A motorcyclist friend of mine pointed out black soot on my tailpipe. My MC is about to turn 3K miles. He said it was from an over rich mixture. I'm not a mechanic, but was told it would burn my plugs prematurely. Should I carry it in for an adjustment or wait til the 10K servicing.

 

I just think you are probably driving it the right way
and all the crap is being blown out the exhaust.
I see the same thing on my BMW motorcycle...

 

I had the same black soot but it seemed to go away as I put more miles on the car :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile:

 

Better rich than lean!

Denny

 

My tail pipe has always been really clean..6700 miles. I would get it looked at, if only to get it on record at the dealer. Ron.

 

Any techies read this one???

 

I get the same soot on my MCS.

My old cars would get it too. It is because of a lean mix and also if you drive short distances and don't let the car fully warm up, the mixture will be rich and cause the deposits (automatic choke for cold starting). I commute about a quarter of a mile to work and I get it bad. I asked the dealer and that was their reply.

Don't worry about it, best advice is clean it off and forget about it. If you car starts to back fire then you should have it looked at. Mine gives a few little bumps on deceleration but no back fire. It sounds very cool.

 

>>I get the same soot on my MCS.
>>
>>My old cars would get it too. It is because of a lean mix and also if you drive short distances and don't let the car fully warm up, the mixture will be rich and cause the deposits (automatic choke for cold starting). I commute about a quarter of a mile to work and I get it bad. I asked the dealer and that was their reply.
>>
>>Don't worry about it, best advice is clean it off and forget about it. If you car starts to back fire then you should have it looked at. Mine gives a few little bumps on deceleration but no back fire. It sounds very cool.

Also short distances =s more frequent oil changes.......
I'd never go 10,000. I've done 3 already and just passed
4000(more than necessary). Lots of short trips.

 

Yep, it's better to run a little rich than a little lean.
It is fairly typical for forced induction cars to be tuned to run a little rich from the factory, so it is not surprising that supercharged car would develop this soot. The good news is that it washes off easily.

 

>>Yep, it's better to run a little rich than a little lean.
>>It is fairly typical for forced induction cars to be tuned to run a little rich from the factory, so it is not surprising that supercharged car would develop this soot. The good news is that it washes off easily.
I always wipe my Aztek!!!

 

>>Yep, it's better to run a little rich than a little lean.
>>It is fairly typical for forced induction cars to be tuned to run a little rich from the factory, so it is not surprising that supercharged car would develop this soot. The good news is that it washes off easily.

I got an MC. Just the measly 115 hp.

 

>>Also short distances =s more frequent oil changes.......
>>I'd never go 10,000. I've done 3 already and just passed
>>4000(more than necessary). Lots of short trips.
>>

I had oil changed at 1300 miles. Probably will take it in again at 5K. Using Mobile1. No backfiring or I'd have been at the dealer the next morning waiting for them to open. Only 2000 Miles til 5K oil change, so I'll just let dealer look it over and take their recommendations. Too many varied opinions here. And yes, I only travel about 12 miles to work. Many short trips. But I dont abuse when the engine is cold. But once it hits operating temp, watch out!!!

2Minis, if you've already changed oil 3 times in 4000 miles, you're a better man than me. I thought I was doing good to do it at 1300, then 5000, then 10000.

 

>>2Minis, if you've already changed oil 3 times in 4000 miles, you're a better man than me. I thought I was doing good to do it at 1300, then 5000, then 10000.

I used to club race and changed every race....~25 miles.
Old habits die hard.....
I know it is not necessary but I like my mechanic. Keeps
her happy!!

 

>>I know it is not necessary but I like my mechanic. Keeps
>>her happy!!
>>
Yea, and if your mechanic is a 'she', that's all the more reason to visit her often.

 

>>I used to club race and changed every race....~25 miles.
>>Old habits die hard.....
>>I know it is not necessary but I like my mechanic. Keeps
>>her happy!!
>>

Hey 2minis, are you using jack stands?

 

I have soot on my MC, and don't you worry couchj, the MC is superberino!

 

It's probably a good thing I 'only' bought an MC. With the extra HP on the S, me and a MINI S would have both been impounded and imprisoned. I've had enough close calls with police in the MC, an extra 45 or so HPs would have cost me dearly, i.e. drivers license, speeding fines, tire wear, irate wife, etc.

 

I get it a little too. but not that bad (I have 3550 miles)

My last car was a honda w/vtec and when the vtec kicked in, my car would do a really good impression of a diesel, especially if I didn't hit vtec for a while before.

 

I get the soot on my tailpipe and I just turned 1000 miles. I only drive 5 miles to work, so there definatly is a corelation here. I tried to wipe it off this weekend, and most of it came off. There was some I wasn't able to remove. I will wait until summer time and use some chrome polish.

 

Find when I drive in town I get it. When I'm on the road I don't.