How can you check whether your car is getting enough oxygen?

[overkill]

What are the different ways to troubleshoot your intake to see whether or not your car is beathing properly?

[AFJuvat]

Car running rough, crummy gas mileage, smelling gasoline.

AFJuvat

[very~worn~944]

Hey, My car has all 3 of those, what should I check? any ideas?

[SoCal Driver]

Your engine is a fixed displacement air pump.

The intake restrictions are the filter, the air meter and the throttle valve. All of which are intentional.

The amount of oxygen that this pump takes in is proportional to the volume of air at a given altitude.

To this volume the electronics are to add a given amount of fuel and provide an ignition source at an opportune time to mostly if not completely consume this fuel and oxygen mixture. The result being the acceleration of the vehicle in a given and hopefully controlled direction.

Now lets focus on the "almost completely consumed" part. There is a limit as to how much fuel can be added and still have a running engine. Unfortunately that amount of fuel is quite significant. You can have one possibly two cylinders flooding and still have a reasonably running car.

Any unburnt fuel will be expelled from the tail pipe. You should get a fuel smell at that location. You should also be getting back firing as the unburnt hydrocarbons build up. Watch out.

If the fuel smell is else where then you have a fuel leak prior to the injectors.

This does not have to be fuel flooding. Intermittent ignition can cause the same results.

Back to the intake restrictions. Put your hand firmly over your mouth/nose and try to breath. The same goes for the engine. The electronics are supposed to adjust to this through the air flow meter feed back.