Suborsche Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 I'm thinking of getting a webber for my EA81. Are there any issues I should be worried about? I have heard that installing them and getting them to run properly is a pain in the @$$. Are there any issues with the air filter clearing the hood? My car is intended to be cheap and problem free. I'll be taking it to the mountains alot to snowboard. Should I rebuild my Hitachi or purchase a Webber? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Weber all the way. The "kit" comes with the 2.5" filter, but that often does not fit, and you have to pick up the 1.75" one for $12 or so. I don't personally like the Redline "kit". I just get the carb (usually used, and do the rebuild myself) and the base-plate seperately. The kit doesn't come with the right air filter, and doesn't have anything in it other than the base adaptor, carb (properly jetted and NEW, which is nice) and filter that doesn't fit. EA81's are easy to do Weber's on. If you buy the kit then it should just start right up and require minimal tuning. If you get a used one you may have to change some jets, and do a little more tuning. Heck, even the EA82's aren't that hard. I even have mine setup with the AC idle up working although that did require a little welding and such. Most EA81's I can install a Weber in 2 hours or less. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the sucker king Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 if your snowboarding, you should be concerned that webers are a little prone to icing in the right conditions (very cold and very wet) other than that i find webers way more problem free and are easy to get them to run right. i do have some issues with my weberized car backfiring because of all the emissions stuff that was removed. there is a low profile air cleaner that will clear the hood of an ea81, ive been told they don't flow so well. a lifted subaru can use the full size filter. even with these problems, the weber is the way to go. performance is great and they are way less problematic than hitachis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 if your snowboarding, you should be concerned that webers are a little prone to icing in the right conditions (very cold and very wet) That's true - but it's not difficult to rig up a little longer hot-air riser from the exhaust as the Hitachi has - just need a little longer "flexi-hose" thing. i do have some issues with my weberized car backfiring because of all the emissions stuff that was removed. Almost all backfireing is related to either the Air Suction Valves, or leaks in the exhaust. None of my Weber's backfire - have you blocked the ASV ports with quarters or welded them up? GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suborsche Posted November 2, 2006 Author Share Posted November 2, 2006 How about the Holley's that are suppossed to be the same as webbers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 I actually had trouble with mine freezing up in cold weather. After I shut the engine down, condensation would freeze the choke plates closed and it wouldn't start. Perhaps it was tuning, but I never could get it to have decent drivability or even idle until the engine was warmed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertsubaru Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 How about the Holley's that are suppossed to be the same as webbers? I have the Holley 5200 on my 86 4x4 wagon and it runs great. I get 30 mpg highway and can cruse at 75 in 5th gear and still stomp it to pass people. My car is allso de emmisioned so that might be a factor. I picked mine up on Ebay rebuilt for $89 plus shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 The Holley/Weber 5200 (Weber DFV series) has smaller venturi's in it (same size 32/36 barrels tho). While it will still give you a power increase, it won't be as much as a proper DGV Weber. Also it's more difficult to mount on an EA81 as it's a mirror image of the DGV with the throttle reversed. Fuel line has to be lengthened, and the the throttle cable routed differentely. I have about 3 or 4 of the DFV's and Holley's in a box around here and I don't use them. The SPFI coversion is THE way to go if you can get a cheap parts car. I'll take SPFI over a Weber, but I'll take a Weber over the Hitachi. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 The Holley/Weber 5200 (Weber DFV series) has smaller venturi's in it (same size 32/36 barrels tho). While it will still give you a power increase, it won't be as much as a proper DGV Weber. Also it's more difficult to mount on an EA81 as it's a mirror image of the DGV with the throttle reversed. Fuel line has to be lengthened, and the the throttle cable routed differentely. I have about 3 or 4 of the DFV's and Holley's in a box around here and I don't use them. The SPFI coversion is THE way to go if you can get a cheap parts car. I'll take SPFI over a Weber, but I'll take a Weber over the Hitachi. GD great post, was this the "mirror-image" weber that you mentioned to someone with a post about clearing the P/S pump reservoir recently?? BTW, there are probably a good three or four of us on the forum who would consider installing the wiring, sensors, and computer for any EFI system onto a carbureted car, to be a HUGE mess of work more than retrofitting a non-stock carburetor onto your already carbureted car. heck, there may even be a dozen or so of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 I think it was Tim that mentioned about the mirror DFV fitting better. I personally don't like them for EA82's either. I like the DGV all around. I have one on my lifted wagon, and another on my daily EA82 sedan. Both are excelent peices of equipment and quite possibly the most reliable component on the cars. The straight DFV is fine, but the manifold adaptors for the EA81 and EA82 are designed for the DGV so the shape of the port isn't quite right. If you have AC, forget about getting the AC idle-up solenoid to work without major headache on the DFV/5200. The power steering pump reservior fitment is really a non-issue if you just take a ball-peen hammer to it where the choke sits. The Holley/Weber 5200 is a hack-job copy of the Weber (licsenced) but with smaller venturi's, and all the same emmissions ports that the Hitachi has. I don't like them as they are more complex, and not as powerful. If you are going to the trouble, might as well get a proper Weber I say. Once you have done the FI conversion, it's really not hard at all. The parts can be more expensive than a Weber though. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 great post, was this the "mirror-image" weber that you mentioned to someone with a post about clearing the P/S pump reservoir recently?? BTW, there are probably a good three or four of us on the forum who would consider installing the wiring, sensors, and computer for any EFI system onto a carbureted car, to be a HUGE mess of work more than retrofitting a non-stock carburetor onto your already carbureted car. heck, there may even be a dozen or so of us. It just depends on what you're used to working on. Having done both on the same car, I'd rather do the SPFI swap, but I know LOTS of people would disagree. To each his own I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 I went from SPFI to weber, to weber on a built EA-81, what am I running now? the EJ22, the SPFI was great, and had there been a new EA-82 underneath it with good compression, i might have had a good running rig, but i meddled, and put on a weber, so that when i put in the EA-81 i wouldn't have to redrill the distributor, well, going from SPFI to weber was the biggest mistake i made in my subaru journey. i've not gone from a hitachi to a weber so i can't say anything about that, but it would seem anything is better than the hitachi. The weber is great, but it won't fix engine problems, will get less fuel economy unless its tuned right, and as Snowman said, there finiky on cold days. If you have the time and the patience, i'd say an SPFI swap is a better choice, or even the EJ22 swap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suborsche Posted November 3, 2006 Author Share Posted November 3, 2006 Well I decided to purchase both. I met a guy on the board who's selling both carbs and an intake manifold that already has the adapter plate welded to it. Apparantly the webber needs to be rebuilt and the holley has just been rebuilt, tested, but never installed. I'm thinking I'll switch the holley to electric choke (anyone know how to do that? which kit to use?) and my buddy has called dibs on the webber. Of course I can't make a final decsion until I slap everything onto the car. Needless to say I'm pretty stoked. The parts should arrive late next week or early the following. I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks for all the useful information. I forgot...heres a link to the pics: http://homepage.mac.com/putnamj/Subaru/PhotoAlbum5.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 Use the Weber - pitch the Holley off a cliff. Now that I see the pics, both are DFV's. That's gonna suck, but I guess you'll figure it out. Better than a Hitachi, but you will wish you had a DGV. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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