Well, here it is...The "secret." I say that jokingly because there is no single speed secret. A successful induction system, suspension system, race car, etc. is the result of fine tuning. Plain and simple.

Most people that contact me in regards to a modified carburetor mention that everyone they have talked to is thrilled with the carb they got from me. Word of mouth has done wonders for the carburetor business, and I would like to thank everyone for spreading the word.

The reason that my customers have such good results is that their induction system is dialed in exactly for their application. I specify the fuel delivery system, find out what kind of exhaust system they have, what the elevation is where they live or race, and supply them with jets for fine tuning, and the information required to properly dial it in.

It would be easy to say that my carburetors are simply the best, but there is so much more to it than just what I developed on the dyno. I do believe that I have put more effort into my induction systems than anyone else, but that is only half the story. Tuning is the other half.

I talk to people all the time that run an aftermarket system like a Holley, or Dellorto, and they are not thrilled with the results. In most cases, the system they have is just not in a good state of tune.

The most common problems are running a huge Holley or Weber with insufficient fuel flow, or fuel pressure that is either too high, or too low. In addition to that, they have normally not spent any time dialing it in. Most have only the jets that came in the carburetor, and even if they had extra jets for fine tuning, they would not know what to do with them.

In my opinion, this is not the fault of the guy who bought the carb, but the guy/company who sold it to him. It is just not possible to put a carb in a box, send it to a customer, and expect perfection. There are many variables that affect the air fuel ratio, and these must be addressed. The most important are: Exhaust configuration, elevation/weather conditions, fuel delivery (Pressure and flow), and the porting in the motor. Once you get your new carburetor installed on the car, you are only half way there.

Years ago there was a 6 mile stretch of road here in Tucson that was built in expectation of expanding the landfill. Because it was not a "county maintained road" I could legally spend all day screaming a customers race car up and down this road. This was my dyno. The usual routine was to spec a fuel pump and pressure regulator, have the customer buy an assortment of jets if I didn't already have them, and then spend an entire day tuning the carb on this road. Armed with a stop watch, timing light, and a handfull of tools, great improvements could be made.

It started out as a test spot for a friend in Phoenix racing GT-3. He would tow the car 100 miles just to be able to spend the day tweeking. Clearly this was worthwhile, or he wouldn't have spent a good portion of his day driving. Anytime a major change was made, (New intake manifold, new exhaust system.) he would drag the car to Tucson for a day of tuning. This was a very successful car. He was an awesome driver, and excellent fabricator, but a big portion of the cars success was due to tuning.

Getting people to drag their cars out there just to tune the carburetor always took a bit of prompting, but at the end of the day, they were always amazed at how much faster the car was.

If you buy a one size fits all induction system without the appropriate fuel delivery system, and never touch a jet, you are bound to be dissapointed. Tuning is the key. It really is that simple. Let me give you a few examples.

I spent Labor Day weekend at Buttonwillow raceway with four carburetor customers running the PRO7 class. After installing the new carb on the 31 car, he came back from his practice session and said "It runs better than the old carb, but nothing amazing." I looked at the plugs, changed the secondary jets from 73 to 71, lowered the fuel pressure a quarter pound, and then sent him over to the skidpad to try it out. He came back and said "Wow, that's awesome!" I spent 15 minutes on the car, and the result was in his words "awesome!"

During the same weekend I was working with a customer who had been running my carb for a while. During one of the practices I went up one jet size on the secondaries to see how the car would react. After the practice he said "Take the jet back out, it doesn't pull the rpm down the straights!"

One thosandths of an inch on the secondary jet was all it took for the driver to note the difference.

Now imagine if I had supplied these guys with a carburetor jetted the way I thought it should be, and without specifying an appropriate fuel pump, regulator, and fuel pressure. They may have been faster, and they may have been happy because they had a few more horses, but how far would they have been from optimum? This same thing applies to street cars.

Earlier this year I was at Phoenix International Raceway, and met a customer who had just recently ordered one of my carburetors. His new carb wasn't done yet, so he was running an unmodified stock carburetor that he had installed just before the race.

The car was running poorly, stumbling badly out of left hand corners, and not making good power on the straights. Lowering the fuel pressure two pounds, and setting the timing was all it took to make the car fast and driveable. The difference was great enough that one of his competitors thought he already had his new carburetor.

The same weekend a guy in a SPEC7 car asked if I had any ideas for his car which was nearly undriveable out of left handers. It seems that some wise guy had added an additional stock pump to his car, plumbing it in series with the original pump. The result was about 7psi at the needle and seat at idle. I sold him a $30 regulator, and the car was transformed.

In both cases, the problem was simple, and easy to fix. Both cars were running poorly as the result of following the recommendations of an "expert." who could be more properly described as an idiot.

I can't even count the number of times I have made someones car faster at the track just by setting the timing, and fuel pressure. All the trick go fast parts in the Mazdatrix catalog will not make your car fast if it is in a poor state of tune.

Most of my customers spend a fair amout of time tuning, and that is at least 50% responsible for the success of these carbs. Because they recieve tuneable carburetors, with all the information they need to make the appropriate changes, they are fast. Do you see where I am going with this? You cannot slap a carb on your car and expect to be a speeding bullet. You must first make sure the fuel delivery system is up to par, and then make sure it is dialed in to match the requirements of the engine.

You can expect to install one of my carburetors (With the appropriate fuel system.) and go fast, but the final 10% is in the tuning.

Those of you who have my carburetor understand this. You understand why I made you buy that expensive pump, gauge, and regulator. You understand why I needed to know your exhaust configuration, elevation, and porting specifics. Given this information I can supply you with a carb that will run very well right out of the box, and with a bit of tweeking, you can turn your car into a rocket.

Many people contact me because the carburetors seem like a bargain, but some seem less enthused when I tell them they must also buy a pump, gauge, and regulator. That adds a bunch to the price, and now all of a sudden it doesn't seem that much cheaper than a Holley or Dellorto. Especially when you can pick up used aftermarket pieces for a decent price. The fact is that you need a real pump, regulator, and gauge for these systems too. Not to mention a handfull of jets which can get pricey at $5 a pop. If you don't have a proper fuel delivery system, and you never bother dialing it in, you have wasted the $600 to $700 you spent on the aftermarket induction system.

Making upgrades is never cheap, especially if you do it right. Expecting gobs of horsepower from any carb/manifold is just plain silly if it does not have the proper fuel supply. Upgrading the delivery system is an absolute minimum, and yes it does cost. The good news is that it only costs once. Those of you buying tires every other race weekend should consider this.

So there it is, the "secret" to a successful induction system.

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