Reading my plugs

A loose end on a plug isn't going to make a difference. I've just sorted a freinds car with a plug with the connecter stuck up the tube a good *inch* from the top of the plug - it was quite happily arcing that gap and then hitting the plug and sparking inside the cylinder. It eventually gave up after a week when the arc found a better apth to earth and missed the plug entirely.

Post the link please - there is no reason to obfuscate addresses like this!

Also when you get goecitied to death email me the pictures and I'll stick them on a webserver that can cope.

Oh. He's already been Geocitied. Ah well.

Hmm, dunno. I like to be safe.

I don't know how to find your full e-mail address. Google seems to replace some of it with ... I can see everything after the @ sign.

That didn't last long :o

!! Just how is anyone going to kill you through a web page? If there's anything dangerous there then you shouldn't have posted it up there in the first place.

Well stopping using google groups and getting an offline newsreader may help. The email address is available with show options and then reply to author I suspect.

snipped-for-privacy@chris-street.demon.co.uk

OK, here are the plug pictures. I've resized them down a little from your original image sizes Peter.

Both about 150k images

Personally I think they are fine, apart from the unfortunate choice of make. Plug 2's oily thread is IMHO anything to worry about - the plug nose looks to be the best colour of them all.

Thanks!

OK, I'm happy with that. I would've liked all of the plugs to look exactly the same, but it's probably not a problem.

That's what I thought.

A loose screw connector on a plug will certainly not cause a misfire. If the misfire has been cured by changing the plugs, the most obvious reason is that one or more of the old plugs was faulty. Possibly breaking down under load. Under performing HT leads can also cause misfires. Which is quite likely with plugs that need replacing anyway. Having said that, the plugs look fine. Next time though replace them with NGK. Most agree they are better than Champions. Longer lasting, better performing etc. Mike.

misfire on

My leads should be fine. They've got a 10 year guarantee, and are less than a year old! Performance ones, so they cerainly shouldn't be underperforming.

These new ones are Magneti Marelli 'Evolution plugs' :-)

The message from Chris Street contains these words:

Look OK to me, too.

They certainly caused a misfire on one of my karts, connector vibrated loose, engine misfires, connector vibrates looser kart stops running, connector tightened problem solved till it came loose again, connector tightened with pliers problem solved completely.

Had this on my Volvo 740's too. Definately related to a loose screw on connector on the plugs. Tightened mine with pliers, same result as above.

IIRC, you got some "performance" leads from a factors, which (IMO) will be tarted up crap-inna-box.

You'll want OEM leads (IMO).

Pete.

As an aside, is there anyway of doing this on a diesel? Not looking at spark plugs obviously, but is there a way of checking combustion is good visually, apart from checking smoke out of the exhaust?

Magnecor KV85's. They're supposed to be good, and definately made a difference.

The message from petermcmillan snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com contains these words:

That's sad. Someone who knows the make and model of his ignition leads.

Even sadder, you know what they are too now.

Definitely. Chumpion's quality control is somewhat lacking by all accounts.

No. the fact that you fitted *new* leads made a difference.

Side by side test against new OEM leads and you won't know one from the other.

Are you running plasma ignition, with huge plug gaps and fancy fuel and timing mapping? Because otherwise, aside from heat issues if the leads pass near the exhaust manifold, you really don't need to be spending shitloads on leads. In fact, in my opinion for a mild setup you can't beat good old copper leads. I've got a couple of engines from teh 60s and 70s that had Champion copper leads as standard, and they're still not missing a beat on the ones they came out the factory with!

I'd say you have more money than sense, but in your case that'd take about

7p. A set of NGKs would do you fine, you want to be a bit more flash, get the double copper V grooves, not that I ever noticed a real difference between those and the cheaper ones. You don't need fancy plugs or fancy leads, till you have a fancy system, FFS.

words:

Looked odd to me. 3 look almost new, one looked like it was running right. I'd be wondering why one stood out from the rest, but I wouldn't be exactly worrying about it.

FWIW, I put a new set of plugs in the other week, and all four now look far more used than any of those out of Peter's car. Strangely, they still work though...