What’s the cheapest carburetor you can buy, and does it perform? David and the Steves want to find out!
Roadkill‘s David Freiburger, Roadkill Garage‘s Steve Dulcich, and Westech Performance’s Steve Brul build and test every type of engine and configuration imaginable on Engine Masters. Subscribe to the MotorTrend App for $2 per month to start watching today!
Just because a carburetor is cheap doesn’t mean it isn’t worth bolting to your intake. David Freiburger, Steve Dulcich, and Steve Brul want to find out if three of the cheapest carburetors on the market are worth the effort. They’ll be testing for overall power and comparing price, appearance, and tunability to determine whether these low-buck carbs are worth your hard-earned cash. But they aren’t going to be using their favorite style of carburetor—Holley 4150 series—but instead are purposely venturing into unfamiliar territory.
The Cheapest Carburetors on the Market
Our three contenders are some of the cheapest “new” carburetors money can buy, and David Freiburger has done the research for you. All three carburetors in this test are four-barrel, 750cfm carbs and are being bolted to Engine Masters‘ pet 383 Chevy small-block that you’ve seen a zillion times on the show. This engine is known to make about 460 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque. Let’s get into the details of each contender.
Summit Racing M2008 | $264 Rebuilt
This carburetor was designed by Holley about 15 years ago but is manufactured solely by Summit Racing and resembles the Autolites of yore. The M2008 series takes Holley tune-up parts, has a one-piece removable top, and comes in multiple cfm ratings. The 750cfm model used in this test is equipped with a vacuum secondary, which Dulcich says is a strike against it. Vacuum-operated secondary throttle plates tend to be over-sprung from the factory, in his experience, and never fully open, to the detriment of performance. Another strike against the M2008 is the lower housings that interfere with the intake manifold on the 383. This caused a vacuum leak in the test before Freiburger figured out what the issue was, surprising considering this combination of intake and carburetor is one of the most common on the road today.
Edelbrock Performer | $301 Remanufactured
The Edelbrock Performer Series has been around for more than 20 years and is a hugely popular option, based off the old Carter AFB. The Performer is said to never leak because gaskets in the float bowls are above the fuel level. They are easily tunable and good for everyday driving and performance applications alike. There’s not much bad to say about the Performer series; the AFBs they were based on were the industry standard for OEMs in the 1950s and ’60s. Out of the box, this one is running a little rich, so Dulcich dives in to fix the fuel ratio and extract more performance with the help of some new jets in the secondary.
Street Demon | $355 New
The Street Demon resembles another Carter model, the Thermoquad, but is much smoother in operation and looks a lot better. This model from Holley is not a true four-barrel carburetor, though. The secondary bore is oval shaped with a notch that makes it sort of a four-barrel. The good news is this will fit on any intake designed to fit a Holley 4150 series carb and does not need a spread-bore intake. Brul thinks the Street Demon is a beautiful example of postmodern design, but Freiburger disagrees. The smooth top plate, though pretty, means you must take the carburetor off the intake to access the jets, making tuning much more difficult.
Testing Cheap Carburetors
Everything done to the carburetors in this test is applicable to any engine making about the same power as the Engine Masters 383, regardless of displacement or rpm. “So this does apply to your life,” Freiburger says. It’s important to note, however, the team is only testing overall power on full-throttle runs. Results will vary for part throttle and transition throttle driving. Freiburger and the Steves will be testing each model straight out of the box then tuning and testing again. We’re not worried about power and price alone, though; the team will be factoring in appearance and ease of tunability, as well. Which low-buck carburetor will reign supreme? Will the cheapest of the cheap hold up to the only truly new unit in the test? Will Dulcich, please, stop talking about his showering preference?!
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