One such approach to diagnose and tune-up an improved or racing engine is as simple as looking the spark plug firing tips because its appearance can reveal if your engine includes a problem that need correcting. However you have to be conscious that the same spark plug firing tips appearance might have different root causes:
A) Mixture or timing misadjustment or another possible mechanical troubles.
B) Powerful modifications that raise the horse-power level, augmenting and so the combustion chambers temperature and stress at high RPM.
C) Colder racing spark plugs fouling at idle, stop and go, reducing speeds.
Unfortunately, for each spark plug firing tip appearance, the traditional spark plug troubleshooting charts only are looking at as you can trouble causes the first list A.
In high performance modified engines and racing applications, this list B is usually the main reason for the higher temperatures within the combustion chambers that generates overheating, pre-ignition and detonation; as well as the list C may be the main cause of fouled spark plugs that generates misfiring, hard starting, black smoke and great loose of power.
Despite that fact, carefully report on almost all the troubleshooting charts, reveals that the causes of the B and C lists are not included, or at best mentioned. When talking on the high performance field, these causes are with extreme frequency the main accountable for the majority of the troublesome spark plug firing tip appearance.
As result of this lack of information, wasnt sufficiently clear how the undesirable spark plug firing tip might be due to an inappropriate spark plugs heat range. Either never was mentioned strongly enough the transcendent importance that has to get a new spark plugs heat range, so that it wasnt considered.
Forasmuch it shouldnt surprise that even experienced engine builders, modifiers and tuners often confuse an overheated spark plug due to the newest level of power at high RPM, using a lean mixture trouble, since the appearances of the firing tip look a similar; making wrong diagnostics, and enriching a combination, as opposed to customize the heat range for the engines power.
And worst, when the heat excess level provokes pre-ignition or detonation (which is very frequent as a result of high degrees of demands that the racing engines are submitted) usually the original troubleshooting charts are guiding them erroneously to trust that their engines are receiving some mechanical troubles and so theyre engaging unnecessarily in repair nonexistent mechanical problems, like air conditioning failure: or to suppose that its owed to a mixture or timing misadjustment, consequently enriching the mix and/or retarding the ignition timing, arriving inclusive to decrease the boost pressure, the nitrous flow, the compression ratio, etc. losing with this way plenty of power, instead of the unique right, simplest, fastest and cheapest solution which is to customizing the spark plug heat range for the huge power, stress and also heat achieved at high RPM.
Due to the same deficiency of information, they can not either distinguish when the cold racing spark plugs are fouling at idle, stop and go, and lower speeds, from the time includes a rich mixture, because have the identical carbon fouled firing tips appearance; and whats still worst, they can not either distinguish once the colder racing spark plugs for heavily modified engines are fouling at idle, stop and go, minimizing speeds, from when the engines has worn-out piston rings and cylinders, because have the same oil fouled firing tips appearance.
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Those wrong diagnostics are leading these to wrong solutions: trying to adjust unnecessarily the air-fuel mixture when they see carbon fouled spark plugs, and being bottled without need in overhauling the engine to correct mechanical troubles that wont exist, once they see oil fouled spark plugs, instead of avoiding idle and lower speeds in engines built for run at high RPM, or to customize the spark plug heat range because of these form of flaunt usage.
Also once the traditional spark plug troubleshooting charts mention "wrong heat range" or "check for your correct heat range", because its not enough clear, a great majority of they are quite familiarized with all the concept that "wrong heat range" only might be a spark plug different than the stock or even the suggested by the manufacturers, ignoring that they should switch the spark plugs heat range.
And, as if wasnt sufficient with this confusion with the information, until very short time didnt exist method neither tool to perform the important task of get a new heat selection of the sparkplug, according to any sort of powerful modification level, so, the election of the aftermarket sparkplug that best works at any RPM load or stress, stayed to the intuition, experience as well as the criterion of each and every technician, who only had the unfriendly guesswork of never-ending learning from mistakes proofs, testing different spark plug sets, with inexact and risky results.
But the racing field is no place for mistakes.
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Is perfect for that reason that the original troubleshooting charts are not probably the most adequate self-help guide to properly and accurately diagnosing your expensive powerful modified or racing engine, risking one to lose your engine which is still worse, to lose the race.
What exactly is then a correct way to correctly diagnose the spark plugs inside the high end field?
Make certain that, if you are not having real mechanic problems, you should check the warmth array of the installed spark plugs, and choose the replacement with the colder heat range better suited for your exactly high end modification level.
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Could it be a hard work? It depends. If you are using the proper tool, that allows you to see, confirm, verify, select, and choose the precise heat range you have to install inside your high performance modified engine, this is a piece of cake!
Needless to say otherwise..... it could be unending, unfriendly, blind and risky guesswork.
You decide!
