Kentucky to Colorado

[colonel mustard]

hey yall,

So I live in KY and am going to be going on a 14 day dual sport trip through Colorado and Utah in july. I have done this trip often in the past...but always on my dual sport motorcycle. I have a few questions.

truck is 82 k5, 350 mild cam. edelbrock. 4 speed manual.

what should I bring with me for carb adjustments to make the truck will run right?

do yall think I will need to rejet when I get there?

current elevation is about 1000' above sea level....highest we will go is 12000' on engineers pass in Colorado.

yall got anytricks of the trade when I get there to help lean out the carb?

what about up and down hills running a carb? should I be worried?

 

[Jrgunn5150]

They recommend a 3% jet change for every 3,000 feet change, but realistically I've driven to and from California several times and never made a jet change.

I think you can get away with just idle mixture changes to be honest. Economy and power will suffer from optimal, but it will run fine.

Hills are another issue, as is bouncing. Lowering fuel pressure and lowering the float level as much as possible will help with both offroad. They make an offroad needle and seat that's spring loaded and not a bad idea to change before you go, it's only a few bucks and simple to do. A final modd would be get some hose and extend the vent tubes as high as possible so fuel doesn't slosh out of them into the venturi.

 

[Snoots]

Never had any issues with my 350/4bbl-qjet in Mammoth Mtn, Mammoth Lakes and Mt. Charleston. I never made any adjustments because I never had any issues/problems/loss of power; etc.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Did a similar run, just not as high in altitude, in May 2017 in Crusty Biscuit. It is setup to run at 350 feet above sea level and runs great at that altitude. Drove from CA to AZ to NM to TX, back to NM to AZ to CA. On the trip east I noticed no drops in power or the way it ran. Pulled grades well and ran strong and smooth. On the back we encountered strong headwinds and steady climb from Tucumcari NM to Flagstaff AZ, and averaged 40 mph on that stretch. But we were also towing her car that was loaded down and I had the camper loaded down too. We stayed over in Flagstaff and Williams and I didn't adjust a thing and the truck ran fine but lacked a little power especially pulling grades. Once we got to elevations closer to 2,000-1,000 and lower everything went back to normal. Haven't touched a thing since that trip and it still runs like a top. I wouldn't worry about running a carburetor at elevation, it was done for many years before fuel injection was the norm. Maybe adjust the idle mixture as mentioned, but I wouldn't do anything drastic if anything at all.

 

[Mr. Gutwrench]

hey yall,

So I live in KY and am going to be going on a 14 day dual sport trip through Colorado and Utah in july. I have done this trip often in the past...but always on my dual sport motorcycle. I have a few questions.

truck is 82 k5, 350 mild cam. edelbrock. 4 speed manual.

what should I bring with me for carb adjustments to make the truck will run right?

do yall think I will need to rejet when I get there?

current elevation is about 1000' above sea level....highest we will go is 12000' on engineers pass in Colorado.

yall got anytricks of the trade when I get there to help lean out the carb?

what about up and down hills running a carb? should I be worried?

When we moved to Colorado I soon got into Jeeping. My Wagoneer had a Buick 350 with a Quadrajet carb. I don't recall having a lot of trouble with Engineer Pass, but I really had to make a run at the top portion of Imogene Pass (13114'). To solve the problem I leaned the carb during the summer for the mountains and installed the stock jets during the rest of the year. It's been 25 years ago, so I don't remember the jet size change.

In your case it depends on how rich you're running now. If you're doing Engineer, it might enhance your mountain driving pleasure to lean your jetting. The 3% per 3000' Jrgunn5150 recommended sounds about right.

 

[colonel mustard]

When we moved to Colorado I soon got into Jeeping. My Wagoneer had a Buick 350 with a Quadrajet carb. I don't recall having a lot of trouble with Engineer Pass, but I really had to make a run at the top portion of Imogene Pass (13114'). To solve the problem I leaned the carb during the summer for the mountains and installed the stock jets during the rest of the year. It's been 25 years ago, so I don't remember the jet size change.

In your case it depends on how rich you're running now. If you're doing Engineer, it might enhance your mountain driving pleasure to lean your jetting. The 3% per 3000' Jrgunn5150 recommended sounds about right.

thanks... I have done Imogene on my bmw r1150gs adventure. I think a lot of people underestimate that pass. good to know engineer wasn't a problem. I will sure lean out the carb with smaller jets. I plan on bringing an assortment of jetting with me. I have also heard that I will more than likely need to advance my timing to almost 30*. do you remember anything along those lines?

 

[Mr. Gutwrench]

thanks... I have done Imogene on my bmw r1150gs adventure. I think a lot of people underestimate that pass. good to know engineer wasn't a problem. I will sure lean out the carb with smaller jets. I plan on bringing an assortment of jetting with me. I have also heard that I will more than likely need to advance my timing to almost 30*. do you remember anything along those lines?

I don't recall the need to change the timing that drastically. Start with the jetting and if necessary, adjust the timing conservatively.

 

[GMFORLIFE]

Id invest in an O2 sensor for the tail pipe.

Correct air fuel ratio is 14.7 parts air to one part fuel.
Check the ratio before leaving..and adjust accordingly...along the way...

https://www.turbobygarrett.com/turbobygarrett/airfuel_ratio_tuning_rich_vs_lean

 

[84 k10]

hey yall,

So I live in KY and am going to be going on a 14 day dual sport trip through Colorado and Utah in july. I have done this trip often in the past...but always on my dual sport motorcycle. I have a few questions.

truck is 82 k5, 350 mild cam. edelbrock. 4 speed manual.

what should I bring with me for carb adjustments to make the truck will run right?

do yall think I will need to rejet when I get there?

current elevation is about 1000' above sea level....highest we will go is 12000' on engineers pass in Colorado.

yall got anytricks of the trade when I get there to help lean out the carb?

what about up and down hills running a carb? should I be worried?

Just put 87 grade whene you get here or i have a extra qjet set up for high altitude if you are near the springs.

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