I think you are running lean and that may cause detonation. Whats the setup in the engine?

 

lean? are you sure of what you talking about?

black = carbon carbon = rich...

 

damn that looks wierd... blackness looks like you're running rich and the bubbly stuff looks like it's too hot... but i'm just quessing...

 

The black area isn’t really that important... that's old carbon. The color/condition of the electrode is a better way to tell the condition of the motor.

The combustion chambers look like they're getting hot as hell... Give us the motor specs; mileage, mods, and what fuel you've been using... from there maybe we can help you narrow it down.

 

that looks like a sea creature....haha

 

Looks to me like an old spark plug. Light tan or gray deposits indicate normal wear. Of course if your car is running weird then I could be wrong. But I think you just need to replace the plugs.

 

Oh ya, and a sign of detonation would be if the plug looked actually physically worn. It would have little dents and look misshaped.

 

Yes I'm sure like the other guy said it doesn't matter how the threads of the plug look like they don't reach the temperature of the electrode.

 

c5 shortblock us spec
stock b16 head
bolt on's...
310 injectors
fpr set at 48 with line off

about 35,000 miles on the longblock, my tuner advanced the timing alot but I don't know what its set at.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tuney &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">c5 shortblock us spec
stock b16 head
bolt on's...
310 injectors
fpr set at 48 with line off

about 35,000 miles on the longblock, my tuner advanced the timing alot but I don't know what its set at.</TD></TR></TABLE>

hmm, with that setup i hope you're running 91-94 octane fuel (depending on where you live). 10.6:1 C/R with advanced ignition timing needs the higher octane fuel to resist detonation. maybe the ignition timing is advanced too much.
your "tuner" should know what to set the timing to, but you might want to ask him anyway to be sure. also if you're running a chipped ECU with N/A program it'll most likely be advancing the ignition timing, so the timing at the dist. won't need to be advanced really.

 

yep those little white specs are detonation signs.

BAD very very BAD

gte it tuned out with a VAFC or at least buy a vafc and richen it up a little.

id also retard the ignition timing maybe replace the plugs and put some octane booster in a tank and see if its still detonating

 

I'd say you either have to lean a mixture or to hot of a plug. The rounded shape of your electrode indicates to much heat, wich can result from either condition. The deposits on the plug may have resulted from the loosening of combustion chamber deposits. I say this because when a plug is too hot it's very easy for combustion deposits to stick to it.

 

yes, i forgot about the plug heat range. that's a very important thing to consider.
are you using the stock #6 range plug right now?

if so try the #7 copper plug and make sure the octane is there and there is enough fuel as well. the ignition timing may need to be retarded a bit too.
these are all good points that have been mentioned.