Board logo

idiots tuning guide to zx9r E carbs
blakep82 - 7/8/13 at 01:12 PM

Got the engine running a few months ago, see the youtube link in the footer
Just on the edis for now, and it idles fast (no rev counter, so 2k at a guess?)

I've never done anything to set them up, and I don't know what was done to them before I got them

The engine idles fast, exhaust gets very hot very quick, and sometimes the revs gets faster and faster on its own. I suspected an air leak somewhere, but everythings all bolted down now and its not much better. I think the carbs are a long way from set up near right.

So, I'm after an idiots guide a rough set up. What screws to set where, needle settings (jets to be ordered later)
Pics of what/where all these screws etc are

Anyone got anything? Need to do it before I risk melting the engine. Engine is a x20xev btw


big_wasa - 7/8/13 at 02:12 PM

First thing is to get them balanced.


Scuzzle - 7/8/13 at 02:18 PM

When I joined up you offered to help me with my Megajolt Blake so I am in a position to return the favour to you with your carbs. I'm only 30 odd miles away so can pop round anytime to try and get them running better.

Not claiming to be an expert by any means but I've picked up enough tips and tricks with my own set to know enough to hopefully sort yours out.

I would suggest air bleed screw 3 turns out, main jet drilled to 170 and you'd need them balanced on the car with an airflow meter. You can adjust the mid range metering needle once you get the car up and idling, running smoother but usually one groove down from the centre is about right with some tiny washers either side to stop the slight up and down play they usually suffer from.


jacko - 7/8/13 at 03:58 PM

Hi mate you have the same carbs as mine zx9r/e
This is how mine is set up
air screws 1 turn out
the main jets are drilled out to 1.7mm
and the needles have very thin washers 2 on each under the heads
the air correction hole's have been blocked
My engine is a pinto 2.1 or there about

It sounds like there is a air leek some where to make it rev on its own
Graham


blakep82 - 7/8/13 at 04:38 PM

Ooh, 1 turn or 3 turns! I'd had 2 turns in my head somewhere, so after writing this I went out for a look and set them to 2 turns out (I think I got the right screws anyway?)
I think they were all over the place, all slightly different

What and where are air correction holes? And whats involved in balancing them?

Main jets I'll worry about another time, probably just buy some rather than try drilling them. They're not that expensive really

Scuzzle, thanks for that! I can still only get it running for a few minutes at a time, and not properly wired so not really ready for that tbh, its really just a very rough set up so I know I'm not damaging the engine


coozer - 7/8/13 at 04:55 PM

Idle is down to the pilot idle screws. Mains are for the top 25% of the throttle.

You need to block the air bleeds at the front ones circled here:



My mistake on the previous bit of duff info..



A grub screw and some loctite will do it AKA a Dynojet kit.

Pilot screws out 2~3 turns.

Set the idle to about 1500/2000rpm and balance them then adjust the idle to about 900rpm.


[Edited on 7/8/13 by coozer]


coozer - 7/8/13 at 04:58 PM

This is for a single CVK40 but much the same. You'll probably find the pilot jet screw off the side a bit.


jacko - 7/8/13 at 05:23 PM

The zx9/e carbs i have had different size jets in two carbs i cant remember witch way round they were two were 1.6 and two were 1.65
to drill them out just hold the drill bit in a vice and turn the jets with your fingers
the air correction holes you block are the brass bits inline with the main needle
Graham
ps not all bike carb setups need these blocking off
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/photos.php?action=showphoto&photo=Dscn0013.JPG

[Edited on 7/8/13 by jacko]


Scuzzle - 7/8/13 at 05:40 PM

Best to leave the air corrector jets until you get the car running. If you can find a rolling road with a gas analyser and check if the fuel mixture is leaning off up the top end then block them off, like Jacko says not every car needs them blocked off.

I have an air fuel gauge setup on mine which I intended to use to tune the carbs but I had mine on a rolling road and their gas analyser readouts were a fair bit out from my A/F gauge readings so I don't fully trust it now.


coozer - 7/8/13 at 08:11 PM

Just checked the 2 sets I've got, one of them the holes are open and the other set look like they have tiny holes like the single pic I posted.


puma931 - 7/8/13 at 09:18 PM

I took the easy option and got mine setup by Russ at torque tune. The best £150 I have spent!!


blakep82 - 7/8/13 at 11:57 PM

Lovely stuff thanks everyone
My carbs are a bit different to the ones in the pics above though? The airbox side is round instead of oval shape.

I intend to start with the idle, then the main jets, and lastly needles. Is that the right order? then the air correctors? What do they do?

Whats the best way to check that fuelling is right for each adjustment? Dont have money for afr gauges :-(


mcerd1 - 8/8/13 at 07:30 AM

quote:
Originally posted by blakep82
Lovely stuff thanks everyone
My carbs are a bit different to the ones in the pics above though? The airbox side is round instead of oval shape.

thats because the ones in the pic are from one of the other ZX9R models with CVK carb's
your model E ones are CVR's like mine and Jacko's


i got my carb's from bogg bros and I'm sure they told me that the jets were drilled to 160 and the air corrector blocked - but this was only to get the car on the road (I'm taking it back to them for a proper tune on the rollers)
they reckoned they would pass emissions in the meantime by just playing with the idle....


have you got an air flow meter to balance the carb's ?


40inches - 8/8/13 at 07:41 AM

Carb balancing explained here

I used one of these . Works fine, as good as a Morgan.
Balance carbs 1-2 then 3-4, then 2-3 to synchronise both banks.

[Edited on 8-8-13 by 40inches]


greed1 - 8/8/13 at 08:15 AM

How does that balancer connect to the carbs 40inches?


mcerd1 - 8/8/13 at 11:24 AM

^^ you need 4 little vac. take off's on the manifold to use that kind of meter


dave_424 - 8/8/13 at 11:53 AM

You can make your own carb balancer that is easily as accurate as ones being sold.

Get two bottles, fill each of them half with water.

On both bottles drill two holes in each cap for the size of tubing you have (vacuum tubing 5mm ish OD)

Have one pipe linking both bottles together with the tube going down into the water, then have one pipe coming off each bottle and these connect to the two carbs you want to balance (Balance carb 1 and 2, then 3 and 4, then balance pairs 1 and 2 with 3 and 4 using ports on 2 and 3)

If one carb is pulling more vacuum than the other, there is a pressure difference between the two bottles, and with them being linked by a tube, water flows to the side with more vacuum.

Adjust the carbs so the water isn't moving from one side to the other and you are done (it is very sensitive)

READ THIS: make sure the tubes that go to your carbs don't go down into the water. Also make sure that if all the water goes from one side to the other, that the pipe going to your carb still won't be under water. Faliure to do this could have your engine sucking in water

Looks just like this



[Edited on 8/8/13 by dave_424]


davidimurray - 8/8/13 at 11:55 AM

Be careful with air correctors. Having seen the comments about blocking them i did on my ZX6r carbs and they went ridiculously rich. Luckily I only plugged them with solder so drilled them back out and have been fine since.


mcerd1 - 8/8/13 at 12:15 PM

quote:
Originally posted by dave_424
You can make your own carb balancer that is easily as accurate as ones being sold.


you can make versions of that that do all 4 carb's at once

like this: (you need to make these ones tall enoug that the water dosen't get sucked out! )
i've also seen ones with all 4 pipes stuck into one large bottle as the reservoir


or this:



or one of the many other versions....

a bit of food colouring helps too

[Edited on 8/8/2013 by mcerd1]

[Edited on 8/8/2013 by mcerd1]


blakep82 - 9/8/13 at 10:03 PM

Wow, so interesting ideas for carb balancers there. Will have a shot at making one tomorrow
HOWEVER I suspect I really need to get fuel sorted first so it doesnt run too hot and start melting stuff

Important to mention I haven't got any proper electrics in yet. Most importantly temp sensor or cooling fan...

If I can be sure its near fuelling right when at idle I'll be happy that it can run a bit longer than a few secs at a time


luke2152 - 10/8/13 at 01:06 AM

quote:
Originally posted by blakep82
Lovely stuff thanks everyone
My carbs are a bit different to the ones in the pics above though? The airbox side is round instead of oval shape.

I intend to start with the idle, then the main jets, and lastly needles. Is that the right order? then the air correctors? What do they do?

Whats the best way to check that fuelling is right for each adjustment? Dont have money for afr gauges :-(


The normal sequece would be to start with -
main jets - for top end power.
Then the needles - mid range
Float height - low down
Idle screws (for idle funnily enough).

You can check the fueling for each adjustment by looking at the spark plugs colour but its a ball ache because you have to clean the plug again before you can do another check


blakep82 - 10/8/13 at 06:39 PM

Ok, so thought about going out to have a go at this today. First up, I need a manifold made. I had a go at making on years ago, and its really not very good. Then I remembered about the massive fuel leak from last time.
Carbs stripped and cleaned and the leaks seem ok now. Fuel was pouring out the main jet and air corrector

Idle screws 1.5 turns out (somewhere between the 1-3 mentioned above)

I noticed the main jets aren't in line with the needle? Is that correct? The main jet sits in the float bowl, at 90 degrees to the bowl flange They have 165 stamped in them, so seems a reasonable start. For now at least

My carbs sit perfectly horizontal due to the air box and chassis space. Should I be adjusting the floats for this different angle?


blakep82 - 14/8/13 at 05:22 PM

Well, had another start of it today.
Carbs all cleaned (the floats close the valves a bit better now, so less fuel leaking. Less...)
Idle screws out 1.5, and tried to tape up the manifold in case of any air leaks, which it turns out there is some quite bad leaks

However now it idles better, and doesnt kill the engine if you try to rev the engine a bit. And when it revs, its very responsive!
Still gets very hot far too quick though, I'm suspecting the remaining air leaks are causing that though

Hopefully I can get a proper manifold made soon, and get a proper wiring loom sorted so I can get the megajolt fitted.
Seems to be quite hard to get someone to do me a loom though...


redturner - 19/8/13 at 11:09 AM

I took my single seater (black top with R1 Carbs) to Torque Tune and they made fantastic job. I had read all the 'bull;shit' about drilling jets out but was also informed that Weber jets, for the 32/36 dgv were the same. I stuck a set of 180s in and it ran great, then took it to the rolling road, and after a few runs he decided to block the Air corrector jets and redrill them. I think he started about .5 mm and finished up about .75mm and the afr figures were bang on.......