs, this winter so I'll be up to here in carb tuning before long. I have seen this type of balancing tool online and was curious about its effectiveness. Sounds as though it works quite well. Do you know if this unit can be used on Stromberg carbs?

EuropaTC:
Yes, I think you'd be ok with this on Strombergs. There are 2 models (possibly more ?) but the one I got  was the SK and advertised as for use with  40/45/48''s SU/Stomberg/Solex carbs. They vary wildly in price over here so worth shopping around. One thing that is cute is that it gave typical air flow rates at idle (e.g. webers 1-3kg.m3) which is an additional pointer to you getting them set up correctly.  I thought mine was ok before but must admit it's better after tweeking with this, it's very smooth now, almost like a proper car.....    ;)

Brian

Bainford:
Cheers Brian. Thanks for the info. I'm going to look into one of these.

3929R:
Is yours an easier to use alternative to this type of balancer?

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