Do you remember how easy it was to tell if an engine was in good shape and well tuned back in the days of "leaded" gasoline? All you had to do was look for a pewter-colored coating at the outlets of the mufflers. If you saw that, and if the engine seemed to run well, you knew there was a good chance that the engine was in good shape. On the other hand, if you saw a darker-colored coating, say a coating that looked kind of "sooty," chances were that the engine was running pretty rich, either because it was jetted wrong, was burning oil, or both. The smell of the exhaust would often help you decide if it was oil or too much gas. (insert image of wistful stream of smoke rising from corncob pipe here...)
If you took a chance on that sooty-mufflers bike, hoping that it was a jetting error, you'd know soon enough if your re-jetting worked - after a thousand miles or so the coating in the end of the mufflers would begin to transform to that confidence-inspiring pewter color. (insert image of wistful stream of smoke rising from corncob pipe here..., add a tear in one eye...)
"Reading" mufflers in this day of unleaded gas and fuel injection isn't what it used to be - the coating at the outlets of mufflers always looks sooty. Now, if there's a lot of soot you know the engine is running way too rich for some reason (oil or a "rich" MAP). And if there is no coating at all, that engine has either never been run through those mufflers or the thing is mapped way too lean. In the latter case you can simply look at the headers - if they're blue then you know the MAP is lean and the engine is likely running very hot and sounds like a popcorn popper when it decelerates.
But that sooty color in the tailpipes, unless it's extreme, doesn't tell you much. The only way you can begin to figure it out is with an exhaust gas analyzer, and you can come to some erroneous conclusions using an EGA if the engine is mapped rich and is burning a little oil. (insert image of wistful stream of smoke rising from corncob pipe here, tear in one eye, and sound of nose being blown into red kerchief...)
Life rolls on.
I've recently taken a part-time job with a major technology retailer, in part, just to get out in the public more. I'm the oldest person on the sales team by a long shot! I cover both computers and digital imaging (cameras). The young adults who work there treat me very well - they've taken me in as one of the group and are "Johnny on the spot" when one of the point-of-sale machines wants to give me difficulty. Now that I'm more than 21 days into it it is beginning to look like it may be fun.
Many "gray hairs" who come in the store head right for me when they realize I'm there - we light up our corncobs and begin to dissect their technology needs, avoiding small screens, user interfaces that are new to them, and other issues that make technology difficult to use when you're "just a little older." I met a fellow whose great-grandmother's maiden name was Havins (spelled with an "i"). We talked about being descendents of "Land Grant Texans," computers, sharing family photo albums via digital media, and other topics. It's a wonder the sprinkler system didn't go off from all of the smoke from our pipes. As he was leaving he said, "I took one look at you and knew you'd understand what I was talking about." I guess it was the "gray coating" up top.
And then there were the two "twenty-somethings" who came in looking for a "cheap" laptop. I could tell they were really hesitant to talk to me. Finally one of them said, "Well, we want a laptop to use to tune our race car..." I soon began to talk with them about their data-logging equipment, data transfer rates, processor speeds, OBD-II connectors, screen size and how it "fits" inside a car, and on it went. When they left they were giggling - they found someone who knew what they wanted to do.
But so far my greatest interaction has been with a 17 year old who works at a convenience store in a small town nearby. He'd been saving his money to gather equipment to put a recording studio in his bedroom. He and his friend, too, were very hesitant to talk to me. He finally said he wanted a "Mac-mini." We began to talk about his plans, we discussed the used mixer his cousin had given him, the MIDI device he'd bought off of ebay, and other recording topics. I gave him contact information for a high school friend of mine who lives in Austin (we used to play rock and roll together). I explained my friend, Cecil, had built a similar setup in his home and would be happy to talk to the customer about the "ins-and-outs" if he called. The kid counted out three hundreds and a stack of sweaty twenties as he paid for the Mac-mini. He said, "Man, I'm so glad I talked to you! You've been a great help! I wasn't sure you would know what I was talking about." I asked him to let me know how his progress is going the next time he comes to town - I really hope he does.
Some of these kids are learning to read "pewter" better. Gotta' get ready to go to work. I wonder who I'll meet today.
