Flame Kits

[cargirl05]

My boyfriend's mate makes home made flame kits, i was just wondering how safe you recon they are?

[mike@af]

It depends on the builder. Some flame exhaust kits people build wind them up in the hospital, others work perfectly fine.

Also this should be in the Car Detailing forum.

[cargirl05]

thamx! he seems to know alot about cars, he got the parts from ebay i think, and he got a book out the library about physics! i think he's even got an offer from a shop, but i'm not sure if they have bee tested yet! an other information would be great!

[mike@af]

What kind of fuel is he using? Just running straight through the engine and disabling the spark and enabling a spark in the exhaust? Or propane? Or something else?

[MStout]

It just reroutes the gas I think...I dont think its possible to disable the spark, I wouldnt want gas going in my cylinder and out the exhaust valve without it firing.

[mike@af]

Originally Posted by MStout

It just reroutes the gas I think...I dont think its possible to disable the spark, I wouldnt want gas going in my cylinder and out the exhaust valve without it firing.

Depends on the kit. I have seen some that run the gas straight through with no firing (one was on the show Trucks). I have also seen kits that use propane, butane, and other fuels in a seperate fuel cell that are ignited to create the flame.

[cargirl05]

i think he's using unleaded, but just runnning it rich! is there any chance the car could blow up, i know the petrol tank is near the exhaust, could the flame kit some how blow up the petrol tank! i am a worrier sorry!
his friend has has one on his car for about five months, so i know im probably over reacting! please let me know

[mike@af]

The only way the flame would touch the tank is through a hole in the exhaust pipe or a really rusting exhaust pipe. Even then, it would be pretty hard for the tank to catch fire, and explode. The tanks are usually made out of 16Ga steel/aluminum, some are made out of polycarbonate. Check under the car to see what its made out of. If its steel, the flame would have to be pretty hot to heat up the metal to ignite the gas.

The only thing you really have to worry about is the kit burping, going back up through the exhaust pipe to the engine, then you have a problem. Keep the engine above 3000RPM's when using it.

[MStout]

I dont know why you would even want one...cops would kill you if they saw it. But I would go with propane probably, since its not really explosive like gas and weighs less.

[mike@af]

Originally Posted by MStout

I dont know why you would even want one...cops would kill you if they saw it. But I would go with propane probably, since its not really explosive like gas and weighs less.

I'd go with kerosene then, least explosive of them all or C2H2. Also, you dont let the cops see it.

[cargirl05]

thanx guys! my boyfriend thinks his tank is steel so i suppose i'm safe there! the kit occasionally goes up the exhaust pipe and makes a loud popping noise? he says it hits something as it travels back. it sounds to me like he's ones aren't as dangerous as i think?

[mike@af]

I think what youre describing is a back fire. Thats not to good for the motor.