What is an Italian tune-up and can it damage your engine? – Jalopnik

It’s not often you hear that driving fast can make your car perform better, but that was essentially what many car owners at the time believed was the solution, a practice known as the Italian tune-up.

Car engines and their components can accumulate carbon deposits over time, caused by unburned fuel and oil residues that stick to internal surfaces. In the old days, when cars were equipped with carburetors, many believed that driving fast and maintaining high engine speeds – the Italian tune – would burn these carbon and sludge deposits and throw them out the exhaust. The Italian setup may work on old cars with carburetors because they were not accurate in delivering fuel, resulting in carbon buildup on the piston and engine valves.

However, modern fuel-injected cars may not benefit from channeling your inner Lewis Hamilton, as their complex engine management systems constantly monitor the air-fuel ratio to ensure carbon build-up is limited and the engine runs efficiently. Some research, cited by Technology explainedsuggest that carbon only burns engine parts above 325 degrees Celsius (about 617 degrees Fahrenheit), while piston temperatures are typically between 280 and 300 degrees Celsius (536 to 572 degrees Fahrenheit). So, in theory, carbon deposits can burn off, but this largely depends on how hot the internal parts of the engine can get.

Many experts believe that modern cars suffer from another problem, as carbon deposits accumulate on the intake valves, especially in engines with direct injection. Aggressive driving in such cars will not clean the intake valves, and experts believe that the solution to this problem is to use high-quality fuel and adhere to the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule. Others suggest other tips and tricks to prevent and clean up carbon buildup.

Although the Italian tuning is unlikely to help remove carbon build-up in modern cars, it is still recommended to take the car on longer journeys, especially if the car is usually only used for short journeys. This allows the engine to reach optimal temperatures, evaporate moisture in the system and distribute the oil properly.