Both plugs and plug wires were recently changed. Haven’t checked them yet, but will definitely check them first thing tomorrow. I’ll probably just end up replacing them to rule them out.

Plug gap - should be about what, .028”? I’ll also check this first thing tomorrow. I’ll get a datalog tomorrow as well and report back. In the meantime, any other opinions or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Awesome, I’ll check it out tomorrow and report back!

Thats ironic that you say that. I just talked to my tuner about it, and we just discussed literally the same thing you said. I’m gonna start at .018” and see what happens. Thanks for the input!

I may actually dip into the distributor at a point as well. Come to think of it, there was a time where I had a no-start problem that ended up being a wire in the distributor.

I have never personally gapped and ran my plugs that small, but I’ve heard a lot of people do run them with as tiny as a .018” gap. I think what I’m going to do is start at .020”, see what the car starts and runs like, and maybe work my way out from there. Is there a recommendation that anybody could give on which type of plugs to run? I’ve always ran NGK 2668 plugs in this car, but I’m always open to try something new.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have any time to dip into the car today as I had planned to, so it’s going to have to wait until tomorrow. Hopefully I can make some progress on this thing tomorrow.

I’ll go ahead and call the parts store and have them put some plugs on hold for me for tomorrow and I’ll start at .018” and work my way out. I’m hoping that this is my problem, beings that it’s probably the easiest and cheapest.

Make sure your points on your cap and rotor are free from buildup and corrosion. Sounds like you have a weak ignition system so plug gap, cap and rotor condition, plug wires, strength of the coil and even bad engine grounds could all potentially be the issue. 12-13lbs shouldn't be blowing out spark so you have a weak point somewhere. Cap and rotor is the usual culprit if plugs are gapped to .030" or less

I changed the plugs with some BKR7Es and gapped them to .020” to start - per my tuner, checked the timing (which was dead nuts on point), and did a valve lash adjustment so far today. I’m gonna run to the parts store to get some more ignition parts to try. Unfortunately, I got 6” of snow last night, so driving the car today to check to see if anything worked is out of the picture.

Check your cap and rotor, it's not uncommon for them to build up allot of gross stuff on the points, you can scrape it off with a razor blade, sand paper or even just a flat head. I would say 85% of the time the cars I tune that have ignition break up it's due to build up on the points in the cap.

I was just gonna buy a new cap and rotor to rule it out.

Ok, so here’s an update for everyone as I continue to scratch my head...

I bought some new BKR7E plugs and gapped them to .027”. I bought a new dizzy cap and rotor. I added a ground wire in from the chassis to the valve cover. I checked the timing which was dead nuts. I changed out the main relay. I cleaned the injectors. I did a valve lash adjustment.

First start up was rough. It took quite a few cranks for it to fire. When it fired, I had a check engine light but I didn’t check it right away - I wanted to get it out on the road before the rain hit and see if I solved my initial problem. Well, I did! I don’t know what fixed it, but it no longer breaks up or hesitates under load in boost, so that’s wonderful - but - now I have other problems.

I jumped the connector to reveal the CELs. I had code 6 and 10 - the ECT and AIT sensors. Well, no big deal, I’ll just change them out - so I did. I reset the ECU and fired it back up. It took quite a few cranks, once again, for the car to actually fire. Check engine light again. This time, it’s codes 6, 7 and 10. I tried resetting the ECU again with no luck. I still had the CELs.

What’s going on here?? I’m lost. Tomorrow, I’m gonna try to reload the tune onto the ECU and see if anything happens from that.

In the meantime, does anybody have any other suggestions for me?

I didn’t have the time to check before I had to leave to come into work. I’ll be checking that first thing tomorrow!