Carburetor Vs. Fuel injection

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PeterR

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What are the pros and cons of a Lycoming 320 with a carburetor vs. fuel injection?
THANKS!
 
Harder to start. Reason for injecting on these birds is inverted flight. Mine always starts hot, but on the tenth blade, with my teeth clenched. Tell us what your mission is?
 
Thanks for your prompt reply.
As I understand your reply, you say that the carbureted engine is harder to start, and injected is better for doing aerobatics.
Is that correct?
 
Peter,

A carburetor isn't designed to work in a negative g environment. The float and float bowl, for example, are designed with gravity in mind and don't have a negative g mode to keep the engine running. A pressure carb may work inverted but I'm not sure. Fuel injection works at any attitude which is a benefit if you're doing acro.
 
Sorry - I meant that injected engines can be a pain to start hot.
Since you are just getting started, let me suggest a little 7ECA with 115 hp Lyc?
 
Yes, fuel injected is better for aerobatics. Carburetors work because of gravity. Floats and bowls.
 
If you plan to do acro with any meaningful inverted flight then you need not only a fuel injected motor (pressure carbs will work inverted but I've never seen one on a 7/8 series plane) but an airframe set up for it as well...flop tube/header tank, inverted oil system, stronger struts, etc.
The biggest downside to fuel injection is the requirement for 100LL. Car gas won't work...and given the current occupants of the white house 100LL might be going the way of the dinosaur.
Carbs on the other hand are good and reliable. They won't work inverted and don't do LOP very well but they're cheap to keep.

JMPO
Chris
 
PeterR said:
Did you say a fuel injected 320 is better for aerobatics?
Why?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
A carb engine will quit the second you push anymore than zero G. The fuel injection can run upside down.

Injected engines have their own quirks, and Bob is correct they can be a real hooker to start when they're hot.

I had a Cardinal RG with injected 200hp Lycoming, same as the Arrow and Mooney 201. Those planes are always entertaining on any hot ramp in the summer. There's a simple trick which works every time: mixture idle cutoff, fuel boost pump on, mixture to rich and back to idle cutoff in one motion. Boost pump off. Start the engine with the mixture still at cutoff. You'll need to be quick or use both hands (one was on the key, remember?), but the instant it fires shove the mixture in and get back to the throttle before you embarrass us all.

My carb engine cares not about cold or hot starts.
 
As stated above, unless you intend to maintain inverted flight, a carb will be the easiest to start, cheapest to keep running, and you can run car gas, which will make it far more economical, regardless of LOP operation.

Fuel injection is complex, expensive to maintain, needs expensive 100LL, and hard to start when hot. It does allow for inverted flight, and LOP. but you'll burn more money running LOP Avgas then you would ROP car gas
 
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