c/engine-performance

My uncle swore by seafoam in the crankcase and I found out the hard way

Poured a whole can into my 2002 F-150 before an oil change like he said and it blew a cloud of white smoke so thick my neighbor called the fire department, has anyone else had a mechanic give them junky advice that almost ruined their motor?

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jamie712•23h ago

Vent: Those knock sensor codes that made me chase ghosts for 6 weeks

So I had a p0327 code on my 02 Camry and I swapped the sensor, checked wiring, even replaced the harness connector. 6 weeks of testing and I finally found it was a tiny crack in the intake manifold gasket letting air in. That stupid air leak was causing the knock sensor to freak out and I wasted $200 on parts I didn't need. Anyone else spend forever chasing a code that turned out to be something simple like a vac leak?

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jamiegreen•1d ago

Took me 2 years to realize my cold air intake was doing nothing

I had this cheap cone filter on my 2010 Civic since I bought it. Thought I was getting better airflow and maybe a few extra horses. Then my buddy brought over a temp gun after a cruise last Saturday. He pointed it at my intake pipe near the header and it read 170 degrees. That's when it clicked - I was just sucking in hot engine bay air. The whole time my car was probably losing power, not gaining anything. The stock box at least pulls from the fender. I swapped back to the factory setup and my IATs dropped 40 degrees on the next drive. Has anyone else here ditched a short ram for the stock box and saw better results?

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jakef66•2d ago

Stumbled on a dyno sheet from my own car that blew my mind

I was cleaning out my garage last weekend and found an old dyno printout from when I had my 5.0 tuned back in 2018. I always thought I was making around 350 wheel, but the sheet showed 387. I had no idea the previous owner had cams and heads done before I bought it. Has anyone else found hidden mods on a used car that surprised you?

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dakota160•2d ago

Unpopular opinion: I used to think colder spark plugs were always better for performance

Back in 2019 I ran a set of heat range 8 plugs in my daily driver during a Kentucky summer, thinking it'd prevent knock, and my cold starts turned into a cranking nightmare for months. After a buddy pointed out my plugs were fouling from never getting hot enough, I switched back to the factory heat range 7 and the car ran smooth again. Has anyone else messed up their daily by chasing a track-only mod on a street motor?

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hernandez.jesse•3d ago

Anyone tried 5 Star Tuning on the newer Super Dutys?

Thinking about pulling the trigger on an SCT X4 from 5 Star Tuning for my F-250. The stock transmission shifting drives me crazy when I'm towing my toy hauler, it always feels like it's hunting for gears. Have you guys tried them?

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