SuzukiSavage.com - Print Page

SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl
General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> high altitude carb set up
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1395105404

Message started by dustystranger on 03/17/14 at 18:16:43

Title: high altitude carb set up
Post by dustystranger on 03/17/14 at 18:16:43

I live at 6000 ft and ride over an 8000 ft pass each sunday. If you live in a similar location, I would appreciate what kind of carb mods work best for you. Am not interested in opinions, tell me what YOU have actually done to your carb. Help me out here!

Title: Re: high altitude carb set up
Post by Serowbot on 03/17/14 at 18:23:19

2534323538323533202F262433410 wrote:

Am not interested in opinions, tell me what YOU have actually done to your carb.

Jeepers... :-X...

Title: Re: high altitude carb set up
Post by verslagen1 on 03/17/14 at 19:38:30

We'll need to know the year of your bike.
and then look for digger... I think he's that high up too.

Title: Re: high altitude carb set up
Post by dustystranger on 03/17/14 at 19:50:15

It is a 2007. Stock air filter, heiden designed reverse cone megaphone (from Mikes XS). Shimmed the needle, one step up on the pilot, stock main. The pipe has a mechanical baffle (stock). This setup seems to be working ok. But I am open to learning more.

Title: Re: high altitude carb set up
Post by verslagen1 on 03/17/14 at 20:08:17

well, you've got a one of a kind.
You shimmed the needle? not cut down the white spacer?
If so, sounds like you should left the pilot alone.

Have you read bot's and lancer's carb tuning guides?
next is to read your sparky.

Title: Re: high altitude carb set up
Post by dustystranger on 03/18/14 at 15:00:48

Yeah, I shimmed the needle(aka raised the needle). A couple of washers replaced the white spacer. Still waiting to hear from someone who lives at a high altitude and has personally made a carb modification.

Title: Re: high altitude carb set up
Post by mpescatori on 03/19/14 at 02:00:24

Pop your spark plug and see what color it is.

If it looks chocolaty... DON'T LICK IT! ;D it's the right color, hence your air/fuel mixture is OK.

If it's black and sooty, you're rich and need leaning.

If it's flaky whitey it's too lean and you should enrichen it.

Your best bet is, once you've found the right spot, leave it at that.
OR
go Dial-a-Jet...

Title: Re: high altitude carb set up
Post by Bubba on 03/19/14 at 09:07:40

I live at a mile high...ride over 12,000 ft passes...
very few mods needed since the bike comes stock running lean...at altitude you generally try to lean out your carb to compensate but since the stocker runs lean from the factory you don't have to do much...at least I didn't.
my setup with a Dyna power pipe...kinda like a HD dyna but definately more open...
air screw 2 1/4 turns, 52.5 pilot w/ bleed holes, 150 Main, 2/3 spacer

When I'm riding over passes I generally play with the air screw to reduce the pops and gurgles but for the most part I'm lazy and just ride it...lol

Title: Re: high altitude carb set up
Post by Oldfeller on 03/19/14 at 09:55:03

Really, none of you guys has looked at a Savage plug tip lately --- "dirty snow" is about as normal as you are ever going to ever see using a stock heat range plug and the stock CV carburetor and near stock jetting.

Stock, it looks kinda like the valves do, all white and fluffy.

Lightish vaguely tanish white is the best I have ever gotten off a fresh plug using the recommended half spacer and air screw tunes.

Our bikes tend to run lean, clean and hot according to the old school spark plug reading techniques. This does not mean it is set up wrong. Nor does it mean it is running too lean or too hot.

What sort of oil you use also tends to color your plug up some -- I ran a rubber seal softener additive for a while once that made my exhaust pipe and plug a fairly bright orange color.

(really, it did)

;)

Dave, when your O² sensor was saying your mix was jest right, what color was your plug ceramic around the center electrode?

(Dave may be the only one of us that has actually tuned his mix ratio completely "right" with any real scientific reason to actually believe he actually got it totally right.)

Title: Re: high altitude carb set up
Post by gdrseeker on 03/20/14 at 00:58:46

This is me, I am a bit lower in elevation but I run a 1996 Savage, Jardine, K&N, 145 / 55 jets, 1 turn out at 5000 ft. elevation.

Title: Re: high altitude carb set up
Post by Dave on 03/20/14 at 05:27:50

Oldfeller:

I hate to admit this - but in the 2,200 miles since I set my carb up with the O2 sensor, I have never taken my plug out and looked at it.

It sure did take all the guess work out of setting up a carb however - and you could immediately tell where a change in a pilot jet, main jet or moving the needle would change the mixture ratio. I never could have gotten the carb dialed in this close without the O2 sensor.

Dave

Title: Re: high altitude carb set up
Post by Dave on 03/21/14 at 04:12:30

I found my old O2 sensor post on Page 96....Here is a link for anyone that wants to see the trial and error process for jetting a carb.

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1348491882/0

For my bike at an elevation of 500'-800' msl I found that a #50 Pilot and a #150 main ran the best, with 2 washers under the needle. Going to larger jets with the 3 washers under the needle left a flat spot at about 1/8th throttle. When I tried to accelerate slowly from a stop my bike would surge...adding more throttle made it run smoothly.

For a higher altitude - you might get by with smaller jets, dropping the float a bit, or leaving the 3 washers in place.

Dave