TheSamba.com :: View topic

Fri Nov 20, 2015 3:49 pm

When I was checking for new carburetors, a store told me that there are Chinese made carburetors that are substantially lower in price. They claim that the Chinese made carbs has a simple design and does not have a lot of places that you can adjust. The store told me that so far they have not had any problems with the Chinese Carbs.

It is widely known that Chinese products does not have high quality marks on them but I want to know if any of you guys personally used Chinese-made carburetors and what is your experience with them?

For years now, I have used German and Brazilian made Carburetors but those things are beginning to be pricy.

Any feedbacks on the Chinese made carbs?

Fri Nov 20, 2015 4:07 pm

If it were me I'd rebuild a German carb. We know they work. Funny the Chinese build good heads and piston cylinder sets but carbs and distributors are shit. Who knows why?

Fri Nov 20, 2015 4:08 pm

I recently installed a pair of 34 EPC's on my '73 T4 bus. The carbs were very good quality and clean! totally opposite of what I had been hearing about them. The intake manifolds on the other hand, were so bad that I was glad to have on hand some original intakes for the bus.

Fri Nov 20, 2015 5:14 pm

ateneo wrote: Any feedbacks on the Chinese made carbs?

Will that store REALLY stand behind it???

China is a big country, and not just a single factory. If stuff is made with same materials, same specifications, and same quality control, then it would be fine and indistinguishable.

I believe that I've been running a Chinese 200mm clutch disc in my 1835cc engine for about 6 years, it's been fine; the local place where I bought it had long stood behind products it sold (unfortunately it was bought out by PartsAmerica and I've not visited them since).

Fri Nov 20, 2015 5:22 pm

With the possible exception of fireworks, if it's made in China I'll steer clear. If you can find German parts, buy them instead.

Fri Nov 20, 2015 5:25 pm

I've installed several sets of 40 and 44mm HPMX carbs with excellent results. I also run a set of 51 EPC carbs on my big engine and they work just as good as the Italian 48IDAs they replaced. As with ANY carb you buy, going through them, making sure they are clean and properly adjusted is required.

brad

Fri Nov 20, 2015 5:33 pm

The Chinese clone of the Weber IDF carbs seem to be working well for me. The EMPI HPMX 44's look just like and feel like the Italian IDFs I've owned in the past. I did have them gone through by ACE Engineering - they tore them down cleaned them then set them up and ran them on a test motor. IMO it was well worth the money. Even doing all that it was cheaper than a pair of new Weber 44s. And the new Webers are made in Spain IIRC.

Fri Nov 20, 2015 7:38 pm

The original Solex VW carbs are pretty bullet proof. You can have the throttle shafts re-bushed. I'd do that over any currently made after market carb sold today if you're looking for a 30 or 34 series carb. I've had both of my original Solex carbs re-bushed and they work like new.

Volksbiz has excellent feedback in rebuilding these carbs.

Fri Nov 20, 2015 7:39 pm

The Chinese industries are capable of producing very high quality products for us. It's up to our suppliers to ask for and pay higher prices for what is being produced. They will then pass on the higher price to us, of course.

Sat Nov 21, 2015 7:02 am

ateneo You do not mention carb you are referring to.
Stock Solex, Kadron, Weber etc. Which carb?

Sat Nov 21, 2015 11:33 am

tasb wrote: The Chinese industries are capable of producing very high quality products for us. It's up to our suppliers to ask for and pay higher prices for what is being produced. They will then pass on the higher price to us, of course.

X2 The thing is that there is no one size fits all carb. Whatever you choose to
use needs to be compatible with your distributor. So supply the distributor model number and what carb you are pondering.

Mon Nov 23, 2015 7:27 am

I have had some nightmarish experiences with Chinese VW parts (no carbs) and steer clear where I can.

But here's something to keep you up at night:
80% of US prescription drugs are manufactured in China and India.

Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:38 am

The millions and millions of dollars we spend (my company) one cutting edge networking equipment is manufactured in China. And this equipment is used around the globe.

You'll get all the answers on this beat to death topic. Old school purists who'll never admittingly used Chinese made products, folks who have given the benefit of the doubt that products have improved and use them every day, and the occasional input from those individuals who have taken things apart, inspected, and proven whether or not parts are up to standard - more or less.

If it were me, I'd do everything I can to support our own (US) economy. In some cases, you're left with no choice. The flip-side of this is I get irritated with those who are stuck in their ways just 'because' and have no supporting factors.

I've had a set of the very first revision of the 44HPMXs on a 2074cc. They ran beautifully.

Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:53 am

Chinese carburetors seem to be hit or miss. Some folks have reported leaking throttle shafts in a very short period of time, along with problems adjusting the idle, and general poor running. I've been running a Euromax 30 Pict-1 paired with a 113-905-205M distributor, the past couple years and I've had no issues with it.

edited for typo

Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:59 am

When I bought my 70' bus last year, this brand new EMPI, Chinese made 34-3 carb was on it. It ran terrible. I took it all apart, cleaned it, blew all the jets out, etc.. It just wouldn't idle correct and had a horrible off idle flat spot with an SVDA distributor. I noticed this slop in the squirt actuator linkage and went "WOW", a brand new carb with this slop..

I replaced it with a known good, used carb and the problem was solved.

Mon Nov 23, 2015 4:01 pm

mrmdls wrote: I've been running a Euromax 30 Pict-1 paired with a 113-905-205M distributor, the past couple years and I've had no issues with it.

Likewise, I've been running one of those on my 1600DP Baja with a 113905205K distributor, and it's run good for me as well. I don't drive the car very much these days though.

Now, when the EMPI 30PICT-1 came out, I posted this about it:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=278191

-Andy

Mon Nov 23, 2015 9:05 pm

I had a EMPI replacement stock carb. The biggest POS I've ever seen.
After messing with it for a week I took it off and beat it with a hammer into a ball so nobody could ever use it.
Nothing better than the stock Solex. Send it to Voksbiz and have him rebush and rebuild it.

Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:06 pm

Those EMPI 30PICT-1s, once I got the vacuum signal issue sorted, seemed to be halfway decent. I've not heard much good about their 34PICTs though. Same goes for BOCAR, their 30PICT-1s were good, but a lot of people had trouble with their 34PICT-3s.

Tue Nov 24, 2015 6:50 am

craigman wrote: I had a EMPI replacement stock carb. The biggest POS I've ever seen.

You really should have returned that bad carb; processing returns is quite expensive, so a good way to do your part to get quality improved.

Tue Nov 24, 2015 9:26 am

www.volkzbitz.com

Tim at Volkzbitz rebuilt/restored this carb.

It was:

-Blasted
-Replated
-Rebushed (throttle shaft)
-Rebuilt
-Screw in fuel fitting installed

After a lot of reading and after buying a couple used carbs that were supposedly good I decided to go this route and I'm happy I did. I don't think you can do much better than a properly restored original carb. If you don't rebuild an original then buy the best new carb you can. This area is worth splurging on.