Reading my spark plugs in 1.8l N/A

[swatski]

Hi All - I just pulled my spark plugs, ILFR6B, for 1.8l N/A in SX190. These are iridium equivalent of the stock plug. Been in for about 30hrs, running WOT a lot while testing the pump set up, and dialing-in the impeller pitch and so on.

Testing with Stage 1 and 2 Vtech reflash (ECU reprogramming, max RPMs are up to about 8100 with the current pump set up). I have not noticed ANY issues, but am trying various things, and not sure what these should look like, never had iridiums before. Do they look okay? Are they running hot? I do not run any additives other than Ring free and Stabil Marine, nothing that would be known to have a lot of MMT. Premium gas.

I now switched to stock LFR6A (stock plug), maybe running a bit smoother? Not sure. (I do not have pictures of these for comparison, yet, but will post when I pull them out.)

Anyway - I would appreciate any thoughts/advice!

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Those look crappy, I have some stock plugs with well over 100 hours that look new in comparison to yours, I can try to get a picture for you to see the difference.

 

[swatski]

Those look crappy, I have some stock plugs with well over 100 hours that look new in comparison to yours, I can try to get a picture for you to see the difference.

Thank you. Yes, I know..
My main concern at this point was to see if I was running too lean/hot, but I don't think so. I will try to post pictures of a fresh set of stock plugs pulled after a WOT run.

BTW - your attachments did not go through.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I am having a ball trying to upload my pictures just locked up the entire page

 

[scokill]

I am having a ball trying to upload my pictures just locked up the entire page

Different engine, but mine look similar to Jeff's...never that color. That looks like rust on tip...might not be though.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I hate to worry you but that sure looks like iron deposits like from water getting in the engine, I have seen the bottom of the plugs do that and it is why I place never seize on my plugs from day 1 before ever hitting the water. The rust can prevent the plug from being removed but it usually happens to the number 3 plug, and I think it has something to do with the water in the muffler evaporating, traveling up the exhaust system and condensing inside the engine most engines will stop in a particular position leaving a certain exhaust valve open so moisture gets in when the engine is not running. Thus the number 3 plug issue however why ALL your plugs look like this makes me wonder if maybe you have water in your fuel.

 

[swatski]

I hate to worry you but that sure looks like iron deposits like from water getting in the engine, I have seen the bottom of the plugs do that and it is why I place never seize on my plugs from day 1 before ever hitting the water. The rust can prevent the plug from being removed but it usually happens to the number 3 plug, and I think it has something to do with the water in the muffler evaporating, traveling up the exhaust system and condensing inside the engine most engines will stop in a particular position leaving a certain exhaust valve open so moisture gets in when the engine is not running. Thus the number 3 plug issue however why ALL your plugs look like this makes me wonder if maybe you have water in your fuel.

Thank you again, I did not think of that. I'm completely anal about the fuel and actually only get gas from one Shell station, 93 octane only, at least for the last few months when i have been testing. Unless the plugs got like it earlier last year. And I do use anti-seize.
I guess i will have to carefully look at the new set! If I really have water in my system (which is hope is not the case) - how quickly would I foul up the plugs that reddish color?

What else could it be? The reason I made the comment about the MMT additives - I never use any...

 

[Noko]

Here's a link that might help.

http://www.autolite.com/media/11838/plugtips.pdf

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

It may be water in your engine, try looking under the oil fill cap after you run for a while , if you see a white colored foam it is water in the oil. You can pull some fuel from the bottom of your tank and let it sit in a gallon jug, if it has water you will see some in the bottom of that jug after a few hours.
perhaps the gas station has water in their tank, try a different place . Add some injector cleaner because if there is water in the fuel it can make your injectors act up. I wonder why you are changing plugs with so few hours on them I know mine had around 150 so I did them just for that reason. but 30 hours is nothing.

 

[swatski]

Okay, here are my quick thoughts, let me know if I'm missing something.

My main concern was if I needed a cooler plug, but I do not think so. I am also going to stick with the stock, not iridiums. I will need to read the plugs fresh - throw in a new set, make a WOT pass and pull the plugs. That will be the true reading.

This water issue is a disturbing thought. Somehow, I think it is unlikely. What would be the test for it?

 

[swatski]

It may be water in your engine, try looking under the oil fill cap after you run for a while , if you see a white colored foam it is water in the oil. You can pull some fuel from the bottom of your tank and let it sit in a gallon jug, if it has water you will see some in the bottom of that jug after a few hours.
perhaps the gas station has water in their tank, try a different place . Add some injector cleaner because if there is water in the fuel it can make your injectors act up. I wonder why you are changing plugs with so few hours on them I know mine had around 150 so I did them just for that reason. but 30 hours is nothing.

I really wanted to see how they look, that's why I pulled the plugs, there was no other reason. Was surprised by that brownish tint.
I am very compulsive when I test, as I feel I'm pushing the motor pretty hard. I change oil and filter about every 10hrs... I know...

Again, thanks for this advice, I will be checking for signs of water.

 

[swatski]

Here's a link that might help.

http://www.autolite.com/media/11838/plugtips.pdf

Cool, thank you! Incidentally, I also am reading this:
http://honda-tech.com/forced-inducti...ug***-3063102/

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Gee I do my oil and filters every 50 hours and plugs once a year and that is excessive actually , I doubt anyone drives these engines harder than I do. I also doubt a hard run at w o t will say anything since these are 4 stroke engines not 2 stroke. I don't see an issue with the mixture I see something building deposits inside the combustion chamber. The end of these plugs actually protrude inside by a few threads as you can see. Do you have any water inside your hull when you use the boat? I would just be sure the fuel is ok and the oil is ok, run the plugs for about 10 hours place never seize on them when you install them and silicon grease in the coil boots also.

 

[swatski]

Gee I do my oil and filters every 50 hours and plugs once a year and that is excessive actually , I doubt anyone drives these engines harder than I do. I also doubt a hard run at w o t will say anything since these are 4 stroke engines not 2 stroke. I don't see an issue with the mixture I see something building deposits inside the combustion chamber. The end of these plugs actually protrude inside by a few threads as you can see. Do you have any water inside your hull when you use the boat? I would just be sure the fuel is ok and the oil is ok, run the plugs for about 10 hours place never seize on them when you install them and silicon grease in the coil boots also.

Okay, that makes sense. So, it must be some kind of gas additive. If I see the same coloration next time, I would like to have it checked somewhere.

Never seen a sign of water in my oil, but who knows, also never sent it to be analyzed by blackstone or such.
I do have some water in the bilge all the time after hard runs, it drives me insane. It is cold though, probably not from the cooling system. Will be tackling that at some point soon.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I would change fuel stations just for comparison , being in all the plugs it is possible that it is a fuel additive but it looked pretty heavy for only 30 hours.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

what are the total hours on the engine

 

[swatski]

Not even 100hrs, yet. Yeah, will change the stations for comparison, that's for sure. And I will be looking into it before my tank is empty anyway, knowing me...

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

You running 87 ethanol fuel that is all I use right from the pump I add injector cleaner once in a while ,That's it

 

[swatski]

I have been running premium only, which is 93 octane here, based on the recommendations for my reflashed ECU by Vtech. These "canned" tunes are very conservative and I'm sure 87 would be okay, but they recommend 91 octane, and I do not monitor AFRs myself.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

This may be your problem , the higher the octane, the slower it burns, if the timing is setup for 87 and you run higher it really isn't getting time to completely burn, What does you owners Manuel say to use you may try the 91 since it burns faster that the 93 or use what the boat manufacturer says to use , my 1800 engines are made to run on 87 so I use 87 , even my supercharged 210 hp engine was made to run on 87. I put over 650 hours on that engine with no issues other than a bad heat sensor that Yamaha replaced under warranty. If those deposits are building up on the plug threads they can be doing the same to the injectors. One bad injector can be very destructive.