Vash's Lean Knocky Story Time

Is it time to find another spark plug? I really don't want this to happen to mine.

 

I never had this issue. They might be slamming the ground strap a little to hard when closing the gap.

 

I was thinking the same thing, but saw "NGK" in the pic and my heart sank a little. Justin (FREEKTUNE) warned me a long time ago about Densos and said he has tons of bad stories about them. I've been NGK ever since.

I guess the good thing is that I usually pull/check/re-gap plugs and do a compression test almost as frequently as I change my oil (that BT lyfe, tho), so I'd likely catch something like this fairly quickly, besides the car running like crap, haha.

To the OP, glad you got some WOT redemption! I love WRXes, STIs, EVOs, Camaro SSes, 5.0s, and many other cars. I usually start my day with a good breakfast of them

 

I don't know why anyone is slamming the ground strap with the OE plugs. Mine came gapped to about 0.026. Checked every one.

 

OE NGKs must be different because step-colder NGKs come in the 40 thousandths range. They need significant adjustment.

 

He would be using stock heat range NGKs.

 

Anybody using an E mix should be on stock heat range. You don't gap these plugs and they come standard at .027. Obviously checking the gap is alright, but you don't adjust it.

 

I disagree. Reading your plugs >>> one-size-fits-all approach. I tried stock heat range for a while then pulled the plugs for evaluation. My car clearly prefers step-colder, even with E28 and a CM10 spraying 100% methanol. Not to mention the fact that numerous reputable tuners on our platform recommend 1-range colder on ethanol blends, even on K04s making 50+ less whp than me (for instance). But still, in the end plug reading is the ultimate standard to decide with.

 

If you're reducing the temps in the combustion chamber with E and with meth and then reducing them even more with a colder plug you can have issues with misfires. The knock prevention with E is nice, but if you get it too cold, you're just not going to ignite the fuel at all (sometimes).

Give this a read:
http://www.journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/ethanol_drane.html#ch7

 

That's all well and good, but like I said, I literally pulled and read my plugs. I looked at them right there, in my very hands. I was developing black speckles on the insulator that indicated the need for colder plugs, besides the placement of the base timing and WOT timing color shifts on the ground strap indicating the plugs were too hot. I have no misfires at all; never have even a single time. And Justin confirmed by pics I sent him that step-colder are what my Speed wants.

Theory is great for a starting point, but there's no replacement for actual, scientific (empirical) experimentation. I'm going to stick with Justin on this one. He's also of the opinion that plug reading >>> all other measures. My Speed has definitively proven to clearly show it prefers step-colder. I gave it a shot, and stock-heat-range came up inferior.

It's also interesting that some people will get so technical that they run different heat ranges in various cylinders, right? Our platform, for instance, could easily have Speeds that like step-colder in cylinder 3 and stock heat range in all others. Plug-reading will never lead you wrong; dogma, alternatively, very easily can.

 

Every car is different, but this is a good rule of thumb.

We had a local here that had some misfire issues that seemed to be related to a heavy e mixture and step colder plugs. Obviously this isn't the end all be all answer, but I'm running stock heat ranges without issues (barring pieces breaking off randomly lol).

 

I had issues running step colder with full corn on stock turbo. I'd imagine that running more alcohol with a larger turbo and better intercooling will result in needing warmer plugs.

 

I think the fact that almost everyone in the community is familiar with the problems associated with plugs running too cold, as opposed to overheating, speaks to the overuse of step colder plugs.

 

@Nox
How did the compression test and inspection go?

 

Compression test went great! Cylinder 3 is @ about 178psi, the other 3 cylinders are at 180-182psi.

I didn't have time to scope the cylinder this weekend. I pulled a 4th gear log that I still need to look at/have my tuner look at. Car feels great but thinking I need to seriously consider going ahead and going built. I'll do a leakdown test before I commit to that $4600 motor build. 400awhp @ 123k can't last forever.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

We're in a similar boat man. 121k for me as well. I've been planning my build for the imminent boom. You have a lot more shit to break on the 6 though lol!

 

This thread makes me nervous. I just gapped some ITV20's............ What's the best way to bend the ground strap? My tool has a little slot you stick over the strap an pull down.

 

All of the NGKs I bought came gapped correctly.

http://edgeautosport.com/ngk-laser-iridium-spark-plug-iltr6a-8g/

 

That's because I believe they are gaped for a CTS V or something like that.

Sent using Moto Fo Sho Doe

 

that must be nice. The desnos came at like .04"