Is that a car backfiring?

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rainbowbob

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I haven't seen this question before so here goes:

I am pretty sure that cars can and do backfire. I am not a mechanic, but I have owned and operated many cars of various kinds and conditions of repair over the last 40 years. Yet I can't remember EVER having one backfire on me. I can't remember ever having been close enough to a car that is backfiring to positively identify it as the source of a loud "bang".

Despite the foregoing testimony - whenever I hear a loud bang (a fairly frequent occurrence in a city), I usually assume it is a car backfiring.

What is really the most likely explanation...a backfiring car, a firecracker, or a firearm? I don't want to go "Condition Orange" every time a car backfires - but I also don't want to be unaware if a gun is being fired within earshot.

Any of you mechanic types know about the frequency of backfiring cars?
 
it happens. depends where you live, and the frequency of backfiring occurs based on the condition of the car, and the driver driving the car.

I don't know about you, but you spend plenty of time at a range, and then you hear a car backfire, you can usually tell the difference between the two loud bangs.

though I get where you're coming from, with so many types of "loud bangs" from guns, sometimes it gets hard to distinguish between the other "loud bangs" out there, especially in the city.
 
Years of working on cars and driving wrecks when I was poor have taught me a few things about this. New fuel injected cars almost never back fire (at least I have never heard of one doing it). Older carb models will, especially as the pollution control devices start to fail. Since emission inspections are still an easy work around in most states and the car still runs even when it back fires most people on a budget (with a ten year old car at least) will not fix the emission systems. So in lower income areas you are much more likely to find a car that backfires.

Gas delivery trucks are also a good example of vehicles that backfire frequently for the same reasons. Motorcycles as well.
 
i have a 98 gmc pickup and the distributor design on it isnt the best i need to replace the cap about every 2 years...when the cap is shot due to corrusion or wear causing a bad seal the truck will backfire and miss a lot
this almost always happens in rainy/foggy weather when there is a lot of moisture in the air
 
I don't know about you, but you spend plenty of time at a range, and then you hear a car backfire, you can usually tell the difference between the two loud bangs.
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At the range, I'm wearing double hearing protection. So I rarely, if ever hear gunfire as it actually sounds in the open. Added to that, as Greell points out, there are many different types of "loud bangs" from guns.
 
We have an electrical transformer just across the street from our home. About three or four times a year a suicidal squirrel will create a short. This always creates a bang that could be mistaken for a gun shot.

But of course the house gets really dark and quiet after that.
 
Few months ago I was driving on I95 and was about to take the Oakland Park exit...

BANG!!! And a cloud of black smoke from the mustang infront of me :what:

I pulled up to the guy on the red light and asked him... yea, he knew.

It really scared the crap out of me. I was about 50 yards behind the guy when it happened, and let me tell you, it was something.
 
The poor high school kid down the street from me has a 68 Chevy pickup he's restoring.

It backfires a lot. I think he's running drip in it too, ahh I remember that smell from high school.
 
I think it depends on the capacity and length. Your basic 6 cylinder might backfire more but doesn't recoil as much as an 8 cylinder because the 8 cylinder usually is longer.

When I hear a loud noise like that I ask, "Is that a backfire or are you just happy to see me?" The response determines my reaction.
 
I think he's running drip in it too, ahh I remember that smell from high school.
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I'd almost bet there ain't 20 people on this board that know what you are talking about:D

As far as backfires go I've always thought they had a different sound than a gunshot. A tailpipe is a pretty big "caliber" and that has a lot to do with the sound.
 
We had cars that would backfire occasionally but also have never confused them with a gunshot. I think it is probably more of a "it can't possibly be gunfire in this neighborhood" and the brain going into denial.

A few weeks ago there were 4 rapid fire gunshots that sounded like they could have been on the other side of my back door. It was interesting to watch my family's reaction, seeking cover, etc. We shoot quite a bit and all of us identified them as gun shots immediately.
 
Play with the carburetor and or distributor of an old bug and you will hear/see some backfiring depending on the choice of exhaust system you can have a very loud gun-shot-esque noise.
 
Very seldom to cars backfire. Backfires through a fuel injected engine is going to do some damage today.

I go to an outside range and off from the actual range where the club house is you can get a good feel for what the sound of gunfire is. Its very different from even a firecracker.
 
My neighbor's car has been backfiring *a lot* recently when she starts it up in the morning. It sounds completely different from any firearm I've ever heard (and it's very annoying).
 
About 10 years ago, my distributor cap came loose on my 71 Corvette... while I .. uh..... let's say.. had my foot in it.

Right before the engine stalled, it made the most horrific bang I've ever heard. I got out of the car, and the lady behind me pulled over too. She said 10' long flames came out of both mufflers. I found the loose distributor, tightened it up, started the car and found both of my mufflers were blown open. It was a really loud ride home!

Technically this wasn't a backfire, because the mufflers blew out instead of the air cleaner. Regardless ... it sure was loud.

I could easily see someone mistaking this noise for gunfire.

Steve
 
1 and counting Care to fill me in?
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"Drip" gasoline is unrefined gasoline that is a by product of natural gas wells usually. It's a waste product, very low octane, and is usually disposed of.

Some people, usually those with access to the land where the wells are, will take some of this stuff and filter it a little or even use it straight as it comes as a motor fuel.

It's illegal since there is no motor tax paid on it, and it smells something awful, but it's free gasoline and at 3 bucks a gallon it's tempting to teenagers.

It is called "drip" because that's how it's obtained, it drips slowly as the natural gas comes out of the well into a tank called a separator. The drip and condensation separate, the water being pulled off and injected into the ground, the drip being disposed of in other ways, usually hauled off by truck. Since it's a waste product, and the disposal costs the well producer money, no one complains if it just "disappears".

It can cause engines to backfire in a BIG way and when you live around the oil fields it's fairly common. You can tell when a vehicle is using it though, the exhaust smell is a stench you don't forget.
 
There are at least 3 of us on here from around the oil patch. Never thought I would hear anyone else talk about drip. But, unwanted byproduct?, around here you will get less welcome "bang" if you get caught stealing drip. :D
 
KABA said:
We have an electrical transformer just across the street from our home. About three or four times a year a suicidal squirrel will create a short. This always creates a bang that could be mistaken for a gun shot.
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We just had one let loose not too long ago here. Early in the morning and it sounded like a 12 ga going off. Scared the crap out of us as we were sleeping at the time!
 
I was in a basketball leauge that played in a not so nice city down in Mass. One time a car backfired driving by the outdoor court. The local team all ducked instinctively. All of us New Hampshire players just stood there wondering why the hell the other team stopped playing and ducked.
 
We have an electrical transformer just across the street from our home. About three or four times a year a suicidal squirrel will create a short. This always creates a bang that could be mistaken for a gun shot.
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I saw and heard it happen once. You're right. I would have thought it was a gun shot if I hadn't seen it.
 
Drip gas. Hadn't heard that in a while. If the kid rebuilding the truck is using a 454, he might be okay. But,,,,,,,, anything else and his valves will be "toast" in just a short while.
That stuff stinks like a rodeo goat and the water that didn't separate out makes for lots of backfires. That backfire sound depends on the muffler. On carb cars, we used to do what we called a "Mexican tune up" and cross a couple of plug wires and intentionally make a car backfire to blow garbage out of it. Nowadays with all the plastic parts, the carb would just melt down.
Good memories of catching people stealing "drip".
 
But,,,,,,,, anything else and his valves will be "toast" in just a short while.
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Most everyone I knew blended it with regular gas to cut down on the damage.

I remember a gas station owner close to Abilene going to jail for adding some to his underground tanks for sale :)
 
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