would like some one to read my spark plugs after adding the turbo

[kamaro]

Its been a few months and about 500 miles since I start driving my turbo'ed Euro 3.2, today I decided to check the spark plugs just to see how they read, I would like to hear your opinions :





Thanks...

[flat6pilot]

Those look good to me.

[David]

They look pretty good to me. If anything, I’d say they’re on the rich side which isn’t bad on a turbo as long you’re not washing the oil off the cylinder walls. I was told to look deep down the insulator to get the best reading but I’ve never seen anything down there that I didn’t see farther out. How was the car driven before they were pulled?

[s5uewf]

hard to tell, but they look OK to me. 4 looks wet - maybe oil?
Did you chop throttle and ignition prior to pulling to avoid having the idle mixture affect the plug color?

If you hit a dyno to tune to your new turbo, study the AFR readings to ensure your mix is in the range you want it to be.

[David]

Agree on the dyno, that’s a small price to pay on a new turbo or efi system.

[pkabush]

I agree. They look good with the exception of #4. It looks wet. Maybe a tad on the rich side but from the looks of them not much. Do you have a air/fuel gauge?

[flat6pilot]

I agree that 4 looks a tad wet, but not too alarmingly so. What's the plug gap you're using?

[Neil Harvey]

Yep, those are spark plugs alright!!!

Ok enough of the smarty pants. It means absolutely nothing if you didn't do a proper plug check. The only way to check the plugs is to do a hard full throttle pull and cut the power. Then look at them. If you drove around the block and idled back into your garage, the plugs will reflect that driving.

Typically the way to do this is to put in a brand new plug into the cylinder that is the easiest to remove. Then go for a drive and take your plug socket and another plug with you. Pick a quiet piece of road and do a hard pull and a full ignition cut. Coast to a stop and remove the plugs and refit the other one you bought. Then drive home and then look at it.

Read the write up on our web site on how to read a plug. Are you looking for correct fueling or ignition timing. The plug will tell you both but in different places.

Good luck.

[Neil Harvey]

BTW, the easiest plug to change may not be the one showing the most incorrect fueling etc.

[kamaro]

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts, you are all been a big help in my P projects. The car ran fine and I just wanted to make sure that my fuel/timing is at least not causing any damage to the engine. reminding you that its a Euro 3.2 with a GT35 turbo, so I maybe tickling a sleepping dragon's tail here!

[Richardss]

In the Ford Eco Boost turbo engine requires spark plugs be changed at 96,000km vs 120,000 in none turbo engines. The reason for having to change the spark plugs sooner in a turbo charged engine is due to how much more heat they have to endure. This will cause them to ultimately wear out sooner.

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