Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything?

Kissfan79 · Post by **Kissfan79** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 2:10 pm

I have been noticing that the tailpipe on my Vibe tends to be pretty sooty. If I run my finger along the edge of it, you can see the bright shiny line left by my finger and my finger will have a good deal of soot on it. I looked at the tailpipe on my wife's Explorer and her tailpipe has virtually no soot on it. Could the fact that I run premium and she doesn't have anything to do with it or is a sooty tailpipe an indication of something like running rich?Jim

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 3:37 pm

Is it inside the pipe or outside?

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 3:43 pm

I never stuck my finger up my car's a&& so I coulnd't tell ya.LOL! Just kidding dude.Honestly, I have no clue...might just be part of break-in perhaps?

Kissfan79 · Post by **Kissfan79** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 4:39 pm

.Well.....Iv'e got almost 12,000 miles on my GT...so I don't think it is break in. I have just run my finger around the edge of the upgrade stainless tip but it does look like it is on the inside of the tip as well. I will look deeper tommorrow. Perhaps it is just because of the premium fuel....I don't know. I can always call the dealership....joy joy... Jim

cohocarl · Post by **cohocarl** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 7:38 pm

I noticed the same thing on mine and other Vibes. I had an exhaust made up with a Hooker Aerochamber muffler, and a chrome Hooker tip (which rusted up so bad I took it off) which from the factory is painted red on the inside. The inside of the tip was so sooty within a day you couldn't see it had been red. The tip on my wife's Stratus R/T which is a couple years old isn't nearly as sooty. I'd rather have it running a little too rich than lean, but it does seem kind of odd.

Wrx-2-Vibe · Post by **Wrx-2-Vibe** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 1:20 am

Do you have a cat-back installed? often if you have an aftermarket exhaust and installed it w/ an exiting (e.g. old) gasket, a leak can produce "more" black stuff

yooper_bob · Post by **yooper_bob** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 3:01 am

Same here on my GT. Noticed it soon after I got it last year and it is still the same way now after 38K miles. Still bone stock - no modifications. I did ask the dealer about it early on w/o any response. Go figure. I have noticed that every GT I've seen has the same condition, where the Base Vibes are cleaner. Anybody know if this condition exists on the Matrix XRS or Celica GT-S (vehicles w/ the 2zz engines)?But one concern I've had is that since the soot can be linked to a rich air/fuel mixture, would I have to worry about a plugged catalytic converter in the future?BobMono Shadow GT

Kissfan79 · Post by **Kissfan79** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 3:02 am

The exhaust is stock.....I haven't messed with it (yet.... ).Jim

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 5:06 am

If you have an aftermarket tip, perhaps the metal it is made with is chemically reacting wtih something in the fuel? That's very strange...

QUIKAG · Post by **QUIKAG** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 7:33 am

Non-issue. 2zz motors run a bit rich especially on the big end (high rpm). Running a little rich is not bad for a motor at all. My Corvette runs a bit rich when I'm running it hard and there's a little bit of black soot on the exhaust tips. No worries!!

MiamiVibe · Post by **MiamiVibe** » Thu Jul 17, 2003 7:09 am

Think it has to do with the intakes cause i saw that on mine once i started using my injen.

NovaResource · Post by **NovaResource** » Thu Jul 17, 2003 9:37 am

quote:Think it has to do with the intakes cause i saw that on mine once i started using my injen.I have an Injen intake but my tailpipe is soot free.

MiamiVibe · Post by **MiamiVibe** » Thu Jul 17, 2003 9:51 am

well i clean it and its not much, I think i just like having my tip SHINE!

scherry2 · Post by **scherry2** » Thu Jul 17, 2003 9:59 am

Its running to rich. running premium fuel will do that if the car only requires a regular octane rating

rasermon · Post by **rasermon** » Thu Jul 17, 2003 10:03 am

quote:well i clean it and its not much, I think i just like having my tip SHINE!At the Mi. meet, Triton GT gave me some "Never Dull" to try on my Borla. It worked great, so I had to buy a can of it for myself.

Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything?

Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything?

Re: Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything? (Kissfan79)

Re: Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything? (silverawd26)

Re: Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything? (ragingfish)

Re: Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything? (Kissfan79)

Re: Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything? (Kissfan79)

Re: Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything? (Kissfan79)

Re: Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything? (Wrx-2-Vibe)

Re: Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything? (Kissfan79)

Re: Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything? (Kissfan79)

Re: Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything? (QUIKAG)

Re: Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything? (MiamiVibe)

Re: Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything? (NovaResource)

Re: Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything? (MiamiVibe)

Re: Is a sooty tailpipe an indication of anything? (MiamiVibe)