iv been told my car is running to rich ? whats that mean has that got to do with nitro ?
No - thats the short answer . . .
The long answer is:-
When you hear 'lean' or 'rich', it refers to the about the air to fuel ratio in your inlet charge.
The carburetor emulsifies liquid fuel into a gas and at the same time mixes the fuel with air. . .
If your car is running too rich, it means the carburetor is mixing too much fuel to the ratio of air.
If your car is running too lean, it means that the carburetor is mixing too much air to the ratio of fuel.
Your car will produce the most amount of power and run the best when the air/fuel ratio is correct for your engine.
Too rich, the engine will run sluggish and fowl itself with the excess fuel/oil that is not burnt.
Too lean, the engine will run hot and drop power.
Also, the reciprocating parts of an engine are typically lubricated by oil supplied from a remote reservoir (sump or tank) - RC nitro engines do not have a sump filled with liquid oil to cool and lube the reciprocating parts, lubrication is provided by the oil contained within the fuel that is pumped though the engine (as part of the induction cycle).
So if you run your engine too lean (too much air vs gas fuel), you will also starve it of the oil it needs for lubrication, and the engine may seize.
If you have been told your engine is running too rich - if it is blowing excessive smoke - and leaking oil; when the engine is warm, turn the high speed tuning needle 1/8 of a turn in (clockwise) do a full throttle run - keep doing this until performance does not improve - turning the high speed needle clockwise leans the fuel mix (less fuel to air mix) - make small changes and careful not to take too much fuel out (lean too much) or you will may ruin your engine - dont let that deter you though - we all started somewhere and you wont learn unless you try.
Tuning your engine is rewarding - 1/8 of a turn can be the difference between 'thats running ok' vs 'wow that's much more powerful and responsive'!!!
