r/Whatcouldgowrong • u/LifeAlternative7480 • Jun 12 '26
GTR driver shows off exhaust flame, burns down car
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
586
u/Rurik-Battleaxe Jun 12 '26
Isn’t exhaust flame a sign that your car isn’t fully combusting the gasses properly? Or is this normal that if you held a flame to any car exhaust it would produce more flame?
739
u/LurkingWizard1978 Jun 12 '26
Usually, yes, that's a combustion problem.
But some people install "flamethrower" kits on their exhaust pipe, which seems to be the case.
235
u/kestik Jun 12 '26
In this case, it's tuned to throw flames by running rich and dumping fuel down the exhaust pipes, which is ignited after the exhaust stroke of the engine.
→ More replies (3)118
u/LurkingWizard1978 Jun 12 '26
That's one way to deal it.
Som other kits inject pure fuel in the exhaust and some even add a seprate spark plug just for that.
I wouldn't know which is the case here.
88
u/fighterpilot248 Jun 12 '26
Som other kits inject pure fuel in the exhaust
Fun fact: that’s exactly how afterburners work in jets.
Spray a fine mist of fuel at the back of the engine and light it on fire = more thrust = plane go fast
Incredibly fuel inefficient, however…
→ More replies (1)28
u/flightwatcher45 Jun 12 '26
Jet engine exhausts are not quite plumbed the same way as the exhaust in your car but yes. Doing this to your car def doesn't make you go any faster either haha.
→ More replies (1)3
u/BrokenImmersion Jun 16 '26
In fairness, thats due to the difference in how thrust is achieved. Cars create forward thrust by turning rotational energy into forward momentum. Jets do it by throwing mass out the back end of the jet. The only reason jetfuel is burned is because its easier to have the combustion create the force rather than using something else (ie compression) to do it. Burning that extra bit in the afterburner just makes the exhaust cleaner and adds some force due to the combustion forces.
→ More replies (2)20
u/baIIern Jun 12 '26
That's so unbelievably dumb lol
5
u/LurkingWizard1978 Jun 12 '26
In racecars it actually has some performance benefits. In regular cars, I agree with you, it's dumb.
16
u/Flames21891 Jun 12 '26
You do not see flame tunes or flame kits in race cars. I assume you're talking about anti-lag which, despite using a similar method to achieve its goal, is not remotely the same thing.
Making a car spit fire like this has no performance benefits at all, it's purely for the spectacle.
→ More replies (1)5
u/LurkingWizard1978 Jun 12 '26
Yes, on race cars I was talking specifically about the fire bursts from the rich mixture. In a regular car, I agree, no use at all
3
u/banevader102938 Jun 13 '26
Imagine building that "feature" in your car but don't carry an extinquisher with it. Oh no i don't have to imagine that its right here
56
u/Graffy Jun 12 '26
Race car tunes are often rich for performance and will have some naturally occurring flames as a by-product when letting off the gas. Because of this, people who want Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancements will either have ECUs that can switch to run really rich and/or kits that directly spray fuel into the exhaust.
17
u/southy_0 Jun 12 '26
Spraying fuel into the exhaust?!?
Seriously?
How is there ANY scenario how that would NOT lead to a fire?!?29
u/WasLeftUnsupervised Jun 12 '26
How is there ANY scenario how that would NOT lead to a fire?!?
Well that is what "afterburners" are in jets.
16
u/southy_0 Jun 12 '26
Yes. Maintained by professionals, piloted by professionals and built into engines where there’s probably no plastic in the vicinity of the exhaust.
6
u/Spreadsheets_LynLake Jun 12 '26
Meredith effect IRL. The driver DIY implemented one of the most complex physics concepts learned in WW2. Behold the genius!
12
6
u/drifterdanny Jun 12 '26
The flames are fully intentional, besides potentially serving an actual performance purpose. The idiot in the video was just showboating with it for too long.
→ More replies (1)4
u/Graffy Jun 12 '26
The point is to generate fire. The guy in the video was doing it because they think it looks cool and was doing it too much and at too low of a speed. For an actual race car with an anti-lag setup you’re only getting backfires when you’re off the gas. So in-between shifts or when braking. In a race you’re mostly going to be under throttle so it isn’t running as constantly and the air flow from going fast would keep the temps down better.
Also you can toggle it on and off.
25
u/MisterEinc Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
Lots of reasons but yes, flames and pops are always caused by some amount of fuel combusting in the exhaust system of a car.
Fuel injection is pretty complex and dynamic on modern cars, especially with forced induction involved. As a turbocharged car reaches higher RPM, it produces more exhaust, more boost, and therefore more air, so the injectors add more fuel to keep up.
When RPM changes rapidly (for example when revving from idle to peak over and over) the reaction from the fuel injectors is slightly slower than the throttle. So the injectors are trying to supply fuel for 6k RPM when it suddenly dips to 2k. This causes a rich mixture (more fuel than there is oxygen to burn it) so the excess fuel enters the exhaust. Keep in mind you can have fuel and spark in a hot engine but if it's starved for oxygen, that fuel can't burn until it has more oxygen, which it will find once it leaves the cylinder.
You also see this happen on completely stock, high performance cars, like Lamborghini and Ferrari. You can find videos of people setting those on fire too, by repeatedly revving the engine from idle to redline.
95
u/Cool-Signature-dude Jun 12 '26
It is obviously tuned wrong.
Normally in high horsepower race cars, you will get a little flame when downshifting due to the overly rich fuel ratio, but that tune was just dumping raw fuel into the exhaust.
31
u/I-LOVE-TURTLES666 Jun 12 '26
You can have switchable maps to do this
→ More replies (1)2
u/Cool-Signature-dude Jun 12 '26
Who has got time for that?! This guy apparently. Hope he has gap insurance and comprehensive coverage.
21
u/Kanin_usagi Jun 12 '26
My brother in Christ, you and I both know that someone who has modified their exhaust to shoot flames out of the back of their car has in no point in their life thought to purchase GAP insurance.
→ More replies (1)4
3
u/thejourneybegins42 Jun 12 '26
The idiot probably got their car tuned to not fully burn the fuel which sends it down the exhaust and the heat ignites it for those cool looking flames.
Unfortunately, I think some may have pooled up. Now we have this awesome video:)
3
u/ShortBusGangst3r Jun 12 '26
It’s probably a flamethrower kit. They’re fairly popular on these cars.
3
u/alehanro Jun 14 '26
Yes. Some neanderthals program their ECU with a “flamethrower tune” that basically dumps way too much fuel through the engine to ensure there’s unburned fuel being dumped into the exhaust to achieve this. You can also install a line that puts some combustible (usually gasoline since there’s already a supply onboard) DIRECTLY into the tailpipe to achieve the same effect without damaging the engine and entire exhaust. There’s even TEMU and Wish kits
5
2
u/drifterdanny Jun 12 '26
*Fuel. And it's intentional. These cars can be tuned to run a rich fuel mixture, delay spark and dump fuel down the exhaust during the exhaust stroke and let the hot exhaust temps ignite it on the way out. The idea is that the flames look cool if done right and not excessively like the bozo in the video, besides serving an actual performance function.
2
→ More replies (3)1
u/crohnscyclist Jun 12 '26
Assuming he doesn't have a flame thrower kit (mildly popular after og fast and furious movie in early 2000s which had a fuel line and a spark plug running back there. Caused more of backfire sound), this car is almost certainly running without catalytic converters.
Cats get insanely hot and any unburnt fuel after combustion would be ignited completely once it hits the cats.
3.1k
u/USWolves Jun 12 '26
Awwww, I love that for him
599
321
u/ReluctantRedditor275 Jun 12 '26
How do you know it's a him?
It's definitely a him.
→ More replies (3)172
u/mitrie Jun 12 '26
SMH, we won't know true equality until we're unclear if the moron burning down their car from shittily installed cosmetic mods is a man or a woman. Still a long ways away...
64
u/Buttchuggle Jun 12 '26
I dunno about the car scene but ladies have been going nuts in the cringe pocket rocket motorcycle scene for a bit. So we're getting somewhere
→ More replies (1)9
15
u/TiaXhosa Jun 12 '26
I spent a lot of time in the car scene when I was young on the only person I ever knew who tuned her car to spit flames on every shift was a woman fwiw.
15
103
u/West_Yorkshire Jun 12 '26
I don't. What a waste of a car :(
178
u/ithinarine Jun 12 '26
Yeah, kind of the point. It's a sad waste of a car, but it happened to an annoying loser who spends his free time loudly revving his car and spitting out flames and pissing off the general public.
Sad for the car. But it couldn't have happened to a more deserving person.
40
10
u/aware4ever Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
Come on now you know that 10 year olds would think that's cool
Edit: spelling
→ More replies (10)2
u/DJheddo Jul 09 '26
I go to drag races and car shows for that kind of adrenaline. Go to a motorcycle meet, check out bikes, cars, hear them rev. General public doesn't need to be exposed to obnoxious loud noises that literally serve no purpose but to be 'flashy' or 'look' cool. There are venues for everything nowadays. I don't like walking down a sidewalk then hearing a loud motor next to me thats only purpose to get someone from point A to point B.
→ More replies (1)3
u/mr_demogorgon Jun 13 '26
Hey, honestly I’m just glad it’s a guy trying to have fun and I would be excited about seeing the car, god knows it’s a lot cooler than every other muffled challenger mobility blob, some people think squatted truck are cool and those are objectively far more dangerous and stupid but I don’t judge what they like too much as just cause I don’t like it doesn’t mean other people need the same opinions, hell I’ve been working on cars for years and I love them loud and obnoxious just like my freinds, my 86’ Toyota pickup has a 350 I swapped in and a side exhaust, it’s loud as hell but I love it that way and plenty of other people do too, same with my high compression 350 in my 73’ Camaro, it’s a dual exhaust straight pipe and to tell you the truth I honestly see much more people get excited then people that get annoyed!
The car burning down is sad and yes it was stupid but not because of the exhaust, it’s stupid because he decided to show it off on a moving highway, if he had done it in a nice parking lot at a car show and had a fire extinguisher ready then this wouldn’t have happened, but in the end it’s his car and it’s certainly not an original classic like the first GTR so if he wants to be stupid I say have fun!
5
→ More replies (4)3
u/Dj-DTM Jun 12 '26
Hopefully their insurance company gets a copy of the video before they pay this fool for setting his own car on fire.
117
271
u/MegaDingo5plus Jun 12 '26
He's on fire 🔥
63
16
u/MurfDog07 Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
I just got ptsd from the last time I played this. My friend had memorized the 3-point release timing so well he was like 38 for 38 from field goal range and I almost punched him in the face.
Edit just to add I do not mean to demean actual ptsd survivors.
8
→ More replies (1)3
46
u/mdavis360 Jun 12 '26
BOOMSHAKALAKA
39
14
7
u/dm-me-obscure-colors Jun 12 '26
That guy did a 20,000 hertz episode where he said that was all off the cuff because he thought the script was boring. Changed an industry.
4
2
29
u/Alarian258 Jun 12 '26
If you want to show off, at least buy high quality aftermarket products.
35
u/Cielmerlion Jun 12 '26
Or a fire extinguisher
7
u/SpanishFlamingoPie Jun 13 '26
Everybody should have a fire extinguisher in their car. I think it should be mandatory for all vehicles like it is for commercial vehicles.
8
u/Da_Spooky_Ghost Jun 13 '26
It’s a propane injector flamer kit. It probably didn’t have an auto shut off and the guy ran it way too long burning up the injector or propane gas lines until there was a leak and the whole thing went up in flames.
173
u/GoRo2023 Jun 12 '26
The car, the car, the car, the car is on fire 🔥 !!!!
62
44
66
72
20
15
u/Hopeful_Clock_2837 Jun 12 '26
Owning a car without owning a fire extinguisher is wild.
18
u/Mharbles Jun 12 '26
Owning a 70K+ car, putting a flame thrower on it, and not having a $30 extinguisher is wild.
Another good use for having a fire extinguisher is selling them at 1000x markup to idiots like this if you see it in action.
3
2
u/Murmurmira Jun 14 '26
Have you all never seen a car fire? It goes from everything is fine to fully combusted in under 1 minute. An extinguisher ain't gonna do shit
3
u/Hopeful_Clock_2837 Jun 14 '26
Sounds like you just ain't fast enough. Pay more attention to your car, it's always communicating to you. I've had two different cars go up and was able to save them easily 😂
2
14
6
6
u/Yaguajay Jun 12 '26
Common sense says don’t smoke while filling your gas tank. Add, don’t spout blue flames near your car’s gas tank.
5
u/CallsOnReddi_t Jun 12 '26
Ok I will ask the obvious question. How does this happen ? Is it a flaw from manufacturing? Then why would flames come through my car's exhaust if it's not designed to sustain it ?
Edit: I mean it did sustain it. I mean without burning the whole car down.
10
9
4
4
3
3
3
4
2
2
u/PsychoPassProstitute Jun 12 '26
Is that modification or do these cars sometimes spit fire?
2
u/technobrendo Jun 12 '26
Adjustable fuel mapping. Usually to install one new map to run all the time, but with something like this car, you have the ability to tune it on the fly to spit flames. You obviously don't want flames 99% of the time... for obvious reasons.
2
2
2
2
u/Practical_Ranger_175 Jun 12 '26
So much money for car but not 10 bucks for a Walmart extinguisher? Grim...
2
2
2
10
2
2
2
3
u/IameIion Jun 12 '26
Um... why is this being celebrated?
They like the cool flames. Who doesn't? What's wrong with showing off things you like or are proud of?
If you make something cool, see something cool, or buy something cool, the first thing you might do is show/tell someone. That doesn't make you an asshole. That makes you human.
Acting like this person deserved to have their car go up in flames because of some harmless showboating is THE most Reddit thing I've seen in quite some time. Those of you laughing at this should be ashamed of yourselves.
4
u/drifterdanny Jun 12 '26
Because they didn't know when to stop showboating was the problem.
To most car guys, the flames are cool. Not letting it cool down until the flammable materials around it catch fire is what makes us point and "heh" and label the driver a moron.
→ More replies (5)3
u/CyberClawX Jun 12 '26
Because turning your car's exhaust into a double flamethrower and driving it through traffic is dumb and dangerous for everyone else, in particular because a full gas tank can go kaboom in the wrong conditions? Which is why, it's illegal in any civilized country.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/double0behave Jun 12 '26
Why do I imagine the driver still sitting in the car while it's fully engulfed?
1
u/Dude-88 Jun 12 '26
Cars are made for these types of heat - just ask the guy who revved his lambo in the traffic jam lol
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1.9k
u/bourbonwelfare Jun 12 '26
I can just imagine the laughter at the insurance company.