Ok so today I went out and got 4 different spark plugs to try to determine what heat range I should use. These are the plugs I'm using: 1. ZFR5F-11 2. ZFR6f-11 3. R5671A-7 4. R5671A-8 I did the same thing on every plug. I went for about a 3 mile drive. Did a few WOT pulls during the drive and cut the power on the last WOT pull at 6,000 rpm's. I coasted the car to a stop and pulled the plugs. AFR is 13:1 at wot. I have a jdm f22b with a reground cam. I could not see any change in color on the threads of any of the plugs. I also could not see a fuel ring down in the spark plugs. It all looked the same color to me. I was using a Dr. mom otoscope to look at the plugs. Here are pictures of the plugs 1. ZFR5F-11 Theres a lot of \"pepper\" on this plug. 2. ZFR6f-11 There is a decent amount of \"pepper\" on this plug and a small discolored shiny spot. 3. R5671A-7 porcelain was clean 4. R5671A-8 porcelain was clean What methods are you guys using to clean your plugs. How long do you run them before checking things like heat range?
To truly read the plugs you would do a pull , shut down the motor and check plugs. Really just take into consideration compression,boosted or not and the fuel your using. If your N/A unless your heavily modified stock plugs are fine just use NGK.If your on NOS under 100 shot , just use stock plugs. The set up is most important
regards eCtune authorized tuner eCtune team Colorado Springs, CO- USA elevationauto.com
if you haven't already, read this thread: http://forum.ectune.com/viewtopic.php?t ... c&start=60 Page 5 has some good info on it. I would like to tune fuel and ignition on each cylinder, but I need to be able to read the plugs to do it. Also, you must have the right heat range to properly read them. I have been wanting to figure this out for a while. Now I'm determined to.
zfr6 has a perfect timing strap. The other 3 show too much timing. In order to see the color change on the threads, you really need to clean the spark plug with break cleaner and a brush so you arent fooled by residue and deposits. If the porcelain has a shiny look it to (better known as glazed) then you are running too hot of a plug. In in order to read the plugs correctly, you need to be using the correct heat range. If you are not using the correct heat range, it will throw everything off that you are looking at. Trial and error with a strong base of what to look for is a big key in training your eyes. Keep it up and keep us posted.
98vtec wrote:zfr6 has a perfect timing strap. The other 3 show too much timing. In order to see the color change on the threads, you really need to clean the spark plug with break cleaner and a brush so you arent fooled by residue and deposits. If the porcelain has a shiny look it to (better known as glazed) then you are running too hot of a plug. In in order to read the plugs correctly, you need to be using the correct heat range. If you are not using the correct heat range, it will throw everything off that you are looking at. Trial and error with a strong base of what to look for is a big key in training your eyes. Keep it up and keep us posted.
I cleaned the plugs with a cleaner and a brush and found no color change on the threads. I found no color change on the threads of the plugs I have been running in this motor either. I even took a wire brush to it to get down to the bare metal. Next week, when i get time, I will be adding fuel and pulling them again to see how it affects the fuel ring. For some reason I have to use less timing with ectune, than when I was tuning with shiney. I only have 27 deg timing in my .cal. I got my fastest trap speed on shiney with 29.5 degrees.
shiney? Do you have ignition advance turned off? If you arent seeing any color change, go to an even colder plug. I cant see a 6 burning up all the way tot he top tho.
By shiney I mean crome. What gets me is that I don't see a color change on any of the heat ranges (5-8). I am going to do a more long term test on the plugs and try to get the fuel ring to show.
Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't even look like you're torquing the plugs in properly. The washers aren't even crushed. That could be why you're not getting any color change on the threads. But I agree with Blake on the 6's having the best timing strap.
just keep in mind that the non projected plugs are less likely to catch piston debris, so if the projectoed plugs are getting piston flakes on em and you havn't made any changes ot the map then your prolly still detonating slightly but not catching the debris on the no projected plugs.
Chris Delgado Tun'd Performance Houston Texas 713-962-8262
I am pretty sure that they were fairly tight, but I did it real quick and I was a bit hung over. I can tell what torque I am putting on a bolt (or sparkplug) pretty well, generally. I ran them in to the point where they felt nice and tight. I am going to try to do some more runs with more fuel and less timing tomorrow before I go on vacation.
Success! I pulled timing and added fuel. plugs looked good, there was a nice fuel ring at the bottom, a nice timing mark, and the plugs I had in there for a while showed discoloration on the threads. I had the 6's in there and there is 3-4 threads discolored, so I threw in some 7's and I am going to see how they look in a little while. One thing I noticed is that the discoloration goes further down the threads on the opposite side of the ground strap.
dbsharp wrote:Success! I pulled timing and added fuel. plugs looked good, there was a nice fuel ring at the bottom, a nice timing mark, and the plugs I had in there for a while showed discoloration on the threads. I had the 6's in there and there is 3-4 threads discolored, so I threw in some 7's and I am going to see how they look in a little while. One thing I noticed is that the discoloration goes further down the threads on the opposite side of the ground strap.
2. ZFR6f-11 There is a decent amount of \"pepper\" on this plug and a small discolored shiny spot. 
3. R5671A-7 porcelain was clean 
4. R5671A-8 porcelain was clean 
What methods are you guys using to clean your plugs. How long do you run them before checking things like heat range?