am i running rich?

[DarkEcho]

Hey all, Im not sure if this is really a big issue but ive been experiencing not too great mileage lately and it all happened right after i did my exhaust and intake.... i got the loudmouth exhaust and i did a custom intake till i can afford the real thing.... but if i rev up the car til the limiter and then just stop giving it cas, it pops like 3-5 times as it goes back down.... am i running rich? perhaps the sensor in the intake is messed up from me workin on it.... i duno if its really a backfire cuz its nothin huge but it pops kinda like a wimpy backfire... not sure what to do. how can i decide if im running too rich. also how bad is it if say your custom intake somes apart while driving and you suck up a little unfiltered air and mosquitos... btw my maf screen is off. lol thanks guys

[Big Bad James]

Mine pops too.

I've got 3" mandrel bent pipe, no cat, then a Flowmaster 80 Series muffler and dual 2.5" turndowns (until I can get Z28 OEM tips).

In park/neutral, it sounds excellent until a little bit past 3500, then it makes this pissed off chainsaw noise, and the popping begins when the engine is revving back down.

I'm also running a bit rich, I believe. I have my MAF screen in, but I've ported/polished the TB/MAF unit, and it does run a tad rich... particularly when cold... it chugs like it's cammed almost... then it runs fine. Removing the maf screen results in an EXTREMELY rich condition, and stalling at the vehicle's earliest convenience.

I'm not sure if the popping is due to a rich condition, or just lack of back-pressure. I'm interested to know the secret of the popping too.

[DarkEcho]

hmm sounds like the maf must go back in... know of anywhere i can buy a new one, i think i f-ed up the originall pretty good when taking it out lol