On a car engine, there are several steps of effort to produce power/energy that will be channeled through the flywheel until the four wheels on the car can rotate. Along with the technology development, now the car working system is different from what it used to be.
If it using the carburetor system before, now the modern car engine is using the injection system. Not only car, most of the motorcycle are also using this system. That is because the injection system has several advantages compared to the carburetor system.
Although both have the same function, but there are many differences between those two systems. You can look at this discussion about the difference between injection and carburetor on cars.
1. Component
The most striking difference between those two is the components that they own. Here is the component owned by those two systems on cars.
The Components of Carburetor

- Inlet Hose, is the entrance place for channeling the fuel from the end of the fuel hose that will be continued into the float chamber.
- Jet Needle, is a bullet-like shaped needle that has a function for opening or closing the inlet hose. This component is usually called by petrol valve.
- Float, is a component on the carburetor that has a quite small shape and is made of plastic. This float is floating on top of the fuel as well as controlling the position of the float needle according to the fuel volume that is contained in the float chamber so that the fuel can stay stabilized.
- Float chamber, is a room inside the carburetor that is functioned to hold the fuel before it’s channeled to the fuel chamber.
- Needle jet, is a component that is shaped like a small needle that has a function to manage the size of the fuel that will be channeled by the main jet.
- Main jet, is a component that is functioned to control the fuel needs according to the engine requirements.
- Throttle valve, is a valve that controls the size of the air supply into the combustion chamber.
- Main nozzle, is a component that is functioned to fog up the fuel.
- Air jet, is a component that is functioned to channel the air that is already mixed with the fuel when the condition is idle.
- Venturi, is a narrow space that is functioned to speed up the air flow.
- Needle Valve, is a component that is functioned for adding fuel mix or for controlling the fluid flow speed system.
- Pilot Air Screw, is a screw that is functioned to control the size of air supply and fuel.
- Pilot Outlet, is a channel for the exit of the fuel that has been mixed with the air.
The Components of Injection

- Elektronic Control Unit, is the most important injection component that is functioned to control, receive, and calculate data that given by every sensor on the engine.
- Manifold Absolute Pressure, is a sensor that gives data about the magnitude of air pressure that enter into the intake manifold.
- Engine Air Temperature, is a sensor that gives data about the magnitude of air pressure and air temperature that enter into the intake manifold.
- Throttle Position, is a sensor that is functioned to give data about the gas valve.
- Engine Oil Temperature, is a sensor that is functioned to calculate the magnitude of the oil temperature.
- Bank Angle Sensor, is a sensor that is functioned to give data about the magnitude of the vehicle tilt angle.
- Water temperature, is a sensor that is functioned to gives data about the condition of the cooling water oh the engine.
2. How They Work
How Carburetor Works
Another difference between those two systems is how they work. The carburetor works by carrying the concept of Bernoulli’s law, namely the law of pressure difference. In its work, the carburetor has several steps.
The first step is the suction step where the piston moves from TDC to BDC together with the air entering through the carburetor throttle valve. Then, the fuel on the float chamber will be sucked out through the main jet because of the high pressure and also mixed with the air.
Then from that process, the gasoline will undergo a fogging process in the combustion chamber.
How Injection Works
The injection system works by using sensors that are located in various places on the car engine. These sensors are carried out electronically through the ECU from the initial step when gasoline is in the fuel tank until entering the combustion chamber.
When the ignition key is in the ON position, the fuel pump will automatically work to apply pressure to the fuel hose. Then, when the ignition key is in the Start position, all sensors will start working so that in this process the injector will spray the fuel into the fuel chamber in the form of fog.
3. The Fuel Consumption and Durability
The third difference between the carburetor system and injection system is the fuel consumption. The fuel consumption in the injection system is much more economical compared to the carburetor system.
That is because the injection system in spraying fuel can be measured properly according to the needs of the engine, whereas the carburetor system is using mechanically spraying.
Besides, the injection system is claimed more durable compared to the carburetor system. All data that is needed by the injection system has been calculated properly according to the needs of the engine so that makes it durable and long-lasting.
Those are the difference between the injection system and the carburetor system. If you want to buy a car, surely you must choose a car with an injection system because it has many advantages.