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Running rich...

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Old Sep 30, 2014 | 04:10 PM
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Exclamation Running rich...

Im starting to tune my LS1 carb set up and I ordered a Pro Systems carb, gave them all of my specs but man she runs rich. Its doesnt foul plugs but you can smell the fuel from the exhaust. I am running a MAP sensor on my vic jr. The motor is a stock bottom end, milled 243's (11.1 comp), stock valves, 760-780 Pro systems carb, I dropped the front jets down 2 sizes but still running rich. I am running a 160 T-stat, and the car doesnt get above 180deg running. Maybe I should run stock T-stat to get a complete burn in the combustion chamber?

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Old Sep 30, 2014 | 11:06 PM
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NO one has ever run rich on their carb set up?
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Old Oct 1, 2014 | 04:04 AM
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does it burn your eyes at an idle? The primary jets wont affect anything but your part throttle cruise. With big cams you will almost always smell a rich exhaust, its just a product of valve overlap. If that's the case, try leaning out the mixture screws a little, you may not be able to lean it out and still have the motor start/idle happy.

Last edited by Horsepwraddict; Oct 1, 2014 at 04:43 AM.
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Old Oct 1, 2014 | 09:46 AM
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Originally Posted by Horsepwraddict
does it burn your eyes at an idle? The primary jets wont affect anything but your part throttle cruise. With big cams you will almost always smell a rich exhaust, its just a product of valve overlap. If that's the case, try leaning out the mixture screws a little, you may not be able to lean it out and still have the motor start/idle happy.
Thank you, at idle it does burn my eyes and I have some residue on the back bumper from the exhaust. Its not white or black smoke. I will adjust the idle screws. Should I screw in or out a quarter at a time? I can also take pics of the spark plugs.
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Old Oct 1, 2014 | 10:46 AM
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Go to the pro systems website and check out the "ask the carb guy" link. Patrick will answer your question normally within a day or so. I've also had good luck emailing him, he usually responds within 24 hours.
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Old Oct 1, 2014 | 11:40 AM
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do you have a wideband or vacuum gauge? otherwise you're pissing in the fan making adjustments blind.
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Old Oct 1, 2014 | 01:36 PM
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Originally Posted by TXsilverado
do you have a wideband or vacuum gauge? otherwise you're pissing in the fan making adjustments blind.

What is a wideband? I do have a vacuum gauge. I was also thinking, maybe its blow bye? I only run one PCV in the intake and its baffled. Maybe I should run another in the valve cover?
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Old Oct 1, 2014 | 05:44 PM
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try turning each mixture screw equally clockwise until you get the highest vacuum reading.
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Old Oct 1, 2014 | 08:24 PM
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I added a little timing to my setup and it cleaned it up a lot.
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Old Oct 1, 2014 | 10:35 PM
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I spoke with ProSystems and they said to turn the idle screws about 1.5-2.0 out and change my idle timing to 22-24deg. So we will see.
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Old Oct 2, 2014 | 09:54 AM
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h8tulooze, I am willing to bet that your idle screws were already 1.5-2.0 out when the carburetor came from Pro-Systems. What you are talking about is a pretty common complaint. What most guys find that actually works is closer to 3/4 of a turn out on all 4 idle screws.

I would start at 1.5 out and turn them in each 1/4 of a turn equally until the car starts to get fussy. As you turn the screws in, you may need to screw in the throttle screw to raise the idle some.

Turning them in will lean the idle out. Turning them out will richen the idle. Try to run it as lean as you can where it will still idle and drive nicely. So turn them in as far as you can and still get good behavior. make sure they are all equal.
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Old Oct 2, 2014 | 12:10 PM
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Will do, thanks Speed!!!
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Old Oct 8, 2014 | 05:09 PM
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Originally Posted by speedtigger
h8tulooze, I am willing to bet that your idle screws were already 1.5-2.0 out when the carburetor came from Pro-Systems. What you are talking about is a pretty common complaint. What most guys find that actually works is closer to 3/4 of a turn out on all 4 idle screws.

I would start at 1.5 out and turn them in each 1/4 of a turn equally until the car starts to get fussy. As you turn the screws in, you may need to screw in the throttle screw to raise the idle some.

Turning them in will lean the idle out. Turning them out will richen the idle. Try to run it as lean as you can where it will still idle and drive nicely. So turn them in as far as you can and still get good behavior. make sure they are all equal.

Speed,

I did what you said and I cant really tell a difference. My idle went up a little and I had to adjust the idle screw to bring it back down a little. I also checked my plugs but them seem fine.


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Old Oct 8, 2014 | 05:14 PM
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Just out of curiosity, what are your cam specs? My car does this same thing. Some cams have enough overlap, etc that they are just stinky at an idle. I've played with idle screws, drilled the idle air bleeds, and it's a little better, but still stinky. Eric L
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Old Oct 8, 2014 | 06:50 PM
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wideband or vacuum gauge IMO. i run mine around 13.3 AFR at idle just because it makes cold starts much better. you're making a guess at best by just turning screws and sniffing your tail pipe. probably wouldnt hurt to bump the idle timing some too.
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Old Oct 8, 2014 | 08:09 PM
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Originally Posted by TXsilverado
wideband or vacuum gauge IMO. i run mine around 13.3 AFR at idle just because it makes cold starts much better. you're making a guess at best by just turning screws and sniffing your tail pipe. probably wouldnt hurt to bump the idle timing some too.
Idle timing is 22 deg. Not sure what wideband or vacuum gauge you are referring to.
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Old Oct 8, 2014 | 08:48 PM
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I'm saying to tune your idle using either a wideband, or vacuum gauge....or a combination of both.
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Old Oct 8, 2014 | 09:09 PM
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How do you tune it with wideband or vacuum?
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Old Oct 8, 2014 | 09:59 PM
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Originally Posted by h8tulooze
How do you tune it with wideband or vacuum?
A wideband is a great tuning tool because it will tell you if you are rich or lean and how much at any given point. Whether it is idle, WOT or transitions, it can quickly tell you where you are at.

What it can't do is tell you what is ideal. A lot of guys fall into the trap of saying my WOT A/F has to be this number or the idle A/F ratio has to be this number. Cars never seem to listen to reason. They want what they want.

But, if you are having drivability issues and you are not sure if you are rich or lean, it is great for that. Also, if you have black plugs or white plugs and you are not sure when it is too rich or too lean, the wideband will tell you. I find them incredibly handy when fine tuning your transitional fuel mixtures.

A wideband is great for helping you find the best powervalve and make adjustments to you to your idle air bleeds and idle fuel restrictor circuits if you really like to fine tune.

While alot of guys like to set their idle and mixture screws by a vacuum gauge, I find it pretty useless for these applications. Some people also use it to choose their powervalve. I think that is pretty ineffective as well.
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Old Oct 9, 2014 | 11:57 AM
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Originally Posted by Prorac1
Just out of curiosity, what are your cam specs? My car does this same thing. Some cams have enough overlap, etc that they are just stinky at an idle. I've played with idle screws, drilled the idle air bleeds, and it's a little better, but still stinky. Eric L

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