schwett

first off, the nasty crap on the body of the plug itself. i think i got a little overzealous washing my engine bay. i replaced these guys and cleaned the plug wires thoroughly. it seems to have helped a lot.

in the closeup, are those little specks on the electrode signs of significant detonation? i have been fighting a losing battle with some pinging that i would describe as relatively minor... but what does the plug tell you? as you can see from the color i used some octane boost.

thanks for any opinions.

VaporTrail

totally OT, but whatever camera you used to take these pics is DAMN NICE!

dbman96

I agree - where's MY macro lens?

schwett

but the plug, people, the plug!!!

schwett

it's a nikon 990 btw.

dbman96

buttplug?

BUTTPLUG?


(this will only make sense if you happen to listen to KSJO)

Sorry, I don't know nothin' about sparkplugs. But I'd say if that's all the damage it shows you can't be seeing more than very minor detonation.

Reid

I'd be worried about the oil on the spark plug more than anything else. And why is the spark plug bent? That's no good either.

falcongsr

Your plug looks really clean (good) to me. A little reddish - have you used any fuel additives? Make sure its gapped properly and drop it back in.
Joe

BLKMamba

The color on the plug is brown and kinda orangie. That's the same color i get on mine. I would say it's normal. Check your ignition timing and the gap on those plugs again. I assume you're force induct.

BTW, nice camera shot. Looks like i'm looking on a microscope. hehe

schwett

every plug i take from the engine has oil on the threads, and only the threads. it seems like honda put it there in the beginning... is there something to be worried about here? it's not a lot of oil; just a teensy little bit every time, on the threads.

VaporTrail

perhaps it's time you change your valve cover spark plug gaskets?

schwett

would it be normal for those gaskets to require attention after 22,000 miles? (1,000 of them with boost)

Spade

BLow by?

the pinging is detonation of course so check the fuel pressure and see if you are getting enough fuel. And of course Octane.


[Modified by Spade, 7:15 PM 9/13/2001]

schwett

blow by? pardon my ignorance.

my fuel pressures are WAAAAY high. 50psi idle, 75psi baseline, 100+psi max WOT.

that's the way the JRSC is set up on an H22A. bummer. i actually lowered them recently to see if it helps with the pinging (some suggested the injectors might be failing at those pressures) to 70psi baseline, and it a/f definitely shows it leaner now. it is still at the bottom end of rich, maybe one bar into stoi on occasion. the pinging seems unnafected. i think the pinging was significantly reduced by pulling that nasty plug and cleaning the plug wires. it comes on very briefly, for just a split second in certain throttle conditions. if i floor it in 3rd or 4th at 2500rpm, it does not ping. if i floor it in 2nd or 1st at 4000rpm, it pings just a few little clicks and then goes away completely. wierd. upsetting.

octane in CA is 91 now. i tried some octane booster - no real effect. going to put in a few gallons of 100 octane race gas to see what happens.

schwett

oh yes... when it is pinging, it does *not* go lean on the gauge. it doesn't move a bit. the only time it goes lean is when it's oscillating back and forth in closed loop.

Zeus

Light ping but otherwise very good... are you using a fuel additive?