Im getting told my car shoots small blue flames. But i wanted to know why? I know that blue flames are hotter then normal orange ones.

But does that mean im running too lean or too rich? My maps loaded my friend is running 14 psi on and im running 5. Both single and 1680cc injectors. I assume id be alot richer, so is that why im only seeing blue flames?

 

When does it do this, when you're shifting?

 

yes, i wanted to know forsure because i plan on turning it up to 10-12psi since im at 5 and the maps are for 14. and if blue flames means im running leaner then i wont. but if it means im running richer then i will turn it up so i clean lean it out.

 

You should see the flames I can shoot when I do WOT let offs at 7 grand or so. Keeps the Hondas off your bumper.

Blue is very rich and as long as it is durning the point when you shift or close the throttle plates you should be fine. You just need to do a full tune and pull some fuel out. Be careful though, I didn't just ell you to do that.

I take it you have a full open exhaust? Do you have a wideband yet? I wouldn't push the boost tell you know what your AFRs are.

What are your knock levels also? Just curious now that you have your car running?

 

Well i have a borla XR-1 muffler for sound dampening purposes.

But no i dont have a wideband yet. Wideband o2 and boost controller were the next mods i was planning on. I just dont know which one to get first. I was thinking about the boost controller first to turn it up 5-6 pounds since if im running too rich i dont want the excess fuel to kill my oil around the rotors.

I also have to fix my front end and get it repainted since the whole thing lines up like crap. and it REALLY bothers me. ALOT. And that is around 4-500 bux. So i have to debate whether to fix the looks so my car doesnt look so janky and run it rich. Or get my boost up and have an ugly front end. What do u think?


My knock levels stay low it has never jumped out as a problem.

 

If you're worried about being too rich and may have lubrication problems because of it, just mix in 4 oz of MMO in each fill up at the gas station.

If I was in your position here is the mods I would do in this order:

Wideband 02 (you really need to know what these are before you go too far)
EBC
Professional Tune
Looks

 

I was thinkin maybe:

Wideband o2
10 psi spring, then see if AFRs are safe, then
looks
then EBC and professionaly tune at 14-16 psi.

if AFRs arent safe
ill do the tune first
then looks.

 

My friend that did the maps and other settings is confident my maps can go past 10 psi since his is running 14 psi with a way bigger turbo on the same maps.

 

I hate to sound redundant and it sounds like you've go the right idea. But yes the AFRs are the most important right now. If those are safe then go for more boost and watch it like a hawk. Just take it slow and be careful. It sucks replacing a motor 1000 miles after a break in.

 

hmm...with the price of getting on a dyno ($75-100)...maybe i cud just find out my afrs that way? to see if its really safe? vs. buying a wideband($300+)?

 

or instead of EBC, cud i get a Manual boost controller (MBC) since its cheap and just go up from there. would it matter with single turbo?

 

Just buy the damn wideband and forget about it.

The dyno is a good idea to check AFRs but it doesn't take into account different degrees of load on the motor and different air intake temps. So you could be golden on the dyno and pop your motor the very next cold night.

I'm not boost controller expert, this may be a personal preferrence. But I know the EBCs can adjust to keep certian boost ranges where the MBCs may float around on you. Search in the single section and here and I think you'll be able to come upi with more then you want.

 

Just to clear up one point - blue flames are stoich and yellow are rich. Lean usually will not develop flames because there isn't enough fuel in the exhaust to burn. You can't really tell at the tailpipe anyway because by the time the gases get there they have been mixed too well with whatever was already in the exhaust system (from idle, part throttle running, etc). Wideband meters are not too expensive anymore - it's really the only way to know for sure if you're tuning. You don't need to go to a dyno. With the wideband you can tune in the "real world". Two dyno sessions you don't go to will pay for the wideband.

 

Needle valve MBC's float - they still rely on the PC and WG solenoids for control and don't work as well. Ball/spring MBC's don't float (my personal experience). My mods are in my signature.

 

so ur saying im running stoich mixture...wouldnt that be a little closer to lean then. I odnt get it. i have a smaller turbo and run less boost, how am i not overly rich?

maybe we backed down the timing a little much on the secondaries like -.32 or something. I should probably raise it back to up to -.12 or so.

Wouldnt it only shoot orange flames on decel tho?

 

Your maps may be set lean at that boost level...and will be mapped richer at higher boost.

 

My car shoots fireballs too. Better to have fire out the tailpipe then anywere else.

 

Thanks David Beale and DaveW for those clarifications.

 

you think so? i didnt really think about that...hmm yes, maybe when i come on boost at 10 psi it will put me around a different cell under more load where the map has been richened up.

 

anyone?

 

can anyone answer this before i go turn up the boost. 5 psi gets old...real fast

 

I am running the stock ECU. The makes me a distinct non-expert on this subject. The stock ECU goes very rich (open-loop) at higher boost and RPM. The mapping you have COULD be similar or it could be completely different. If it is the normal setup where it is set quite rich at higher power levels, then you MAY be safe.

Therefore, what ECU are you running, and what mapping does it have? There is no way I or anyone else can intelligently answer your question without knowing that.

 

What turbo are you running? The stock twins or a single turbo? I had the stock twins on my car and people told me I was shooting blue flames when I shifted. I got the car inspected and I was told that my turbos were leaking somewhere. So when I did my single turbo conversion, it no longer shoots fire.

 

Single turbo

the maps are on my powerfc for a large single streetport running 14psi.

Im trying to run smaller single streetported at 12psi.

 

I just wanted to go on the record to say that I think you are nutz. You are basically turning up the boost without the faintest idea of what your AFR's are. THINK ABOUT THAT. You think your okay, you should be okay. ha ha famous last words.

**** man do it right... You know that if you blow a seal the turbo just might suck it up. Then you are not only looking at just a blown engine. How cool would you feel then?

Peace of mind is your friend.