Glowing red. [Merged 1-7] Exhaust, turbo, glow, hot

[Goblin]

I know that if you drive a TSI hard and pull over and look at the turbo at night it will be glowing red and that is normal.

but...

If you are driving a TSI grandma style and pull over and look under the hood DURING THE DAY and the turbo is glowing red is that a bad thing?

If so what possibly could be wrong with it?

 

[Twizzle]

i just had a coolant reservoir problem, where it spit out lots of coolant everywhere... my problem was a leaking radiator...it was rusted on the bottom. just swapped in a nice fluidyne, ran hard for atleast an hour and i had no problems.

 

[szewczyd]

i just had a coolant reservoir problem, where it spit out lots of coolant everywhere... my problem was a leaking radiator...it was rusted on the bottom. just swapped in a nice fluidyne, ran hard for atleast an hour and i had no problems.

I love the look of ur car

 

[trickedoutdsm05]

iight i appreciate the help. i thought that the glowing was a normal thing as ive seen it b4 on other cars.. just was curious.. gonna check the water pump soon to see.. i had a warped head on my other n/t talon and that was a biatch to change, but im almost sure its not the prob this time.. my oil is fine i just changed it a few days ago and had no milkyness. cant wait to get these quirks worked outa my new baby so i can spend money on some mods!

 

[Mooney]

make sure your not running lean. sometimes manifolds glow when your car is almost out of oil or they run really lean.

 

[RiceKiller_TSi]

As stated before, the glow is normal because exhaust gasses are extremely hot. Check hoses for leaks if they are old and crackled.

 

[Royalty]

next time take a picture of it.

 

[MrPikolo]

Looks cool don't it?

The glowing thing is normal.

 

[boostedinaz]

See what happens if you recirculate your BOV back into the intake. I'm wondering if you're running rich because of it, and unburned fuel is making its way into the manifold and igniting in the exhaust. Good for spooling your turbo, but bad for it and your mani in the long run. Your catalytic converter will also melt, assuming you have one.

Glowing manifolds do happen pretty often, but personally, I wouldn't mine to do it all the time. All the heat stressing will eventually lead to cracks in the manifold and your turbo's exhaust housing.

WHAT???????? That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. I really hope you are kidding. Having the BOV routed the way it was intended wouldn't make you run rich it would make it run normal, venting will make you run rich, so you are wrong on that.

Glowing manifold, like a few people have already said, is normal for a turbo car. They generate a bunch of heat, especially in that area, so I dont know what the hell you are talking about. You will not melt your cat or any other BS that may start to float around, so dont worry about it.

Ayone on this board can go out at night and make a good long pull on the freeway then pull over in a dark area and the manifold will be glowing. It doesnt matter if you are stock or making 500 WHP it will do it.

Please dotn give out info if it is not correct. We are trying to educate the noobs, so they are no longer noobs, not send them in ten different directions.

Michael

 

[RiceKiller_TSi]

WHAT????????

Werd.

 

[smokey90gsx]

WHAT???????? That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. I really hope you are kidding. Having the BOV routed the way it was intended wouldn't make you run rich it would make it run normal, venting will make you run rich, so you are wrong on that.

Read his post again, he's saying just what you thought he wasnt saying.

 

[boostedinaz]

Read his post again, he's saying just what you thought he wasnt saying.

Oops.

 

[Defiant]

Glow? They should never do that. Search? well.....

 

[Royalty]

that is one of the coolest things i've ever seen.

 

[psychlow]

WHAT???????? That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. I really hope you are kidding. Having the BOV routed the way it was intended wouldn't make you run rich it would make it run normal, venting will make you run rich, so you are wrong on that.

EDIT: Nevermind, you already saw.

Odd that my post disappeared.

The only time I ever see glowing manifolds is when people run cams with too much overlap or they're running rich.

Maybe it's just the crowd I'm around. /shrug

All I know from welding and chemistry experience is:
Glowing = bad.
It means the molecules of the metal have enough energy stored in them to start emitting photons (light), which is also close to the point when metal will start to melt. No good for lots of things, including turbo bearings.

Also, if the steel manifold attached to the ALUMINUM head is glowing, it's gotta be doing a number on that head. Aluminum melts at 1250*F, steel melts at around 2800*F...

 

[Defiant]

EDIT: Nevermind, you already saw.

Odd that my post disappeared.

Gadzooks! A mystery!

The only time I ever see glowing manifolds is when people run cams with too much overlap or they're running rich.

Take a run up any decent hill around you at night. Try for a grade about a half-mile long or so. Stop at the top, pop the hood, and you'll see one of the most shocking (and routine) things ever.

If it's a _real_ hill -and I'd think you could find one in your neck of the woods- you don't even need a turbo to get a glow.

 

[trickedoutdsm05]

i realize that it is a normal thing now.. and the reason i said that i was running lean is because when i vented the blow off valve i didnt know to cap the hose coming from the intake.. stupid on my part..so the MAF only read about half of the air entering the engine. therefore making it run lean on boost. i didnt realize any of this until i started wondering why my stock boost gauge only read half of normal (only half of air was metered). now i put it all back to normal because my car not being broke is alot better than cool whoosh sounds.

 

[psychlow]

Gadzooks! A mystery!

Call in Scooby Doo....

 

[Tevenor]

Maybe it's just the crowd I'm around. /shrug

Maybe you should hang around another crowd....try picking a fast one this time.

All I know from welding and chemistry experience is:
Glowing = bad.
It means the molecules of the metal have enough energy stored in them to start emitting photons (light), which is also close to the point when metal will start to melt. No good for lots of things, including turbo bearings.

Also, if the steel manifold attached to the ALUMINUM head is glowing, it's gotta be doing a number on that head. Aluminum melts at 1250*F, steel melts at around 2800*F...

THe head has cooling passages to counter this. The CAST IRON manifold does not and is subjucated to 4 independant exhaust pulses, all of which could be close to 1600+ degrees F.

Turbo's are specifically designed to withstand exhaust gas temps in excess of 1600 while spinning at 100,000 rpm + (depending on turbo size and type) without blowing bearings.

Have any other non-factual comments you would like to make in this thread?

 

[psychlow]

Maybe you should hang around another crowd....try picking a fast one this time.

Hardy, farking har. I also realized that we spend more time running cars than we do popping the hood to look at the glowy manifold right after a run, so maybe that plays a factor in my lack of experience in noticing this.

THe head has cooling passages to counter this. The CAST IRON manifold does not and is subjucated to 4 independant exhaust pulses, all of which could be close to 1600+ degrees F.

Okay, you're right, it's cast iron. Which still melts at 2000-2200*F. Agreed, there are cooling passages in the head which will keep temps down. Luckily, aluminum is a pretty damned good heat conductor, though, so it'll absorb a lot of that heat and transfer it into the cooling system, assuming the cooling system is up to the task of removing that much heat.

Turbo's are specifically designed to withstand exhaust gas temps in excess of 1600 while spinning at 100,000 rpm + (depending on turbo size and type) without blowing bearings.

Well then, I sure got a shitty MHI turbo, otherwise the temps it was enduring were really high. Put it in there with a perfect turbine housing and no shaft play. Less than 20,000 miles later and after a couple times of noticing the manifold glowing (just slightly, barely noticable) my wastegate housing was cracked so bad it was barely boosting acceptably, and there is now ~2cm of side to side play.

EDIT: Oil pressure was verified to be fine, no obstructions in the cooling or oiling lines.

I was only speaking from the experience I had.... as with anything, my car may have differred somehow from others' cars who pump enough heat through there to make it glow like they've got underbody lights, but still have no problems.

If you're telling me that it's normal for turbos to glow like some of the pics that Defiant posted, and that those people should expect their turbo to last any substantial length of time, I just have a HUGE problem believing that. When the metal looks white, it's either melting or it's just about to melt. It's just not possible for a metal to endure extreme heat cycles like that on a regular basis without cracking and screwing with clearances.

Have any other non-factual comments you would like to make in this thread?

Care to be a little more condescending? I don't, nor have I ever, claimed to know everything.

 

[Tevenor]

Okay, you're right, it's cast iron. Which still melts at 2000-2200*F. Agreed, there are cooling passages in the head which will keep temps down. Luckily, aluminum is a pretty damned good heat conductor, though, so it'll absorb a lot of that heat and transfer it into the cooling system, assuming the cooling system is up to the task of removing that much heat.

Exactly. Which is why cooling systems being up to par is just as important as your lubrication system being right on the money. To many people forget this and just focus on oil and fuel.

Well then, I sure got a shitty MHI turbo, otherwise the temps it was enduring were really high. Put it in there with a perfect turbine housing and no shaft play. Less than 20,000 miles later and after a couple times of noticing the manifold glowing (just slightly, barely noticable) my wastegate housing was cracked so bad it was barely boosting acceptably, and there is now ~2cm of side to side play.

So you are using a shitty MHI turbo as you declaritive proof of your initial statement? Isn't that kind of like losing your virginity to a 400 pound transexual hooker and then declaring that sex really sucks as a known fact?

EDIT: Oil pressure was verified to be fine, no obstructions in the cooling or oiling lines.

I was only speaking from the experience I had.... as with anything, my car may have differred somehow from others' cars who pump enough heat through there to make it glow like they've got underbody lights, but still have no problems.

If you're telling me that it's normal for turbos to glow like some of the pics that Defiant posted, and that those people should expect their turbo to last any substantial length of time, I just have a HUGE problem believing that. When the metal looks white, it's either melting or it's just about to melt. It's just not possible for a metal to endure extreme heat cycles like that on a regular basis without cracking and screwing with clearances.

Normal? yes in extreme circumstance. Regular? could be. Depends on how hard one runs a car. Ever seen a turbo manifold on a road race car right after a few laps. Or Rally turbo setups after a stage? On street driven cars it's much less regular but still far from a uncommon occurrence.

Care to be a little more condescending? I don't, nor have I ever, claimed to know everything.

Sure. If you really want me to be. I have been fairly nice up to now.

 

[psychlow]

So you are using a shitty MHI turbo as you declaritive proof of your initial statement? Isn't that kind of like losing your virginity to a 400 pound transexual hooker and then declaring that sex really sucks as a known fact?

Can't say I can speak from experience on the obese transexual prostitute, but as far as the turbo, I don't really think it's all to blame for its own failure. Maybe they just had poor QC on the materials on that one turbo, but I guess no one will ever know.

Normal? yes in extreme circumstance. Regular? could be. Depends on how hard one runs a car. Ever seen a turbo manifold on a road race car right after a few laps. Or Rally turbo setups after a stage? On street driven cars it's much less regular but still far from a uncommon occurrence.

I'm seriously asking this because I don't know: how often do most road/rally race teams replace their cars' turbos? Once a season?

Sure. If you really want me to be. I have been fairly nice up to now.

Not gonna touch that, other than mentioning a "what you said sucks, here's why" approach is usually more dignified and constructive than insulting someone else for posting what they think to be accurate.

 

[LAZPNO]

Go search around on p2p programs and look for a porsche video. Or better yet, PM or IM me with an email address and i'll show you a dyno run with a tubular header as it glows freakishly red, then ignites unburnt fuel due to a lean/pulled timing/dumped fuel/rich condition. If your car is turbo, go take it on the highway, do a 4th gear pull from say 3k to 6.5k, pull off the highway, and then proceed to lite cigarettes off your exhaust manifold. I dunno what was up with the turbo you had, i pulled my stock 14b off my car at 130k miles and it has less than 1 cm of shaftplay. if you take care of your car, and check the thing you are supposed to check these cars shouldn't fail unless it's a crazy freak reason. I don't know your experience or your knowledge nor do i know tevenor's but so far the scales of knowledge are tipping in Tev's favor.

 

[Tevenor]

I'm seriously asking this because I don't know: how often do most road/rally race teams replace their cars' turbos? Once a season?

Usually sooner from what I understand. But they are the extreme. Most of our street cars are on the other end.

Not gonna touch that, other than mentioning a "what you said sucks, here's why" approach is usually more dignified and constructive than insulting someone else for posting what they think to be accurate.

Ok if it will make you feel better. "What you said sucks and I enumerated the reasons above". How's that? Better? Or how about this. Next time you present your opinions on a topic, don't state them as facts and you won't have assholes like me jumping down your throat for it. The biggest problem with online faceless forums is the spread of disinformation as fact. As soon as no one comes forward to set the record straight, it becomes fact no matter how wrong it is.

 

[psychlow]

Usually sooner from what I understand. But they are the extreme. Most of our street cars are on the other end.

That's really all I'm saying... I should have been more clear.

If every time you took your car out it looked like that bottom-right pic that Defiant posted, your turbo will likely fail after not a long period of time, and your manifold will probably crack. Agreed??

And, if it looks like that every time you took your car out, there's probably something wrong with your tune if it's a street car, agreed?

As a common sense issue, assuming the above is true, if your turbo/mani glows like those pics on a regular basis, you can probably expect to replace those items frequently, when compared to most other turbo street vehicles. Yes?

I wasn't trying to say that if your manifold glows red once in awhile after hard racing or high-load work, your turbo and your manifold will fall off, your head will instantly warp and your HG will blow.

 

[BigLGST]

I picked up my car today after I had an O2 Housing made to externally dump to the atmosphere....After the stupid cheap arm flapper one my brand new RealSh!tty49 broke... So I had a local shop convert it to external with a 38mm TIAL wastegate... All I can say it ran nice and pulled hard for 14 pounds of boost. But later on at night my check engine light came on and my car was idleing really weird... Would go up and down between 900-1100 RPM. Also EGTs went through the roof almost 900 celcius...I get home pop the hood, I see insane smoke and the exhaust manifold just GLOWING RED!! And I mean real red!!! And also the exhaust housing on the turbo was bright red as well.


Few thigns to point out...the Karman reading was stuck at 3 Hz....and also the o2 sensor wire was really close to the manifold...So maybe it got sooooo hot it was giving a bad signal??? Cause what I did was just lifted it higher away from the manifold started the car back up and seemed normal....went for a test drive and EGTs were normal again but popped the hood and the ex mani was glowing but nowhere near like the first time. Is it suppose to do that?? I never noticed it ever do that before