Why does my '02 seem to "backfire" when it's revv'd? Is this normal?

So you guys know what I'm talking about check out the video [3.88 meg].
http://stereo.d2g.com:900/maxima_bf.avi

Stereodude

 

All I'm getting is audio. sounds bad though

 

You didn't say so I'm going to ask, was your car engine warm already? You seem to be putting out a fair amount of smoke, which would be normal for a cold engine. I think it's also normal for a cold engine to "mis-fire". A warm engine would be different for both cases. I also didn't quite hear a mis-fire/back-fire but rather the kind of pinging normally associated with detonation (again a cold engine issue).

My $.02, I'm not a mechanic so take it for what it's worth.

 

It shouldn't make that noise. Your still under warranty, go back to the dealer. Something isn't right.....

 

That sure is a heck of a lot of smoke coming from the exhaust. Was it cold? There also seems to be more water than normal dripping from the exhaust. Would it be possible that you somehow got water in your exaust pipe/muffler?

It almost sounds and looks like something inside the muffler is loose and rattling around.

 

Damn that car sounds like shizz, and I don't mean that in a good way. Have you modded anything in the exhaust system. Does it only do it when it is hot or does it do it all the time. If it was an exhaust leak it would only do it when it was hot. I would take it to the dealer and have him look at it. It is definately not "normal".

Did your SES light come on?

 

Wow, sounds very strange. Dumb question but: how does it run otherwise? Does it just exibit this noise when it's cold? It's possible you have a fouled/damaged plug. That might allow an uncombusted air/fuel mix into the exhaust stream causing the 'backfires' you're hearing. I guess it could be a coil problem, but that seems less likely. Any new engine mods? Probably need more info on your setup before we can help diagnose the problem. Hard to tell from the video if that's smoke or steam from a hot exhaust on a cold morning. What were the air temps when you shot the vid -- and where are you located?

Oh, and if you're only hearing audio from his clip, go to www.divx.com and download the divx codec.

 

The car is stock except for the FSTB and RSB and wheels. It was moderately cold this morning when I shot the video. That is condensation you all are seeing. I don't percieve anything wrong with it when I'm driving the car.

Then engine hadn't been running for very long, but the temp gauge was in the middle when I made the clip.

I'm going to go drive a few miles and take some more audio.

Stereodude

 

Ok, clip #2. Slightly different angle.

Is it possible that's the stupid flap (related to the variable capacity muffler) in the exhaust not working properly, or bouncing, or is this unburnt fuel in the cat burning? If you watching carefully you'll see that the exhaust pipe shakes and wiggles to the popping sound. That would seem to indicate a backfire in the cat to me, but I'm not sure.

http://stereo.d2g.com:900/maxima_bf_2.avi [2.98 meg]

Stereodude

 

Get a greddy catback and problem solved .... ...

 

I don't know about the resolution to your problem (if there is one), but I have a question about your instrument cluster. Is your car a Canadian car or something? It looked like you've got metric gauges. Just curious.

 

Yes, those are the canadian gauges.

 

Yeah they're Metric. I bought the car in Canada.

Stereodude

 

Is there anyadvantages to buying a car in canada.....oh yeah $$$. But besides that, and the cool guages, are there any cool differences?

 

nope, only the MPH are KPH and mileage is in km

 

So, is my car behaving normally, or what?

Stereodude

 

hell no, even though i didn't even hear your clip

 

My car does that. Worse now with the test pipe.

If it starts pinging in between shifts you may need to replace your plugs or get the ingnition checked out.
It could also be running too rich from a bad MAF signal or bad O2.

 

You get an engine block heater standard. Not sure if that qualifies as a "cool feature" though.

Stereodude