Finally I,m getting my 2012 cali . Has 35000 KM on odo. Had it checked by the dealer before I bought it. It came back with an excellent report , but they recommended new plugs and carbon removal .Charged me almost 4k for the work. Just curious how often should or have to be done .
Never heard of "carbon removal". Best way to avoid carbon build up is WOT to redline a few times every time you drive it!
The cali has a GDI engine fuel never touches the intake valves so nothing cleans them but the emission control recirculates the crank case gases to the intake manifold and carbon deposits form on the valves A common issue with GDI engines / Gasoline Direct Injection /
Yup VW has had carbon issues since FSI motors in 2005, I heard Toyota is running a 5th injector in the intake at a low frequency to keep the intake wet.
$4k for carbon cleaning and new plugs?!? I have a 2013 Cali 30 and when the first annual after I bought the car was due (at 16,000 mi last Sept) I posted a question here about possible carbon build up because I could feel a minor roughness during idle and hard acceleration. The answer I got from ‘Il co-pilota’ https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/non-turbo-cali-engine-smoothness-issue.627769/ was quite knowledgeable and helpful. It was suggested that I use the two products shown below right before the service and plug change. I discussed this with my mechanic (not a Ferrari dealer but well known and highly respected throughout the gulf south, with 30 years experience with Ferrari and other high performance cars) and he agreed, so I did just that, using the two cleaners according to their instructions. The results were impressive, and including the service the total cost was under $1k. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Apparently they removed the intake manifolds and blasted the valves with walnut shells to clean them, and that is why such a high cost. The buildup was pretty bad already. They also said it was overdue already. So how often should it be cleaned? What I'm surprised of is how few a people know about this issue not only with the cali but all GDI engines and I believe the cali T the 488 and so on has GDI engines too. Is it because nobody drives their cars that much and they are low mileage? can see that since my 2012 cali took 9 years to get to 35K
I intend to run those cleaners through every year. I think that’s plenty often enough. One thing to watch out for when using the spray in the intake is be sure to access downstream of the MAFs, the Mass Airflow Sensors. In other words, between them and the engine.
A few photos from previous carbon cleaning, these are the intake valves on a 2013 California with 18,xxx miles: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
To answer your question, since miles are not the issue, I would suggest every 5 years +/- Fuel additives wont help, as the fuel ( or additive ) never makes it to the intake runner or valve area as seen in the photos above. Any cleaner , would have to be introduced into the intake, and as Mr. Phillips mentioned above, AFTER the air mass meters to avoid damage there. S
Wow, those before and after photos are really eye opening. I imagine the performance difference must have been quite noticeable.
CRC makes a DFI cleaner for exactly this, and it works really well. Each year a few days before the car goes into service, treat the intake with the CRC cleaner, and then run a tank of fuel with Royal Purple Max Clean. The reason to do it at this time, is so that the oil is changed right after the cleaning. Does the job and it is not that difficult to do. Sent from my SM-G930F using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Asking, as I am open to learning new things, and not meant to come across argumentative: How exactly would a fuel additive work on a DFI engine, since you are adding an additive to the fuel system, to clean an area that fuel does not reach? How would an additive actually work? S
The process I suggest is a two step process. The CRC cleaner is not an additive, but a cleaner sprayed into the plenum. That will take care of the stuff in the plenum and runners etc. The additive serves to clean the injectors, combustion chambers, valve seats etc. But yes, the additive will help in the intake runners as well as on the backside of the valves. Your question as to how this can be is a good one, but easier answered than you might think. The same reason why you get carbon upstream before the heads, is the same reason why an additive will get onto the back of the valves etc. Reversion. The overlap between intake and exhaust duration creates reversion in the intake. And this reversion is most prevalent at low rpm and idle. But at higher rpm and full throttle, the reversion goes away. This is one of the reasons you don't see the carbon build up in cars driven hard. Not as much anyway. So yes, a bit of the atomized fuel does enter the intake runner in the head, and thus carry a bit of the cleaner with it. That said, you do need to use the cleaner you spray into the intake manifold. Some argue that running a cleaner biweekly etc. will make the spray-in cleaner obsolete, but I don't like the idea of running too many solvents through the engine. But a yearly treatment with the CRC cleaner and the Max Clean goes a long way. Sent from my SM-G930F using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Thank you, understood. I'll look into this, maybe even try it out before an intake off cleaning, to get good before, during, and after photos! Will report back, Steve
