Carburated VS Fuel Injection

FWIW --- I'd go with fuel injection.
Benefits:
1. better starting
2. better economy
3. better performance
4. less emissions
Negatives:
1. more expensive up-front cost.
2. more complex to repair with the expense that goes with it.
    
New FI engines are very reliable. However it's hard to beat the
simplicity of a carb -- think of how many FI engines are running
around -- millions and millions of trouble free operating hours.
My current, and past three inboards have been carbureted, but
I'd go with fuel injection if I had the choice.

Orlando76 wrote: A common excuse people give for wanting EFI is bc they want ease of starting .

Yes, it seems there are some who feel EFI's will start better but I do wonder if they, and or their mechanic are carb challenged? I have never had any starting issues with my carb'd engines even with 20 year old point sets and one with side draft's that many feel are problematic. Many may feel carbs are "old school" but so am I!!

GMacLaren wrote: FWIW --- I'd go with fuel injection. Benefits: 1. better starting 2. better economy 3. better performance 4. less emissions

Grand,
Did you have the opportunity to go back to school? The "new school" that is!
Eddie expounded on the subject more than I did but I feel he did say it all. I also feel he's certainly a better at the subject than I am. I have the feeling this thread will continue on with lots more input. Keep the input coming.

I'm with the carburetor crowd, for three main reasons.
Upgradeability
reliability
Diagnostics

Even though you can re-map an ECM, it better be getting done real time by the guy that has your engine sitting on his dyno. if power is your main concern your better off throwing out the factory stuff and going with stand alone system running wide band O2.

Engine does not start. on a carb its one of a very few things that could be wrong and with a correctly stocked onboard toolbox you could be on your way sooner than you think. EFI good luck if your not 100% familiar with your system and have a multimeter onboard(should always carry one anyways)

all too many times I have seen a bad ground be the culprit of a do not start situation, that kind of issue can cause multiple things in an efi to send false readings. which can drive a shadetree mechanic bonkers.
That being said EFI does have its perks for the guy who doesnt work on his own boat and its great for the mechanics that that guy brings them to.
If it is in a saltwater environment I side with carb 100%

It would have run better with fuel injection, but I was trying to keep it ORIGINAL!

Merely that whenever something new comes along,someone always says it's no good. It was said with the car vs horse, if man were meant to fly, the internet will never catch on,Japanese cars are junk,etc. I have both and both work as intended. If I was buying new and had a choice FI would be the way I'd go. I happen to think PCM has remarkable engines with the horsepower,economy,reliability combined with a warranty that a carbureted engine cannot match.

81nautique wrote: Hot rods loud, ski boats quite... Old boats carb'd, new boats FI

Alan,
This one is old, it's a hot rod and a skier so should it be loud or quiet?

You asked when Correct Craft changed over to FI. It was in the early 90's and it was with the throttle Body injection and the Pro-Tec Ignition. With the Pro-Tec, in most cases you were likely better off to have the old carb set up and that is the cure for the old Pro-Tec problems is to go back to a Carb and a DUI ignition. However, new technology can be problematic at the start and things seemed to work out nice after the Pro-Tec and the throttle Body went away for more of a direct injection system.

With the help of TimB. and Joe NY, my carbed 80 ran great, but I do love my 2002, FI GT40 and so does my wife. She just pushes the start button and you are ready to go with a warm engine, to a point. I do fear the day I need to trouble shoot the GT 40, with the dual fuel pumps that can be problematic and all of the relays and sensors and such. You can not just pour a little gas in the carb to eliminate the am I getting fuel part of the trouble shoot with a fuel rail.

I just could not pass up the opportunity to own a 2002 Master's pickup boat.    

JMO,

Donald

What it all comes down to is personal preference and experience. Same as it goes for cars and trucks. The truth of it all is under the right light, EVERY car, truck or boat is a piece of junk. some are just more glorified than others. They are ALL going to have issues, they are ALL going to give you grief at some point during its life, and they are ALL going to require maintenance.
Someone's always going to know someone else who had a horrible issue and blamed it on EFI and equally, someone else is always going to know another person who had a nightmare of a boat that happened to have a carb and they blamed it solely on that.

in a perfect world those two people would never meet and never have this conversation. But this is the internet. And here we are haha.
Proceed with can of worms

I myself like them for different reasons. The carbureted have a better rumbling sound then the fuel injection. For instance my next door neighbor's boat is a Mustang 17. That boat sounds like a Scarab. Just an awesome sound to it. The fuel injection is nice because if you happen to use the boat all the time. For instance watersports or long boat rides. The fuel is a bit more of a sipper. What's been mentioned before keep the boat looking as stock as possible.

I think it'll come down to the looks and ride of the boat more so then carb vs fuel injection. Thank you all for your input.

Gary S wrote: You guys are too funny, I suppose you all grow your own hay for your everyday drivers

I lol'd

What surprised me the most moving from a carb to EFI in a CC was the increased fuel efficiency. It was a noticeable difference and that was even going to a bigger boat with more HP. Reliability I have experienced with EFI has been very good, put about 500 hrs on a GT-40 and never changed a single component including ignition/tune-up. Have about 600 hrs on the Excal and have only replaced the LP fuel pump. Gone thru 3 caps and 1 set of plugs and a rotor. For a regular workhorse ski machine EFI is tough to beat!!

Captain Nick wrote: I myself like them for different reasons. The carbureted have a better rumbling sound then the fuel injection.

Nick,
The rumbling is all in the exhaust system and not the fuel system. You may have noticed that newer injected boats are quieter but that's because the exhausts have some form of mufflers.

Gary S wrote: Merely that whenever something new comes along,someone always says it's no good. It was said with the car vs horse, if man were meant to fly, the internet will never catch on,Japanese cars are junk,etc. I have both and both work as intended. If I was buying new and had a choice FI would be the way I'd go. I happen to think PCM has remarkable engines with the horsepower,economy,reliability combined with a warranty that a carbureted engine cannot match.

LOL...

More Horsepower??? Really???? HP numbers are so inflated it's not even funny. Not saying that old numbers aren't either but I've driven new high tech 400+HP cars as well as 350+HP classic muscle cars. There is no way that you can convince me that new 420HP Mustang or 375HP Ram is truly the rated HP.
Watch vids of a 340 Six-pack Challenger whipping the s**t out of a new 425HP SRT8 not once, but six different times and everyone immediately screams the 340 was modded and the SRT8 driver didn't know what he was doing. How can new technology get toasted so bad????

Economy? Reliability? Warranty? Carbed engines never got 25MPG, ran for decades untouched or were warrantied????
Go to any enthusiasts forum you want, doesn't matter what ones, I'll wait......





Still waiting.....





OK, there you go.
Look at the predominant discussions about guys wanting to mod their brand new rides to add more HP (I defer to the above HP response that 425HP isn't enough???), cold air intakes, dual exhaust, headers, bigger tires, Blah, Blah, Blah......You get the idea.
The one and ONLY thing they're ever concerned about is if it will void their precious warranty.

Science has proven that A/F ratios of 16 or 17/1 provide the best economy however it gets dangerously close to being way too lean. On the other end of the spectrum, science has also proven that the most power is generated with A/F ratios in the 12 or 13/1 range. Manufacturers have settled on splitting the difference at 14.7/1. so they don't have these engines coming back on warranty. Contrary to popular opinion, these new EFI engines are still nowhere near perfect. They can be more economical or provide more power but they can't do both. Sounds like a carb doesn't it?

C'mon Gary, you're retired now and have lots of time on your hands. Go tune your carb for more power or more economy or even split the difference but please go tune your carb and stop this old school denial stuff.

Gary,
How many years "into the future" did it take you to dump your POTS? Wait, you still have it for the Uverse! (at least the drop!!)