What does BITOG think of the italian tuneup??

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I am a great believer of the italian tuneup
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My SpecV is as clean as it can possibly get, this is my car dedicated to drag racing, autocross, rallycross.. just fun stuff, so it LIVES at high RPM.

My Suzuki XL-7 and Subaru Legacy are clean too! I redline them at least a couple times everytime I drive them and they just love it, my XL-7 is so much more rev-happy than a friend's XL-7.

My Beetle 2.0 ....well.. I'm trying to clean this thing
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, my sister has been driving it for years and everytime I change the oil (early) it comes out as black as it gets, and there is some visible heavy varnish. So lately I've been taking it and driving it like I stole it... (this thing is SOOO slow.. even with the 5spd)

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WHat does BITOG think of the Italian tune-up??
 
I'm a believer. But then I've got an old Ferrari and an older Alfa Romeo. They get redlined every time I drive 'em.
 
Yeah, I think its good practice within reason. Lugging an engine around isnt too great.

I think it helps with condensation, helps keep things seated, and helps deposits..........plus its fun!!

I've got to convince myself to set aside 10$ in gas money to punch it in the Jeep once and a while. LOL
 
As long as it's warmed up...exercizing an engine helps to keep it healthy just like a human body. Within reason of course. An engine that lives at red-line will not last as long as one that simply lopes along at 2000 rpms on the highway.
 
Originally Posted By: oliveoil
As long as it's warmed up...


if we're talking about just water temps, almost.

My friend's Audi S4's oil temp doesn't get up to normal temps as soon as the coolant does. So we only get on it once the oil is also up to operating temp.
 
I do it everytime i run a mountain pass in my Jeep. 6 speed tranny and often floored in 3rd and 4th to keep it up to posted speed limit ging up the passes against the wind. Sometimes this is max output for 10 minutes at a stretch before it levels out and goes down hill. That gets it everything warm!
 
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Another myth from the past. No carbs or weak ignitions here.

Take an older car...yep, the ITU really works. Also good on many aftermarket modified engines due to rich tuning.

But on a stocker Nissan? No benefit. But it is you car...
 
Originally Posted By: MrWideTires


My Beetle 2.0 ....well.. I'm trying to clean this thing
21.gif
, my sister has been driving it for years and everytime I change the oil (early) it comes out as black as it gets, and there is some visible heavy varnish. So lately I've been taking it and driving it like I stole it... (this thing is SOOO slow.. even with the 5spd)
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It's called the 2.SLOW for a reason. I know, my wife had a 2000 Beetle. So the slow is not surprising - the black oil...who knows. Remember that oil colour is not a good indicator of anything except what colour the oil is.

I know the recommended oil for my wife's 2000 was Xw40. Why don't you run a good heavy duty diesel 40 weight through for the extra cleaning (or Auto-RX it).
 
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It gets intake velocities up to clean out deposits, combustion pressures up to blow out the rings and operating temps up to dissolve deposits. That's why it works.
 
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
It gets intake velocities up to clean out deposits, combustion pressures up to blow out the rings and operating temps up to dissolve deposits. That's why it works.


Ed Zachary!

I'm a true believer, esp since it was beneficial on older FI cars and not just carb cars.
 
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Does 90 MPH on the highway for 30 minutes count as an Italian tune up ?



Not in a Corvette....that would have to be 160 mph for 20 minutes with the first 100mph in under 15 seconds.
 
My dad always say's his cars run better after use them so maybe there's some truth to it. Italian tuneups not recommended if a car has no muffler and it's 5am.. made for a good laugh on my part though.
 
I gave one to my wifes car a little while back. She lugs it along at the lowest speeds and it NEVER sees the highway. I took it out, put some premium in it and gave it the ride of its life up and down the freeway for about 30 minutes. Afterwards, it was silky smooth and ran great.
 
My independent mechanic with 3 factory certifications from Mercedes on the wall is a huge believer in italian tune ups.

It's been many years since we discussed it, but I thought he said a 10 hour trip following italian tune-up driving practices was really effective in to removing a great deal of deposits from the valves on a car that he bought used.
 
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