Just wondering if someone could give me some info as to what symptoms of running rich vs lean are? Also, how to go about balancing it out more for a more "neutral" flow. If someone has already created a thread, please send link. Thanks

 

Check your spark plugs. If they're black and "soot-y" at the tip, you're running rich (too much fuel). If they're white at the tip, you're running lean (not getting enough fuel).

 

If you have access to a scanner capable of reading fuel trim values it will tell you.
Ideal readings are 0% short term and 0% long term. Readings with a minus (-) sign in front of the number are lean, readings with a plus (+) sign are rich. The readings will fluctuate back and forth as the PCM is constantly monitoring and adjusting with less variation after the engine reaches operating temperature. A reading w/in the range of + or - 10% is OK.

 

Get an air fuel gauge

 

Everything listed above it correct ways to know if your lean or rich. To adjust it you need to have it tuned or buy a tuning software like hpt and tune it yourself.

 

Depends how rich or lean you're talking about. Too far in either direction and the engine won't run at all. It is easier to detect on the lean side because power drops off pretty quickly as there isn't enough fuel for all of the available oxygen. Running rich, you can still get complete use of the full oxygen charge, you just have leftover hydrocarbons. Of course, too far in the rich direction and you start to have combustion issues from being too far from stoich.

During normal driving, the engine shoots for about 14.7:1, but this goes a few points lower under heavy throttle and at cold startup.

On a modern engine, you shouldn't need to do anything to 'balance it out'. That's the whole point of a closed loop system with an O2 sensor. Once up to temperature, the pcm reads the O2 sensor and makes adjustments to the fuel trims to keep the car dialed in.

If the car is unable to maintain this balance, then something is likely broken (plugged injector, bad O2 sensor, etc etc etc).

The pcm also has limitations as to how much the trims can adjust, so that's why a tune is important with larger engine mods.

 

RICH: Too much Fuel --or-- Not enough Air.
You might foul plugs and stall.
Wastes gas.

LEAN: Not enough Fuel --or-- too much Air.
••Bad News••

Lean conditions can cause a myriad of problems including CATASTROPHIC Engine Failure.
Critically LEAN Mixtures can burn at temperatures that can DESTROY Heads, Pistons, Valves and Blow Gaskets.

If you are using OIL without seeing evidence of smoking exhaust ... the Mixture could be so Lean the Oil Sheen on Cylinder Walls is consumed as Fuel when the Hole fires.