high altitude and carburater

[mwlude]

i was wondering how big of a problem a carb is at high altitudes (tahoe area) and what kind of gas mileage to expect on a 4 bangin yota truck? thanks all

[rezzle]

It shouldn't be too much of a problem as the amount of gas in a carburetor is metered by the venturi effect through the carburetor. With thinner air the mass flow rate of the air through the venturi becomes smaller and so does the amount of gas being metered. If anything you may run a bit rich (too much gas) but running rich is just unclean. It shouldn't do too much damage to your vehicle other than an occasional fouled plug. I would only consider a change to the jetting if you actually saw black smoke coming out of the exhaust (unlikely)


You are truly better off not leaning out the carburetor if it does run rich because when you decide do drive to lower altitudes with small jetting you could wind up running lean (not enough gas). Running lean is hard on an engine as it will cause it to overheat and even possibly seize.