Re: Alfa Spica vs Ferrari Webbers

[James Montebello <jamesm@domain.elided>]

On Sat, 1 Mar 2003, Paul  Misencik wrote:
> This is an interesting string, because it does seem a little strange how
> some manufacturers switched to FI early, while others kept carbs for some
> time longer.  I don't think carbs were necessarily a huge liability in terms
> of emissions in the early days, probably because emissions laws were pretty
> slack by today's standards.  Catalytic converters weren't mandated until '76
> or '77.  MG kept their venerable (but increasingly slow and ugly) B legal
> with a Zenith carb until it died a quiet death in 1980, and my mother bought
> a 1985 Honda Prelude that had twin carbs!

A great many cars continued to use carbs well into the 80s, with O2 sensors
controlling the mixture circuits.  These were semi-electronic systems.  The
difference between CA and 49-state regulations caused a lot of the smaller
volume manufacturers trouble, and forced a choice to either abandon the US,
abandon CA, or simply make CA models for the whole US market.  Tough choices
at the time.


> If Honda could make carbs clean in 1985, then I find it hard to believe that
> Alfa switched to FI so early purely for emissions reasons, but who knows?  I
> wouldn't be surprised at all to find that the reason was sort of a
> combination of emissions sensitivity and just good 'ol performance
> technology.  Porsche and BMW were getting heavily into FI in the early
> 1970's, mostly for performance reasons, so perhaps Alfa did the same, also
> knowing that eventually, emissions would require it anyway...

Porsche switched at roughly the same time, to a similar technology, so Alfa
wasn't alone.  People forget that fuel injection was considered an exciting
exotic performance technology in the 60s.  I'm sure a great many other
manufacturers would have switched if they could have justified the expense
to the beancounters.  The engineers won at Alfa and Porsche, and lost in
many other places.
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