What are my pluggs telling me?

drunkenmagnum · 03-22-2009

I use to know this like the back on my hand but look at the coloration of my old plugs and tell me what you think. this was under 14PSI for a little over 9k miles. No misfires until recently. Replaced them yesterday and the car runs smoother @ ideal. I think they look as is I have been running a little lean but the A/F has been good.

Ignore the one covered in oil. had a little leak after putting a different valve cover on. this was not going into the cylinder.

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gearbox · 03-22-2009

shouldnt you be changing plugs every 2-3k miles (5k max) with a turbo anyway? its only $2 a piece. also looks like your plugs are running too hot. maybe consider switching one size colder plug. what i see in the pic is usually caused by advanced ignition timing, lean a/f, vacuum leaks, or problem with the cooling system (your coolant level and water pump okay?)

if you say the a/f is good, then just switch to a one step colder plug. stick with copper ofcourse.

drunkenmagnum · 03-22-2009

Yeah, Went with a different plug this time. Funny you should say cooling system, it has been running a bit warm lately. Not too hot though but making me worry about it a little. I recently turned the boost back to ten just for safety. And yes, went a little far on these plugs.

I need a new tune though as evidence from all of my recent threads....

gearbox · 03-22-2009

it seems to be a common problem that nobody with a turbo can keep the engine cool enough. Is it that the stock radiator is not good enough to cool the extra heat made by turbocharging the motor? or is it something else. i never could figure out why, and i read threads about running hot all the time and coolant spilling out the reservoir.

drunkenmagnum · 03-23-2009

The turbo itself puts a huge strain on the cooling system but many of us wind up with leaking or blown headgaskets and the first signs are a overheating engine. I think the OEM cooling system will work just fine running on 10 PSI. I still have the OEM system and for years never had a single heating issue until a blown gasket.

Do you have a link to the pictures of what different pluggs look like with different problems. I remeber seeing it online a while back but cant find it.

gearbox · 03-23-2009

couldnt find any but check google maybe. if you were burning coolant you would have a white residue on the plug. so headgasket is prolly fine.

04 Honda Civic · 03-23-2009

yea looking in the back of the chiltons book, it looks like your running hot as gearbox said. Reccomendation is check for correct plug heat range, over advanced ignition timing, lean fuel mixture, intake manifold vaccume leaks, sticking valves and insufficent engine cooling. Juding from what you have said I think its the last one.

drunkenmagnum · 03-24-2009

thats the thing, it could be ten different problems...
Car runs fine now though

Megabyte · 06-22-2009

if you want to run cooler. And you should. Run a set of cooler plugs. Like it was already stated. But up to a set of NGK Iridiums with the cooler temp. Run a dual core half rad with a slim fan. And oil cooler with a switchable fan hooked up to your rad fan. And slap a meth injection setup. But for that extra lil bit... You should go with an msd igntion set up to ensure proper spark at high rmps. It will prevent coil saturation. And possibly change your oil to Royal purple. Start by doing some of these and see where it takes you. Good luck