What you think of my plugs?

[wolffcub]

Been driving on these for about 2 summers. What you think? Think I'm too hot ? Currently running champion rj14cy plugs.

Pic one is what cylinder 1and 2 look like.



Pic 2 is cylinder 3 and 4 ( both are the same)



Pic 3 is cylinders 4 and 5

[Jemezcrusher]

Looks a little lean, but not horrible. A little chalky instead of a little tan. I would go one step richer

[dwcsr]

They look fine for heat range , I do see some pre ignition fouling but nothing timing wouldn't fix and maybe better gas.
The first picture show a loose plug, the brownish ring around the gasket. 3&4 show a slight oil burn, maybe guides, you can test that with a vacuum gauge. 4&5 slightly white but can be due to pre ignition

[mr48chev]

All I can say is that FINALLY someone posts real photos with real quality with his question so Dave can readily give a good solid answer. That's how it's done folks if you want good answers to your questions the first time around. Wolfcub you did good on that one.

As far as reading the plugs my ability to do so went out the window when they got away from leaded gas.

[Highsider]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

All I can say is that FINALLY someone posts real photos with real quality with his question so Dave can readily give a good solid answer. That's how it's done folks if you want good answers to your questions the first time around. Wolfcub you did good on that one.

You said it, mr48. I saw the title and skipped it for a spell, dreading the "usual".
First class photos!

[tmoble]

first pic, Dave is right about the brown ring.

second looks like it's burning a little oil to me too.

last pic does look a little lean,. but modern fuels typically don't give much color on the porcelain.

Dave, I'm not up on the term "pre-ignition fouling", what is that?

And yes again on the pics. Best plug pics I've seen in many moons.

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by tmoble

first pic, Dave is right about the brown ring.

second looks like it's burning a little oil to me too.

last pic does look a little lean,. but modern fuels typically don't give much color on the porcelain.

Dave, I'm not up on the term "pre-ignition fouling", what is that?

And yes again on the pics. Best plug pics I've seen in many moons.

Those little black/gray dots on the plugs porcelain is from the fuel igniting from heat rather than spark so it burns and spatters the plugs, it may indicate the timing is to far advanced or the gas has a low octane or the alcohol content is higher than stated on the pump

[wolffcub]

I was thinking about getting a new set today as these have been thru lots of major engine adjusting and might not perfectly reflect the current engine tune. Im sure the black bits appeared long long ago as i was trying some different wicked timing settings. I can never get it to ping, or possibly i just cant pick up on the sound of it pinging. Im having a very hard time being satisfied with setting up the timing and idle mixture.

Think going a bit more rich on the idle screw might help a bit? Should richen up the first circuit a bit shouldn't it?

[wolffcub]

Thinking of installing a o2 bung in each down pipe and get a gauge to see whats going on. That might help me out a bit. Anyone ever try one of these colourtune products. reviews are good and bad.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gunson-Color...-/131566247149

[Coupeguy2001]

just for fun, what's the octane rating up there?

[1project2many]

Some other thoughts...

Using the same plugs while playing with the carb and timing can make the readings less useful. If you are going to use the plugs as a tuning tool (and you should) then you should plan to install a new set and keep the tune fairly consistent until you take a reading.

If you are using points, a mag, or CD type ignition then by all means, stay with the Champions. If you have HEI then switch to a plug with a harder ground strap such as Autolite or AC. There's plenty of spark energy in an HEI to ignite fuel. Using the softer Champion can lead to slightly faster ground strap erosion.

The engine timing might be advanced a bit too much. The deposits on the center electrode appear burned off just below the very end of the electrode. Reduce timing by a degree ot two overall or limit cruise advance slightly.

If you cut the plug between the threads and the main body then remove the thread so the ceramic is exposed you may be able to see the mixture ring. The ring will be sooty carbon at the point where the ceramic meets the steel. If the ring is more than .08" wide than the mixture is too rich.

I bought a Colortune many years ago. It's a neat toy. You can watch the color of flame change as you lean out or richen the mixture. You can see occasional misfires in an engine and sometimes determine whether they are due to lean skips or exhaust gas dilution. But it is not a good tool for much other than checking the engine at idle. You cannot load the engine much and you cannot drive with it. Not only is the tool not made for high load and heat, the logistics of duct taping an assistant in the engine compartment during a road test then getting useful information in between the screams are virtually insurmountable. A narrow band oxygen sensor is more useful although the accuracy of the sensor quickly decreases as the air/fuel mixture departs from stoichiometric 14.7:1. Today most computer tuning of EFI involves using a wide band O2 sensor. I believe there are units available in the $200 to $300 range. The wide band sensor will be just as useful for a carb engine so if you are planning to continue to pursue the best tune possible, this might be the next tool to get.