I'm Shooting Flames Out My Exhaust? Am I Running Rich Or Something?

[bo0st]

Hey guys,

I was driving home the other day and my buddy was behind me in his car & I was just revving my car up around 5000 - 6000 and he said I was shooting a couple flames out of my exhaust.

I was wondering if this is a serious problem? My set up is:

1998 eclipse RS 2.0 NT w cool air/exhaust (no cat) and i was running 91 octane + NoS octane booster at the time.

Thanks for any replies

 

[little-razcal]

Hey guys,

I was driving home the other day and my buddy was behind me in his car & I was just revving my car up around 5000 - 6000 and he said I was shooting a couple flames out of my exhaust.

I was wondering if this is a serious problem? My set up is:

1998 eclipse RS 2.0 NT w cool air/exhaust (no cat) and i was running 91 octane + NoS octane booster at the time.

Thanks for any replies

I would not wanna pull up next to you at a light with that octane boostin, fire spittin dragon.

Im just playing...I think it is rather normal for the turbo models to spit some fire at times. Happens all the time when you two-step, anti-lag, ect. I think you'll be ok pleasing your little friends for years to come..DO IT AGAIN!!!!DO IT AGAIN!!.....

 

[soccerplayaz16]

hes got a non turbo....thats not normal!

 

[Cassera]

Mount some hot dogs at the end of the exhaust tip. .....Actually I have always wondered what causes flames to shoot out your exhaust.
I never thought it would be TOO harmful.

 

[93ETGOCART]

unburnt gas coming out your exhaust is what will cause flames you must be running rich what mods do you have on the car?

 

[bo0st]

unburnt gas coming out your exhaust is what will cause flames you must be running rich what mods do you have on the car?

All I have is:

NGK plugs
racing wires
cool air intake
exhaust w/ no cat
aluminum racing radiator

and I have NoS octane booster rarely

 

[knochgoon24]

Well you can step back down to 87 octane and skip the octane booster. It's not helping your car. You're just wasting money. You could throw some of that 110 stuff in your car and it wouldn't run any better.

 

[fran_drivertsi]

shooting flames! Man, thats awesome, just keep it that way, ITS BADASS DUDE!!!!

 

[93ETGOCART]

Well you can step back down to 87 octane and skip the octane booster. It's not helping your car. You're just wasting money. You could throw some of that 110 stuff in your car and it wouldn't run any better.

+1 87 octane is just fine. you have the 420A motor if im not mistaken im running no cat and a big like 4" fart cannon right behind the drivers seat and i don't shoot flames and last time the car was running right it was running a little rich so there must be some other problem but what ever you do don't just leave it. its not good for your car

 

[bo0st]

Well you can step back down to 87 octane and skip the octane booster. It's not helping your car. You're just wasting money. You could throw some of that 110 stuff in your car and it wouldn't run any better.

Dude are you serious? It's known that 91 octane is higher quality gas than 87 & is always better for our engines.

shooting flames! Man, thats awesome, just keep it that way, ITS BADASS DUDE!!!!

And check this out for you guys who think 87 is better:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-premium-g

Also please note that I'm not like shooting flames every day going down the street . It's a very rare thing. My friend said it happened only like 2 or 3 times. So with that said, could it probably just have been some unburnt fuel at the end of my exhaust?

 

[kottyking]

I've seen it happen on more then one car that didn't have a cat. That might have something to do with it. This was an acura tho. Try kicking back down to 87 and see if it still happens.

 

[Eeeeky]

91 octane is no "better" or higher quality, it is simply the rate of detonation, or how hot, or late it burns. it doesnt add power to your NT 420a, it doesnt make it any louder etc. It simply costs more. the only way you could ever feel the difference is if you had a turbo, making large HP numbers, on large boost, then you would want higher octane to prevent knock (ping), so the fuel/air doesnt detonate too early. You cant make a difference in how your car runs by simply putting more expensive gas in it, and/or octane booster...sorry bud, but you have no more power on 87 octane that you do with 91 plus booster...until you push large power and boost, it just wont make a difference.

The only thing your hurting by putting 91 octane plus booster in your car is your wallet, youll never feel the difference with the RS...

 

[Yufflez]

NT 420a are ment to use 87 octane. Like the statement said, and what i've learned in college is that if you use a different gas for your engine that's not stated that you should use, you can end up getting "Knock." Even if the higher octanes are to prevent knock, you might get it due to unburnt fuel creating carbon build ups on your cylinder walls but I highly doubt the 420a engine would with premium if you take care of your car enough.

You're not burning all of the gas since the gas you're using it for is not meant for the 420a. The fact that you also put in an octane booster does not help with fully burning your gas off. With unburnt gas, your cylinder walls will be covered with unburnt gasoline and you might get carbon buildups faster, depends on if you use 7-11 gas or chevron.

if you get carbon build up, your cubic air ratio in the cylinder will drop which might cause a pre-ignition fire. since gas can explode with pressure/air only with no spark it can cause a knock. Go ahead and waste money on high octane fuel when your engine does not require the ratios premium offer for higher end engines. oh and your o2 sensors might wear out faster since they're getting covered in unburnt gasoline. Do not use anything higher then 87 unless your engine says it needs it (usually says it on the gauges). no need to.

 

[knochgoon24]

Dude are you serious? It's known that 91 octane is higher quality gas than 87 & is always better for our engines.



And check this out for you guys who think 87 is better:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-premium-g

Yes, I'm serious. Did you read the article or just cite it because you read the first paragraph?

Premium gas really is a better fuel in terms of the power it provides in the right engine.

Your n/t 420a is not one of these engines. The article is talking about high compression or forced induction motors.

Most modern cars, however, are designed to employ a specific compression ratio... This compression ratio—somewhere in the neighborhood of eight to one—tolerates lower octane fuels (such as regular gasoline, good old 87 octane) without knocking.... "The regular fuel will burn properly and the premium fuel will burn properly and therefore there is no reason you should pay the extra money."

They continue, further clarifying what they meant by the "right engine."

High-performance engines, such as those in some sports cars or older, heavier automobiles, often boast much higher compression ratios. These cars—for example, Shepherd's Subaru WRX—require premium gasoline and will definitely knock without it.

And as a final knock-out blow...

But for standard cars on the road today, purchasing premium gasoline is simply paying a premium for a fuel that delivers no added benefits. "If you think you need it," Green says, "you're being very eccentric."

As much as you might wish your car has a high-performance engine now that it has a "cold" air intake (nicely sucking in that warm air right behind the radiator) and a bigger exhaust, it isn't.

If you turbo it, install high-compression pistons, or do some other modification that will significantly increase the pressure inside the cylinder during the combustion stroke, then you'll have a reason to use premium gasoline. Until then, save yourself the extra 20 cents or more per gallon, and the $5 a bottle for that octane booster stuff. YOU'RE WASTING YOUR MONEY.

 

[Yufflez]

And by the way, 91 is not any better quality then 87, the ratios in the gas are just different. if you wanna talk about quality of gas, chevron has better gas then 7-11. that's all, that's quality, not ratings in octane.

well put knochgoon24, i didn't wanna clarify the article to him but you did it for me. xD

 

[burkgonzo]

Let OP waste money and blow engine if he will not listen, you can't teach people that are'nt willing to learn. Shooting flames is bad Brian Earl Boost boy.

 

[Yufflez]

Another cheap easier way to have flames shoot out of your car if you want it done is install a kit in the exhaust that ignites the unburnt fuel if you want the flames. Don't know if one exists, I've just heard about them. hook it up to a switch so when you want to make the flames come when you please, switch the switch buddy.

 

[agarc023]

Another cheap easier way to have flames shoot out of your car if you want it done is install a kit in the exhaust that ignites the unburnt fuel if you want the flames. Don't know if one exists, I've just heard about them. hook it up to a switch so when you want to make the flames come when you please, switch the switch buddy.

Like an afterburner

 

[knochgoon24]

You can also do it by pulling a bunch of timing in low load, high rpm cells in your timing maps and adding fuel to those same cells in the fuel map.

It's not good for your turbo or your catalytic converter, if equipped.

 

[Yufflez]

Yea, i've heard of those methods too... but i never plan on doing it so that's why i never paid attention to them. I know how to fix a car and repair it, i just don't know brand names or engine names or aftermarket part names of any part or what part would be better for the car but give me specs and i'll know what part would be better. even though i'm ASE certified. weird huh? Took me 2 years of owning the car/working on it and getting my certification until recently to know the name of the 420a engine in my own car.

 

[dsmkidd20]

are you guys saying turbo owners should be buying the good gas and not the regular?

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

are you guys saying turbo owners should be buying the good gas and not the regular?

YES. If you have a turbo you should be running premium grade fuel.

 

[7itanium]

It is clear that the OP is set on blowing up his 420A and doesnt want the advice that he "asked" for.

The TRUTH is that running 91 octane and booster is doing your car more harm that good..... run high QUALITY fuel not high OCTANE fuel... your car is designed to run on low octane fuel...... adding more octane is just making it harder for your car to burn it all off... combine that with a missing catalytic converter.. and you have FLAMES...... not good flames tho

I have seen a n/a RX-7 push massive flames out the exhause with no cat.. but that is an entirely different story as those engines are designed nothing like our piston engines.

long story short... flames on a naturally aspirated vehicle are probably a bad thing

 

[bih55]

ya 87 in non turbo a420

91 in turbo models, I bet the booster added at least 20hp

 

[MJBean420]

Can we get a video on the flames?