Is afterfire a bad thing?

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
07/31/2015 at 14:33 • Filed to: None

Afterfire, commonly but incorrectly called “backfire” is when a car farts emits loud pops and sometimes flames from the tailpipe due to *whatever* igniting outside of the cylinder. Is this a bad thing, though? I figure if million-dollar hypercars are jovially spitting out flame when you get off the gas/shift then there’s no issue with a few snapcrackles coming out of my tuned Buick when it’s revving down, right?

DISCUSSION (13)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/31/2015 at 14:39

Afterfire is not axiomatically bad. Actual backfire (boom-boom in the intake) kind of is.

Short-throw Granny Shifter is 2 #blessed 2b stressed > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/31/2015 at 14:40

It’s not good for emissions. Consumer car comapnies try to reduce the amount of VOCs and CO that come out the back of the car. I also imagine the heat and pressure that it causes could be bad for a car that is not engineered to withstand that sort of thing.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
07/31/2015 at 14:42

boom boom in the intake means blown up intake and destroyed hood for me (3800 Series II, plastic intake)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/31/2015 at 14:44

Yep. Generall the more modern the car, the more catastrophically bad things have to have gone to cause a real backfire, and the more catastrophically bad the results.

BigBlock440 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/31/2015 at 14:48

I blew a piece of exhaust off once, but that was because I moved the distributor with the car off, then started it because I was dumb.

I Will Always Be The Honey Badger > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/31/2015 at 14:48

I’ve owned many, many cars ( all cheap beaters). Quite a few of them have had mufflers and cats removed, upon which every single one popped and banged on decel. Completely normal.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > I Will Always Be The Honey Badger
07/31/2015 at 14:49

So sorely tempted to remove the cat so I can get that sweet, sweet exhaust flame. But the smell... ugh.

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/31/2015 at 15:03

Eat less chipotle and you’ll suffer from less afterfire

Berang > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/31/2015 at 16:54

In the early years of emissions controls a few cars resorted to injecting air into the exhaust system to cause unburnt exhaust to burn up on the way out. But the problem was when worked hard the exhaust system could “overheat”.

NJAnon > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/01/2015 at 10:52

Jake, you’ve installed some awesome performance mods on your Buick? Which ones? Tell us!!

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > NJAnon
08/01/2015 at 11:16

Yup! The Murdersofa has taken a back seat to my Civic lately, so lots of people probably aren’t familiar with it. It’s a 2000 Buick LeSabre purchased by my parents used in 2005 or 2006 (don’t remember which). Since then it’s schlepped young Jake all over the western US on various trips and vacations with the family, until I turned 17 and was stuck with it for a first car a few years ago. When I got it it had 210,000 miles, a huge dent/scrape in the side courtesy of my mother’s driving ability, took 12 seconds to get to 60mph, enough body roll to actually terrify passengers, and it was one of the most common vehicles around. I hated it, and my inner car guy hated the “grandpa car” stigma whereas all of my other car guy classmates drove Mustangs and Camaros, one guy had a 944, another had a 914, there were a few C3 vettes, “ricer” civics (a stripped ‘92 hatch with a B20 swap. Stupid fast), etc.

So I made it mine with my parents permission.

First mod: Plastidip, paint the stock wheels black, and add a red pinstripe. Interior mods are some red LEDs in the dome and footwells.

Second round of mods were upgraded rear shocks and a K&N air filter.

Third round of mods were a ZZP Performance tune adapted for my car, chopped off muffler and resonator with a glasspack put in their place, and a Seville STS rear sway bar.

Fourth round of mods were 245r18 wheels, tires, front sway bar from a Pontiac Bonneville GXP Comp G (required dropping the entire engine cradle. Ugh). Interior got black accents and I tossed in a subwoofer. Welded together a useless strut tower brace.

Went to autocross and braap’d my way around. Car handles better than my Civic, and thanks to the tires it has obscene amounts of grip for how heavy it is. Rather fun. 0-60 is down to 8 seconds flat.

NJAnon > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/01/2015 at 11:36

Well then thats how you got your backfire. Enjoy it!

(most cars wish they could get to backfire status. yes I still call it backfire cuz reasons :P)

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > NJAnon
08/01/2015 at 17:54

Ive considered gutting the cat so I get actual flames.