How do you pop a motor?

[misguided_will]

hi...newbie qn.

wondering how ppl pop their engines.

i mean doesn't the factory ecu have a limp mode that kicks in when it detects something goes amiss?

popping is from running too lean right??

[Black X Dahlia]

By popping i guess you mean Detonation....right?

Yes, detonation is commonly caused by your engine running lean. When your engine is running lean, your Air ratio is higher than your Fuel ratio, and this = bad bad.

[Donkey]

It's not a 100% catch all and since the AFR at WOT is based on MAF alone (openloop) the ECU really doesn't exactly know what the AFR is.It only uses the O2 sensors for closedloop fueling.The ECU does better handling boost and rpm limiting than it does catching detonation/knock.Mainly because it realizes what has happened and compensates after the event has happened with detonation/knock

[xsnapshot]

popping is from running too lean right??

Sometimes. Theres a whole mess of things that can make you "pop" or detonate. You could just plain blow your motor by running to much boost/power through it, if it hasn't been built up.

AFR
timing
octane/bad gas

all those could make it happen. I saw detonation on cobbs OTS stage 2 map, and my ECU wouldnt let me run anything greater than DAM values of 9. So you gotta watch out even on "safe" maps.

[SD_GR]

The noblest of deaths for a motor is cornering.

Even momentary oil starvation can cause show-stopping damage. I've only managed to wreck a top end that way, by burning up exhaust valves, but better drivers claim to have ruined blocks. I think those people were at an advantage since they could use successive esses to get a good slosh going, whereas I only had a 180' to work with.

[xsnapshot]

Originally Posted by SD_GR

The noblest of deaths for a motor is cornering.

Even momentary oil starvation can cause show-stopping damage. I've only managed to wreck a top end that way, by burning up exhaust valves, but better drivers claim to have ruined blocks. I think those people were at an advantage since they could use successive esses to get a good slosh going, whereas I only had a 180' to work with.

I'd like to have been in the passenger seat for the run that ruined a block! That must be quite the experience eh? What kind of motor did they say that happened to?

[SD_GR]

Originally Posted by xsnapshot

I'd like to have been in the passenger seat for the run that ruined a block! That must be quite the experience eh? What kind of motor did they say that happened to?

It was a Toyota motor but I don't know what motor specifically.

I bet some autoxers end up with worn cams and damaged valves and may attribute it to other causes than oil starvation due to cornering. I bet it happens more than one might think, and I certainly bet our motors are susceptible.