Ok guys, I was driving down racing a miata, I was trying to hard, I didnt redline or anything, the highest rpm I got was about 5500-6000. Well all of a sudden my car just lost all power and started slowing down and just wouldnt gain any speed. So I rolled to my girlfriends exit and shut off the car, I started it back up just fine but it idled rougly. I got it to my girlfriends house but the car struggled, but the thing is, when I stopped I looked underneath the car and the entire exhaust from the preconverter to the mufflers/y pipes were glowing. My car starts up good and idles but rougly. It drives slow as hell. I smell this really rich gas smell. Last night my car was shooting bluish flames and sending debris out of the pipes. So my question is could I have melted my converters? They are new, put on about a month ago with about 1000 miles on them, but the people who put them on welded the pipes together, is that safe? The only thing I have done different is put injector cleaner and octane booster in there. I run unleaded gas (88) Is unleaded ok for my car? I just need my power back anyone have any ideas? Also I noticed my exhaust also got VERY loud. Please someone help, thanks.

 

Check the compression.Check for vacuum leaks also.Also you don't need octane booster.Its actually worthless.If yours is a turbo model 93 octane is good, NA 87 octane is good.

 

You could of also melted your cats from the inside.

 

Oh yea, I have a 88 vert n/a

 

compression check first, like Hollywood56 said, then pull the downpipe off & look down it with a flashlight...injector cleaner has done more harm than good to our cars, I was stupid enough to use it once, too...live & learn....

 

what would the injector cleaner do?

 

caused my inlet filter to clog for starters, which led to a complete fuel run overhaul to get everything back to normal (I don't think it & the premix got along together so well)... I also speculate it tends to make the engine run hotter...

 

I would really like to see pics of this...

 

May I ask what the compression is going to yield? On glowing exhaust systems, that means combustion is happening in the exhaust. More indicative of an exhaust blockage or timing issue.

 

ill post up a pic, my dad said he never saw anything like this ever and hes in the automotive business for about 20 years haha.. well i just started the car this morning (cold) and it started up like a champ, it had a little more power and sounded better, but it smokes this rich gas smell and the right muffler still smokes (like its on fire) even after the cars off. Im changing the entire exhaust today, so im hoping this fixing it since this is my 3rd engine

 

Your cat is most likely toast.

When a cat goes bad, it shrinks.
It shrinks into a little ball and rolls in front of the exhaust's exit path, sometimes blocking it like a check valve, other times it runs fine.

Sometimes it can shrink so much that it ends up in your mufflers, or if you have a streight through and any luck, it gets spit out of your muffler when you have a cop behind you. . . :-p

"Son, I'm going to have to fine you for driving without a Catalytic Converter"

You cannot easily shoot flames with a good catalitic, and the increased noise can occur if your cat is dead.

So all signs seem to point to . . . a dead cat! >^-^<

 

Shouldn't that be >x-x< now, Tofuball?

 

Cats could have crushed or otherwise destroried themselves. If you just got any cat from "jiffy lube" then your cat collapsed on you. If I'm not mistaken rx-7's run a bit warmer then most piston engines, hence you just cant buy any exhaust part. Check the pulse (from your tailpipe) if you cant feel it over...I'd say 80 inchs back, then you've got a serious problem.

 

he probaly got CAT-Co cats,

 

Its pretty obvious that your cats are blown.

-Joe

 

If in all those years in the auto mechanics biz he's never seen a glowing exhaust due to a clogged cat thats pretty strange as it's very common in all old cars.

 

I don't believe that for a second. I've been using fuel injector cleaners regularly for years, and have had zero problems. The rotary's fuel system is entirely conventional, so there's no reason it would do it any harm.

 

yeah, i used the cleaner too, and i've never had any problems.

 

well the problem was the engine, the back rotor has no compression which sucks. I just ordered a stage 2 rebuilt engine street ported that will be put back in my car within a week. This will be the 5th engine, I took the cheap way out getting junk yard engines, will a rebuilt engine last me a long time? Also I got it ported, how much more hp should i be expecting? thanks

 

You're not running premix though. Out of curiousity, has anyone ran premix and fuel injector cleaner. I think one of my injectors is kind of stopped up.

 

I can't see how premix would make any difference.

 

i've run diesel fuel before... no problems either. ^_^ boosted pretty nicely too. hahah

 

O_O

Xplain?

 

Sorry to hear that. Where are you getting your engine? I got the street ported and Stage 2 rebuild from RotorSports Racing and I've been very happy with it. You might want to rethink your cat and catback exhaust system with the new engine to prevent restricting your new engine's hp output. I haven't dyno'd my car since the engine rebuild but I was told that with the street porting, a new rebuild, and complimentary cat and exhaust system it should show a 20 - 25 % increase in rwhp. It is running better all the time so I figure its a good time to take it for a dyno session.

 

my cat-co cats are holding up pretty well.