Giant Fireball

So the F40 is my DD for a few days since my M5 & Z06 are in the shop

So today after my mechanic wrapped all the turbo pipes, airboxes, and parts of the intercoolers I was driving from Miami to SoBe in heavy traffic

My F40 does this wierd thing sometimes when the engine stumbles and drops power, usually its clears up in a few seconds and she's good to go

This time in heavy traffic when she cleared up traffic cleared and I dropped the hammer

I saw a fireball in my mirror. for me to see that it must have been at least 2 ft in diameter

No problems after that

I can imagine what the other drivers were thinking when they saw a giant fireball pop out

 

They were thinking, "Now, that is an Italian tuneup!"

 

NICE.

You just ruined every male under the age of 80 behind you for the rest of their lives.

 

I envy this situation!

 

That'll teach 'em not to follow too close .

 

Check the slowdown ECUs. If they're not working all the time, you'll get excess fuel being pumped through the exhaust and into the engine compartment. The fuel catches fire.

 

I enjoy the fireballs and the machine gun exhaust when I back off

I'd prefer not to have a fire though

The Slow Down lights are working but I just ignore them

I think all the insulating I've done makes the fireballs bigger, probably bcus more heat is now staying inside the exhaust instead of radiating out

Does that make any sense ?

 

Kind of scary, but that is amazingly cool!!! I think I would have crapped my pants right then.


PDG

 

Sounds like an excessively rich air/fuel mixture at wide-open-throttle, resulting in extra lag and less power in that rpm range. Most highly tuned, catless turbo cars will have some kind of fireball at times, but if you can see a 2-ft fireball in the rearview mirror, that's excessive!!!! Heat wrapping has nothing to do with this. The rich spot could easily be tuned out on the dyno.

The F40 is unique in that the wastgate dump tube empties out alongside the exhaust pipes. Flames will always shoot from the dump tube at WOT, which doesn't hurt performance at all and of course is super cool. You don't get to see that in most front engined turbo cars since the dump tubes are aimed at the ground.

 

Now that would be a cool youtube clip with a burning Lambo (insert your own non-Ferrari choice here) spliced right in behind it.

Hope you get things settled.

Cheers (and I am envious..)
Colin Firth-Ontario Canada

 

Funniest part is that the BMW and Chevy are in service and the Ferrari is doing daily driver duties. Kudos to you man!

 

I suppose you wrapped the exhaust? For even more flameage ceramic coat it (+ you won't get the issue of oil leaking on the heat wrap and possibly causing your car to go up in flames, happened to a few heat wrapped cars...).

The flames are caused when you go off the throttle and a little unburned fuel gets on the hot exhaust. Nothing harmful if its a little rich on lift off. F1 cars do it!

 

Somewhere on the site, I think it was Joe S. mentioned the F40 being a over achiever when it comes to cooling. I wonder if that has something to do with it?

 

Maybe a little. But as mentioned before the F40 has the separate exhaust pipe for the wastegate. So you will notice more flames. Which I think is cool as hell.

 

When I read the title the first thing I thought was "oh no" another Ferrari burned to the ground!"

 

No, wrapping on exhaust, I have my tubi straight pipes ceramic coated

 

Goodness, gracious, great balls of FIRE!

 

Nice.

 

HUBB you mad ****!!

 

Ferrari afterburner

 

If I saw that my it would bring new meaning to premature....well you know the rest. lol

 

What brand and what heat range are the spark plugs that you run on the street in the F40?
ch

 

In regards to the fireball, I'm surprised nobody has said "without pics it didn't happen" yet!

 

We know better than to doubt the Hubster

That said; I'd be happy to fly down to confirm with evidence

 

it would be an epic pic if you managed to capture it