what's your opinion? spark plug reading

non specific order. at 3 turns out. before tune up.



new plugs and decreased to 2.5 turns out. plugs are 4-1. obviously too lean so im thinking maybe i need to do 3.25 turns or 3.5 turns. what do you guys think

 

http://ngksparkplugs.com/tech_support/spark_plugs/faqs/faqread.asp

http://www.dansmc.com/spark_plugs/spark_plugs_catalog.html

This may help. (Honestly you're plugs don't look too bad to me. )

Personally I'd look up factory specs, if I remember correctly spark plugs are meant to be installed with a torque wrench. While most of us don't. (I'm guilty.) If you think you're running more lean than rich, have your ignition system at factory, and isolate the problem such as the carburetor.

 

well they say on this site most bikes are 2.5 -3.0 turns and i honestly thought 2.5 was lean but if you think otherwise then im quite shocked. im rather new to the tuning bit. im more or less rethinking it to maybe a 2.75 turns would do the trick over my original 3.25

 

There isn't enough color on the new plugs to tell anything. How many miles have you ridden on the bike with the new plugs? None of those look dangerously lean (though I wonder about that blob that appears to be on the ground strap of #1), so you can ride it until there is enough color to read, or you can shop for a Gunson Colortune so you can see what the mixture looks like as you adjust it.

What sort of tune up did you do?

 

well i rode on those for a solid 5k as my avg rpm. for about 30minutes. i guess that isn't a long enough time to be able to judge it huh? i guess ill put them at 2.75 turns and ride her for a few days and go from there. and as for the tune up i just threw some new plugs in her and cleaned the air filter. nothing too much. maybe do a vaccuum resink whenever i get a good solid color going.

dont worry moe. i did my valves and floats beginning of the year

 

#2 is seemingly scary lean. Don't look at the insulators, look at the "flame ring" (the part with no threads that the ground strap sprouts from) and the ground strap below the bend. #2 has no color.

Check (or just replace) your little rubber caps on the intake manifold vacuum spigots. They can LOOK fine yet be hard as rocks.

Be careful here. XJs love to run lean, right until they blow up. That being said, 30 minutes at 5K works out to about 30 miles, does it not? Not enough of a ride to pick up much color. Take it out for an afternoon and run through a full tank of gas. I would go to 2.75 turns like you said, and ride it if it's running seemingly OK. See what kind of color your plugs pick up after 150 ~200 miles. Don't fret the insulators; with today's gas those take time to build color. Read the flame ring and the ground strap below the bend.


Dude, I think the "spots" on #1 and #2's ground straps are places where white deposits have flaked off (damn ethanol-laced gas anyway.)

 

see i was thinking the flaking was because 1&2 (4&3) were running leaner than 3&4(2&1) so i spruced those 2 up a quarter turn as seen in the first picture 2 of them are lighter which since i threw them in a box after pulling i have no way of telling what cyl they were and can only assume the leaner ones are 3 and 4. i have them at 3.25 atm and ill need to reduce a half turn tomorrow and then ill give my findings

 

"Assume" has the expected results: Makes an "ass" out of "U" and "me."

Invest in a ColorTune. You may need carb work (including throttle shaft seals.)

 

left looks good , right is a little lean, two center ones might not even be firing

 

it more n likely does. i was probably going to redo the carbs this winter.

 

If they are lean at 3 turns out, it would make them worse if you turn them 1/4 turn in, because your carbs will get less fuel in. You'd better turn them 1/4 turn out.

 

the first picture has 2 a little lean looking but i dont know much but i corrected those by richening the 2 suspected cylinders. to try and even htem up with the others that looked rich to me.

 

I'm looking for an experienced opinion on my plugs as well. I'm thinking 1 and 2 are lean and 3 and 4 are ok.

 

Seriously..

http://ngksparkplugs.com/tech_support/spark_plugs/faqs/faqread.asp

http://www.dansmc.com/spark_plugs/spark_plugs_catalog.html

You can decode your own spark plugs, no need for a fancy extra person.

 

It's never a bad thing to ask for confirmation.

 

Fair enough. You're right.

 

those pictures in the links were great when you had a 386 pc and a 9600 dial-up modem