So, I'm sitting at a light, one block from where I've got to turn off to go home tonight, and in front of me is an Eclipse with what's got to be the biggest "fart-can" exhaust I've ever seen. This guy had been beside me for several blocks either just looking at the stook, or trying to get my attention to race, but Broad Street's just crawling with cops this time of night and there's no way I'm going to do anything that stupid.

Anyway, the light turns green and he hits it. I hear his engine rev pretty high, but I'm keeping up with him doing my normal pull (nothing at all special) when all of a sudden his engine changes sound to what I can only describe as a "whistle" and he shoots away from me like a rocket!

A second later this gawd awful smell washes over my car and while I'm gagging and weezing, I'm wondering if he just destroyed his transmission or if I'm getting my first wiff of nitrous.

Anyone care to clue me in?

 

That whistle's probably the turbo.

 

That was probably the exhaust from the wastegate, if he had an open loop... it's not the greatest smell..

 

The whistle was probably his turbo and the smell was probably his clutch. DSM's are notorious for having the worst smelling clutch in the world. For those of you that haven't had the opportunity to experience this smell, consider yourself very lucky.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by derryck
[B]The whistle was probably his turbo and the smell was probably his clutch.

 

A fetid pond of sewer scum smells just about the sames as a DSM clutch-burn. The first 3 or 4 times I burned my clutch, I literally thought I was driving by a sewer outlet - there really is surprisingly little difference.

 

Deffinitly his turbo spooling up and you were smelling his overly rich fuel mixture as DSM's run notoriously rich from the factory and many remove their "cat's" in pursuit of greater performance.
Unfiltered exhaust+Unburnt excess fuel = Nasty....
Just ask the guys who are in my rearview

 

Nitrous however, does have a potent smell.

 

I never could understand why people use NOS. I mean, unless you're really that desperate for speed and willing to change your engine frequently. Oh well, yeah the whistle is turbo, you just kept up with him originally cause of the turbo-lag but when he hits the higher RPMs, the turbo kicks in and this "whistle" noise comes followed by a "fooosh" everytime he shifts.

 

Just because you use Nitrous doesn't mean that you have to rebuild your engine. Everyone I know with NOS use it responsibly. Also, you only get the "wooooosh" sound if you have a BOV or use a BPV to vent into the atmosphere.