The last analog cars versus today's offerings

I would never go back to carburetors. I own nothing with carbs that I truly enjoy or feel confident in. I don't have time or interest to play dressup as a mechanic and to tinker with butterflies, chokes or mixture screws, just to go for a drive or not get stuck by the roadside. As it is, I only get to put about 1000-1500 miles on it per year.

As much as i enjoy the "feel" of analogue, I value reliability and predictability. So I don't think I could live without EFI, power steering, ABS at a bare minimum.
I also like creature comforts like NAV and a good sound system. I don't have use for much more tech than that though.

So for me, a 360/430/Gallardo generation of gated cars is the goldilocks of occasional use cars. if I used the car differently (ie track, or DD) that might change.

 

BTW, a stick Porsche Cayman S, up to 2015, definitely fits the bill. And used ones are cheep.

 

Electronic fuel injection just delivers the fuel more accurately...

And while modern EFI does all sorts of odd things with the engine, the older, more or less "stand alone" systems control fuel and spark, and that's pretty much it.

ABS I like because it helps a driver deal with the idiots also on the road. Had a big pick up come flying into my lane and had to brake while moving to the left and getting as close as I could to the Jersey barrier. But I still had to drive the car, it didn't hit the brakes or steer clear of the truck for me.

Your 4C has more electronic gizmos than my old 540i. On the other hand, my 540i has power steering (but it is a big sedan and not a tiny sports car).

I think what the OP is saying (and I tend to agree) is that cars that don't drive themselves were a lot more fun. I love the hell out of driving my E34. It's a six-speed, so I have to shift my own gears. It has PS, but it's not so intrusive that I don't have good road feel. It has power brakes, but again, it's a big sedan. And it's a blast to drive (though it could use a few more HP).

 

While modern Fuel Injection meters gasoline and alleviates hiccups in engine run parameters,
And while it also gives that turbine whine to modern engines,

It simply does not sound like the gurgling sound of a set of Webbers at 1/3rd throttle.

 

Well I've never owned anything without carbs and NEVER has 'failure to proceed' come down to carbies (over 16 years with my 308).
I like the fact that unlike the modern 'nanny' cars which any doofus can get in and drive like he's a racer, fewer and fewer people would even be able to start my car, much less drive it.

 

When EFI first came out, it took me forever to learn not to pump the accelerator.

 

Actually, Boxsters through 2015, and Caymans through 2016. Boxsters got the turdbo-Beetle-four "upgrade" a year before the Cayman was sentenced to it.
If I'd waited another day to hard-order my Cayman, it would have become a non-order. As it was, there were options that I couldn't get because the factory had moved-on to the "new and improved" Beetle-lump version.

 

Consider yourself lucky to live in such a climate or place with better fuels (less ethanol) that you haven’t had to deal with sticky floats, stuck chokes, gummed up jets etc. causing lean conditions, flooded engines, wet/sooty plugs, backfires and generally bad performance.

Been there, done that, never going back.
I don’t worry about if others can/can’t drive my car....just if I can. Here in Canada, driving season is too short to have to fuss with mechanical gremlins. I bought this car to enjoy, not to become a slave to it. Admittedly, the short season and long winter storage is probably often the culprit with carbs/fuels in this part of the world. That’s why it’s wonderful to have choice

 

Ah yes, I use 98 octane, zero ethanol fuel...and no winter storage. Driving is definately the best medicine for these machines!

 

Back in the late 80s I had a customer who was old enough he had to feed his first car. Several times (in the winter) I would have to coach him starting his car. I would have him ensure it was in park, roll down the driver's window, get out, then reach in and turn the key. Pumping the gas and holding the pedal part way down to start was just too engrained when the weather turned cold.

 

98 octane? I didn’t know that even existed! Ours ranges from 87-91... we used to have 93/94 but I haven’t see it in years. And most of ours has ethanol.
You’d think we were the ones on an island

 

LOL! I did have trouble with Shell fuel and a certain brand of sparkplugs years ago. I was told that the fuel was 'brewed' as 95 then 'boosted' to 98; BP is 'brewed' to 98 and I've never had a problem since I shifted to that. Before you think we're doing too well down here though I should mention that lovely 98 octane costs around $1.60 perlitre (that's something like $6.40 a gallon!)
Fuel for buzz boxes is 91 octane 10% ethanol and around $1.40 a litre at present.
Fuel engineer also told me that straight ethanol is fine for engines it's compatible with, it's mixing it with gasoline that causes the crud.

 

US octane is different from rest of the world octane, like US gallons. Your 91 octane is the same as everyone else's 97 octane, so you're not missing out. I learned that on Fchat but it's well explained here, along with the reasons for your fuel containing so much bio ethanol (the corn lobby)

https://www.economist.com/babbage/2012/09/17/difference-engine-who-needs-premium

 

I am old enough to remember carburetor cars at the start of emissions when cold. Stalling , hesitating, spitting etc. You had to let them warm up! Today we are all spoiled with modern fuel injection, get in start it cold and go, no drive ability concerns at all. Alcohol needs richer fuel mix typical 9 to 1, gasoline 14.7 to 1. Alcohol is not as volatile as gas. So it doesn't lite off good when real cold. That E- 85 mix in winter could be down to 30 40% alcohol. I know a guy running an alcohol dragster, If it drops below 50F over night it wont start till he gives it a spit of gasoline. Alcohol doesn't belong in the USA in motor cars.

 

I like alcohol. E85 is pretty close to race fuel and I tune cars daily on it. Picks up a ton of power in supercharged applications and a decent amount even naturally aspirated

Not sure how carbureted Ferrari's are but one pump and hit the key my 1959 Cadillac fires off and runs perfect, just dump it in gear and go. Doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

 

Yes if you tune for E-85 it will be good, You have to enrich your mixture, can raise your compression ratio etc. But the amount of ethanol in E-85 can very quite amout during the seasons. Sometimes it will be less.

 

For sure, and this would be a problem for a carbureted car on E85. We install fuel composition sensors so the ecu automatically adjusts stoich for alcohol content.