What does “blow the carbon out” really do?
Occasionally, I will see a car in front of me, floor it (gas pedal), and when they do puffs of black smoke, come out the back of the car as the car hits full throttle. What gives?
In: 12
It’s burning oil, either because it’s a diesel engine or the driver has floored it so often that the engine is worn.
Back in the days of carburetors you could get a build-up of carbon inside the combustion chamber, which if bad enough could lead to poor running. I used to warm up the engine, pull the plugs and squirt in a little RedEx. Leave that to soak in for a while, then go for a ride, trailing white smoke behind me for around 30 minutes.
It definitely ran better afterwards.
These days manufacturers are under pressure to use as little fuel as possible and the days of carbs are long gone. The advice to “blow out the carbon” will only apply to classic cars.
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