Dirty Sparkplugs ???

CobraEd · #1 (**permalink**) 05-08-2008, 09:47 AM

I don't know about you guys, but I keep my car jetted a little on the rich side for max power. But the plugs can get a little sooty after a while. Soot = Carbon, Carbon = resistor. Not good. Check out the nice little sparkplug cleaner I found for only $9. Pretty cool.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=32860

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DAVID GAGNARD · #2 (**permalink**) 05-08-2008, 10:02 AM

Bought one years ago, didn't work worth a darn then and still doesn't now..........I just use my bead blast cabinet instead....faster and does a better job......

David

danc30 · #3 (**permalink**) 05-08-2008, 10:41 AM

Agree. I bought one last year and it takes a lot of work to get a half-way decent cleaning.

Don't bother.

wtm442 · #4 (**permalink**) 05-08-2008, 10:53 AM

Wow. Just what I want to do. Load up my dirty greasy plugs with sand, and then hope all the sand falls out before I put them back in the engine.

NO THANKS

I'll continue to put a new set of plugs for about $15 into the engine once a year.

DAVID GAGNARD · #5 (**permalink**) 05-08-2008, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wtm442

Wow. Just what I want to do. Load up my dirty greasy plugs with sand, and then hope all the sand falls out before I put them back in the engine.

NO THANKS

I'll continue to put a new set of plugs for about $15 into the engine once a year.

I don't do this very much, but I hate throwing away a set of plugs that go for 4 bucks each..............those are the plugs for my POS race car.... I use new plugs in it and keep the old plugs for my lawn mower and company car(Toyota), which uses the same spark plug......

after cleaning,I blow them out with compressed air and look down into each on with a flashlight to make sure everything is clean in there before putting them on the lawn mower or my Toyota......

BTW; the Toyota has 382,000+ miles as of today, I doubt a little grit is going to hurt that engine now.....

David

bobcowan · #6 (**permalink**) 05-08-2008, 02:44 PM

If you're so rich that it's fouling the plug, you're wasting fuel and losing power. Run it just a tad leaner and you won't have these issues. And the car will run better.

And, I never clean a spark plug. They're cheap enough to just replace them when they need it.

Double Venom · #7 (**permalink**) 05-10-2008, 06:23 AM

Ed,
Forget the plugs for a minute....I assume you got your starting problems fixed? Pray tell, what was the culprit?
DV
PS. Just a little leaner please

Silverback51 · #8 (**permalink**) 05-10-2008, 07:38 AM

Another one of the great misconceptions of Horse Power.

More fuel, or running rich does not increase your HP. Without more oxygen it will not burn, and in reality reduces HP.

Another mistake that is commonly made is running higher octane gas. Octane by itself does not increase your HP. Octane only allows you to increase cylinder pressures, or advance the timing so you get more power from those changes.

And I have to agree with everyone else, buy new plugs.

Bob In Ct · #9 (**permalink**) 05-10-2008, 01:17 PM

Higher octane gas can actually reduce HP if there is no corresponding increase in compression since fuels with less "heat of combustion", like alcohol, are used to raise the octane rating.

Just my $0.02 worth.

Bob

wtm442 · #10 (**permalink**) 05-10-2008, 01:41 PM

David

Spark plug efficiency degrades rapidly as the corner of the electrode is rounded off. For the best efficiency, if you want to sand blast plugs for your "POS race car, lawn mower or Toyota", I would suggest filing the top of the electrode after cleaning.

I had just assumed you were blasting plugs clean for your Cobra. I also agree with the other regarding running overly rich.

http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/techinf...q/faqread2.asp

DAVID GAGNARD · #11 (**permalink**) 05-11-2008, 08:09 AM

Warren;

For the POS race car when I change plugs, I always put in new plugs (Champions)... I ususally use two sets of plugs per racing season as I have my car tuned very well...one set would probably do for a racing season....
These plugs are about 4 bucks each and I just hate throwing them away, so I clean them and put them aside and use them for the lawn mower or the Toyota.....
I was changing the oil in the Toyota one day and decided to look at the plugs, they had been in the car for about 75,000 miles and were shot, I didn't feel like going to the store to get a new set, and had an old set from the race car on the work bench, I checked and they were the same length and size, so I put them in thinking later on I'll get the correct plugs for the Toyota, but the darn things runs great with the used Champions in it, so I used them, same for the lawn mower, 2 cylinder, 18 hp Briggs/Straton motor.....

The "race plugs" are pretty clean when I change them and it only takes about 2 or 3 seconds in the bead blaster to get them looking like new.......

David

Power Surge · #12 (**permalink**) 05-11-2008, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CobraEd

I don't know about you guys, but I keep my car jetted a little on the rich side for max power. But the plugs can get a little sooty after a while. Soot = Carbon, Carbon = resistor. Not good. Check out the nice little sparkplug cleaner I found for only $9. Pretty cool.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=32860

.

Running rich won't get you "max power" it will just waste fuel. And if you are so rich that your plugs are carbon fouling then you are WAY too rich.

If you want max power, get your car dyno tuned. You want to see between 12.6-13.0 air/fuel ratio on pump gas. The actual number will depend on what your car responds best to.

Also keep in mind that your WOT may be fine, and you might be building all that fuel up on the plugs on your low side fueling. Again, that's something best to be done by a competent tuner.

DAVID GAGNARD · #13 (**permalink**) 05-11-2008, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Power Surge

Running rich won't get you "max power" it will just waste fuel. And if you are so rich that your plugs are carbon fouling then you are WAY too rich.

If you want max power, get your car dyno tuned. You want to see between 12.6-13.0 air/fuel ratio on pump gas. The actual number will depend on what your car responds best to.

Also keep in mind that your WOT may be fine, and you might be building all that fuel up on the plugs on your low side fueling. Again, that's something best to be done by a competent tuner.

At SAAC in Virginia a few years ago, more than one person came up to me and asked;" why are your tailpipes nice and grey and most others I see are black and sooty"????, all I had to say was dyno tuning will do that for you...............engine dyno first, then chasis dyno afterwards.........

David

CobraEd · #14 (**permalink**) 05-12-2008, 07:47 AM

[quote=Double Venom;841903]Ed,
Forget the plugs for a minute....I assume you got your starting problems fixed? Pray tell, what was the culprit?
DV
QUOTE]

Ed,

It turned out that after changing the starter and solonoid, I must have damaged the voltage regulator because I had a high resistance ground on the red battery lead on it. When tightening the battery cable, I hit the ground post two times with mucho sparks. I guess the fine wires in the voltage regulator did not like that. It was dragging down the battery and was the cause of the low voltage and the clicking soloniod. After a trip to the local parts store for a new regulator and $16 later, I am up and running !!!

.

Double Venom · #15 (**permalink**) 05-12-2008, 02:16 PM

Well done Ed!
DV ... & Thank you!