Better tail pipe color

[jpahemi]

Hello:
A few days I posted pics of my new muffler; a few noticed my tail pipe color looked lean.
After a 100 miles it looks better, any comments??
Original pic:

Here's it has @ 100 miles on it:

Regards,
J.P.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

I'm told by people who know WAY more about this than I do that these days, assessing engine tune and mixture by tailpipe color is a fool's errand. What you see deposited there has much more to do with where the gas came from, what's in it and a bunch of other factors that have nothing to do with how your engine is running.

Stephan

[Jack Olsen]

Have you run any race gas? It'll burn white, like that.

[Steve@Rennsport]

Originally posted by Formerly Steve Wilkinson
I'm told by people who know WAY more about this than I do that these days, assessing engine tune and mixture by tailpipe color is a fool's errand. What you see deposited there has much more to do with where the gas came from, what's in it and a bunch of other factors that have nothing to do with how your engine is running.

Stephan

True pearls of wisdom, if I might say so,.....

Use an A/F meter with a wide-band sensor or a 4-gas analyzer to see for sure.

[Paulporsche]

I have to disagree w/ some of you guys.I have always been able to tell how rich or lean my mixture was by looking @ how dark the color was on my CIS car.

I have recently suspected that another poster was running lean w/ some typical startup issues. We richened his mix and the symptoms were alleviated. His tailpipe got blacker, and when he bought a Gunson, he confirmed his richer mixture. I doubt that in the couple of weeks that this occurred, his engine condition changed radically.

I have also noticed a change from dark brown to black when I changed my WUR without vacuum to one with, and got the extra enrichment @ WOT.

At the time I asked JP if he had a turbo because I have noticed some turbo cars running w/ lighter pipes. And, as Jack said, I have noticed a lighter pipe on some friends' racecars.

I think the point is that in any particular area (geographically) there would be a trend in tailpipe color for cars that are set up correctly. Likewise, any change you make in setup would be reflected in color changes.

For JP, maybe it would be a good idea to verify your mixture w/ an analyzer to confirm a baseline. I don't know if you have to meet any emission requirements but even if you don't you should be able to compare your starting and running conditions to the pipe color and/or the CO%.

[cgarr]

How do your plugs look?

Craig

[jpahemi]

Paul:
The first tail pipe shot was with @30 miles on it(new mufler), since then it's logged another 100(shown in second pic).
I had some plug shots, but I think they were inadvertantly erased.
J.P.

[Paulporsche]

In a nutshell, that pipe looks quite normal to me.

Where do you live, what engine do you have, and do you have any start or driveability problems? Do you know your CO%?

[jpahemi]

Paul:
Metro N.Y.
3.2 DME, SSI, E-Hone, SW chip, MB 911 single out muff.
CO% unknown at this time. Idle @ 1.3%
j.p.
Ps. Ethanol additive 10% NYC reg. AKA Crap Gas.

[Paulporsche]

I don't understand: CO unknown but idle @ 1.3%?

I also have a 3.2 but it is an enlarged 3.0 w/o any emission controls. I use Sunoco 94 which can have up tp 10% ethanol. My pipe looks like yours.

[jpahemi]

Paul:
Last time the tech set the idle, CO it was 1.3%. I need to get an LM 1 AFR tool to know WOT.
j.p.

[Paulporsche]

Gotcha. Anyway FWIW I think it's fine.