Can you tell if the engine is running rich,lean or normal by checking the plugs.
Below is one of the plugs I pulled out of my 390 with tri power.
If it were black and sooty, that would indicate rich. White porcelain and whitish electrode would indicate lean. Tan or light brown indicates just about right which is what you appear to have.
Geoff N.
Looks pretty normal to me, but I am not used to seeing what happens to plugs when using these latest fuels, especially the stuff with Ethanol in it.
Not like the old days when Leaded Fuel was around. Life was simpler then.
Bruce. >:D
The only way to read plugs is to pull a new one out after say a 50 mph. run, if the plug is exposed to low speed or idling for some length of time they can look too rich.
Quote from: The Tassie Devil(le) (Bruce Reynolds) on November 02, 2009, 09:36:00 PM
Looks pretty normal to me, but I am not used to seeing what happens to plugs when using these latest fuels, especially the stuff with Ethanol in it.
Not like the old days when Leaded Fuel was around. Life was simpler then.
Bruce. >:D
BRUCE: What kind of corn are you Australians raising down yonder that makes your ethanol bad for your spark plugs? I've got five cars that all run with ethanol gas and they run perfect, as a matter of fact, I don't have to change plugs for fifty thousand miles or more. I think we better get you some American corn for your cars. Incidently, say hello for me to any Australian army guy you see because I served in the Korean War with a gang of them and what great times we tried to have just after the war ended. GOD BLESS AUSTRALIA AND OUR GREAT USA. EAM
Quote from: EAM 17806 on November 03, 2009, 06:22:27 PM
BRUCE: What kind of corn are you Australians raising down yonder that makes your ethanol bad for your spark plugs? I've got five cars that all run with ethanol gas and they run perfect, as a matter of fact, I don't have to change plugs for fifty thousand miles or more. I think we better get you some American corn for your cars. Incidently, say hello for me to any Australian army guy you see because I served in the Korean War with a gang of them and what great times we tried to have just after the war ended. GOD BLESS AUSTRALIA AND OUR GREAT USA. EAM
It is just that I have never worked on an engine that used Ethanol laced Fuel. I even had trouble reading the Plugs on my Dragster when using Alcohol. The engine wasn't running for that long.
I don't think we use Corn for Ethanol production here. I think it is Sugar Cane or something like that.
Corn is for eating, not burning.
Plus, I don't know of anyone here that puts the Ethanol-added fuel in their cars here, even though it is 2 cents/per Litre cheaper. I know I will never use it whilst the good stuff is still available.
And, no Oxygenated Fuel here either.
Bruce.
PS. I don't mix with Army Types. Now, Navy, that's different.