Fuel injection is considerably more expensive. It involves a header tank in the fuselage, usually a separate shutoff valve in addition to the selector valve, and sometimes a tandem selector valve to send returned fuel back to the tank it came from. There's an engine-driven pump, an electric boost pump in case the engine's pump fails, and that boost pump, in the Continental, has a system of resistors and switches to manage its pressure. There's a fuel servo and air throttle and flow divider and injector nozzles. Lots of stuff that all costs lots of money and needs maintenance. A carburetor is a rather simple thing that never gives trouble except for ice, as long as it's fed adequate, clean fuel, and the fuel injection system also needs adequate, clean fuel. Carbs cost a lot less. They are so reliable that we have ONE carb but TWO magnetos, as magnetos are more failure-prone. Both those mags need periodic disassembly and inspection and cleaning and new points and condenser and distributor parts, while that single carb is good for the whole TBO of the engine.
So. We learn to manage the carb, and that means managing carb ice, which means understanding it and knowing when it's likely. Yes, the Pipers are less prone to ice than the Cessna, and there's good reason for that. The Piper's exhaust system is a complicated thing that either surrounds the carb and radiates heat at it from all sides, or is below that carb. The Cessna has its exhaust up front, or at most, a muffler on each side. No piping all around everything. Just because the Piper doesn't ice up often does not mean that a Cessna, with basically the same engine and carb, is as forgiving. It's not. One still needs to know more about ice and its formation and management.
A long glide will ice up almost any carb, even with the heat on. The exhaust system is where that het comes from, and at idle, in the glide, it cools off. The piping is light and doesn't store heat for long at all. You need to open that throttle for ten seconds or so to warm the exhaust up, get some heat into that carb to clear any ice and warm the carb body, or the engine might not respond once you get to the lower altitude or on final if you're a bit low.
