Italian Tune UP?

Could someone be kind enough to tell me what an Italian Tune-up is and what it does and is it good for a car or not? Is it recommended? How often should it be done? Thanks

[tjohn]

Sure. An "italian tune up" is just a shorthand way of saying that you blow accumulated carbon out of the engine by placing enough of a load on the engine so that it operates at the high end of its operating temperature. Typically this is done by flooring the throttle, preferably while going up a long steep grade. The engine heats up, and built up soot or carbon becomes dislodged by the heat, and is burned out of the engine. Once the soot and carbon has been removed, the engine typically will run more smoothly - much as if it had received a tune-up. As long as the engine doesn't overheat, no harm should be done to it. It is particularly beneficial for older style diesels. Newer gasoline cars with computer controls benefit far less from the treatment in my opinion because their control systems tend to prevent the condtions that lead to carbon build up it the first place.

[Brian Carlton]

.........you been hanging around the Diesel guys and they didn't tell you that..............

[Nate]

bottom of this page explains alot
http://www.members.tripod.com/~fuelie/tuneup.htm

really, it gets the engine hot, parts moving fast, and blows out the carbon...
somebody with more time can explain why its italian
~Nate

[Jarod]

ok, i'll eb the dummy who trys to explain why its italian, where do ferraris come from? italy!! (i think) and what do ferraris do best?? WOT!!! and if you live in italy (and have tons of cash) you'll probably have a ferrari?? is that correct?? or am i way off??

[antonino]

The name comes from Alfa Romeos in the USA, when we had them, that customers would take into the shop because they were running poorly. The mechanic would then take the car on the highway and put his foot to the floor heating up the engine up and thus blowing out any carbon buildup. I own a 78 Alfa Spider Veloce and I occasionally drive it as they are driven in Italy...hard and fast. They really love it and run better for it. Also, I make a habit of doing this with all of my cars prior to taking them in for emissions inspections.

Antonino

[t walgamuth]

i dont really think it does much for a diesel. for myself i get on the road often enough that they stay cleaned out.

ditto for my gas engined cars.

the reason it worked for those old alfas was that a little fleck of rust or dirt would get in the float valve or such and a high speed run would open up all the various valves and flow out the bit of offending junk.

this might not be true if you never step on it and just granny around

tom w
four time grandpa and two more on the way

[C32AMG]

In 1964 i bought my first car for a great price, with an engine knock, a 55 Chevy nomad, had it towed to my fathers shop. The mechanic an old timer said to me, HEY
KID, the car is hungry feed it some rice, I got some here, I show how it’s done, In one hand he had some uncooked rice, with the other he grabs the throttle linkage revving the
Engine, now it’s knocking like hell; while he’s pouring the rice into the carburetor you
can see some black stuff coming out of the tail pipe, Minutes later the knock is gone.
Then he said, HEY KID I told you it was hungry, regap the plugs.

[t walgamuth]

that would be a good idea to try with a diesel.

i have no doubt it worked on the 55 chebby though!

tom w

[lkchris]

It's an obsolete term that described using high engine rpms to clean off sparkplugs, fouled by the fact carburetors seldom provided the correct mixture.

With today's ignitions so powerful they can kill you and fuel injection systems that generally always provide the correct mixture, it's no longer relevant.

[t walgamuth]

get carbon out on a gas engine is to pour kerosene down the carb while it is running. i have done it but couldnt say for sure it helped in my case. whatever problem i was trying to solve may not have been caused by carbon.

tom w

[Hatterasguy]

If you drive a diesel don't be afraid to get on it. They hate to be idled around town and really need to be blown out. I usually lock the tranns in 3rd and carry redline through the first three gears, lots of crap comes out.

As for a gas car the modern ones are just for fun. But if you have an old carb Ferrari or something like that then run the heck out of it once in awhile it will clean it out.

[joel]

1. pour 2 bottles of techron in quarter full of gas tank.
2. drive around till engine raaches operating temperature.
3. head to the freeway (night time, less traffic, cops asleep).
4. shift gear to 2, step on gas till close to redline, release pedal (you can hear the engine breathe, gasping for air.)
5. repeat No. 4 for about 10 miles.

I've done this numerous times to my 300e, with no adverse effect on the engine and tranny. It is a good workout for the car.