Running Rich
 

Last October on a Mustang Cruise I did with a group here, I was told from the people in the Mustang behind me that my car was running rich, they could smell it on acceleration. They recommended a tune.

I spoke with a local performance shop today and he said some cars run rich and that is ok. Other times, the AF mixture is just a little above normal and can be corrected with just a slight tune with a flasher, that he could install at his shop. He said he could do some dyno pulls to get the ratios and some baseline numbers and the tune would give me a little more horsepower and better gas mileage.

My car is a v6, only has a Mac CAI and a catted x-pipe, but ever since those 2 mods, my gas mileage has seriously gone downhill, and there is always a strong smell of gas, like it's flooded, which I know it's not, it starts up and drives just fine and everything.

My question is.. would you guys want this problem corrected? What are your opinions.. let it run rich, or have it fixed with a flasher/tune.

Appreciate your feedback :thumbsup:

Re: Running Rich
 

Get it fixed, if you are running rich it will be easy to kill your O2 sensors, and clog the cat.

Re: Running Rich
 

Thanks :)

Re: Running Rich
 

I would definitely get it fixed.

Re: Running Rich
 

Fix it.

Re: Running Rich
 

fix it gains you some HP and saves you gas money, its a win win :toothy10:

Re: Running Rich
 

Thanks guys :thumbsup: I was already planning to set some money aside from my tax refund for 'fixing' this, but I might need a little more now with all this.

The flasher/tune is $379 and I can get an hour's worth of dyno pulls for $100 so the shop can do some before and after pulls.

The shop is also about an hour and a half from me, so figure in gas money, etc. I think it would be worth it if it corrects the problem!

Re: Running Rich
 

Tammy, you shouldn't need to go to a dyno, buy an SCT Xcal 3 tuner from american muscle. They send you an email requesting your mods, you tell them and they will set up your tuner with 3 custom tunes. this should help correct any problems that you are having. you also can get free tunes for life from american muscle. That fella is trying to take you for a ride with all the extra expenses. Dyno tunes are very important for high horsepower cars and cars with power adders. but for what you and i have done with our cars, a mail order tune is quite sufficient.

Your car has a set of aftermarket cats right? that is probably what is causing some of your rich smell. which in turn can affect your fuel mileage. your computer probably hasn't fixed the problem or you have some o2 sensors that have gone bad. does your check engine light come on?

-------- added 2 Minutes and 42 Seconds later --------

http://www.americanmuscle.com/sct-sf3-tuner.html

Re: Running Rich
 

I believe he is going to use the SCT, Brian. The only extra expense is the dyno pulls, and that is only to get the AF ratios before and after the SCT install. My only other expense would be the gas money to get to his shop... but for me it's worth it.. I'm not as comfortable with working on my own car YET, as you guys are with yours. I'm alone and no, I dont want anyone taking advantage of me, that is why I come to you guys for advice first :) but I think as long as I go in there educated, he wont take advantage of me. He's a very reputable guy. He gave me 2 or 3 options and this SCT with the hour's worth of dyno pulls was the cheapest route and even then, he said I may not need it "for all that I have done to my car"...

I'd hate to get the same thing from AM and have to do it myself and not know WTF I'm doing.. whereas taking it to his shop, he has a guy there who comes in specifically for installing and tuning these.... Jon Lund. I believe the owner of the shop said the same thing about the upgrades in tunes, etc... he can change them at any time. AM's price is the same as his shop.

And no, my check engine light is not coming on at all. Only threw the code once when the exhaust was first installed and the garage fixed it by installing the correct sensors.

The cats on this x-pipe are smaller than my stock cats, but are still there.

Re: Running Rich
 

Not to steer you in the wrong direction Tammy, but when they put the "correct sensors" in your car, are you sure they didn't override the system by installing what are called "MIL Eliminators"? they are a wire connection that is installed between your o2 sensors and the main harness. basically tricks your computer into thinking that everything is running properly...hence why you may be running rich. some of these things are starting to make sense. As far as buying a tuner from american muscle (lovely discount of 6% too), or anywhere else for that matter they are simple plug and play pieces, the very basic of individual can put them in. You could even call me and i could walk you through it as i just bought an SCT SF3 tuner for my car and haven't installed it yet. its all on screen prompts that help you to install it. and you just plug it in to your OBDII port under your dash.

Just looking out for you tammy, don't want to see you get scammed for anything. I know the hell you have already gone through just to get your car back.

Let me know.

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