HELLO MY FELLOW BOWTIE BROTHERS! SO THIS IS THE QUESTION>> WHICH IS MORE PERFORMANCE EFFICIENT AND CAN GO ALONG WITH PERFORMANCE UPGRADES ie..HORSEPOWER INCREASES THE CARBURETOR OR THE TUNED PORT F.I. SYSTEM SETUP?? ALL OPINIONS GREATLY APPRECIATED! PLEASE BE DETAILED..THANKS AGAIN..SEE YA IN TRAFFIC..KEEP IT MOVING..haha!

 

i like the tuned port injection.
but it does make everything harder when working on it. Pain in the ***.

 

Carb has less parts. Tpi or tbi have more parts. More parts = bigger headache.
Tpi is computer controlled, carb is human controlled.
Human controlled = human error.
They each have their pros and cons.

 

TPI does give you a better place to start from- a carbed 305 puts out quite a bit less, stock for stock, than a TPI 305.

 

I just made the switch from TPI 350 to Carbed. I love the carb so much more. The TPI was really touchy and never wanted to tune right. I had overheating problems and timing issues with the TPI. Changed to the carb, makes much more power and no issues to speak of at all. The only down side was that the TPI wiring harness was left in the car for ignition purposes and it make things look a bit cluttered. My car is quite heavily moded and the carb just makes all the mods stand out. Good luck IROCS ROC

 

I Like The Carb but the TPI does have more parts and More Parts= Pain in the ***

 

Depends. you can go higher HP easier with a carb than with TPI because you don't have to get a chip made for the carburetor. BUT, if you DO tune the TPI it gives you better throttle response, usually more power, and better mpgs. It does have more parts, but if you take the time to learn about it and understand what you're working with it's no more difficult to work on than a carburetor.
USAF, just because you had problems with it and couldn't get it tuned right doesn't mean the system as a whole is bad. Properly done, TPI really is better than a carburetor for most engines making less than 400 horses... and even so above that if you can modify it.

 

tpi is much more efficent and powerful but more complicated carboraters are simpler less efficient less power for the most part and there is a lot more room for error

 

I was a mechanic back when we had both carb and TPI. As for less parts I cannot say I really thought about it but a factory car with factory stuff in 1986 was a nightmare to work on. The motor would completely cover in hoses. Most where emission related and most were hooked to things that could cause problems. There was probably 10-15 GM part numbers and 30 ft of hose that just applied to the float bowl venting system. I would love to see a side by side compare of the part number but I bet a 1986 factory complete carb and all its sub systems has more parts then a TPI.

I realize you guys a mostly talking about adding a Holley or some other aftermarket carb but to be fair those are not doing the same thing as the Factory equip emission bound TPI. To compare a Holley carb to a TPI is like comparing a street car to an all out race car. Now if you compare the Holley Carb to aftermarket TPI system from Holley there is no comparison for a street car. The aftermarket system that does not have to meet emission allows you to adjust your fuel mixture any RPM it allows to unlimited adjustment to the accelerator enrichment it can even take into account the percentage you are pushing the throttle to switch to a different program that will get 20+ MPG on a 300hp car. All these things a carburetor can NOT do. So for the street Carbs are cheaper and they are simpler but they are not better. At best they are equal at wide open throttle as long as the temperature is the same as when you set it up
TPI has its limitation on the race track, but when on the street and unbound by emission laws and lack of understanding it is tuff to beat.