June 29, 200520 yr Since I got my new 8mm magnecor wires (finally) I figured I'd install the box of plugs Ive been waiting on. So, i pulled the 4 old ones and this is what I found: These 4 plugs were put in about 4 months ago. They have less than 3,000 miles on them but were brand new when installed. Heres some other closeups. -Brian
June 29, 200520 yr It means your car has a drug problem..... Actually, I've noticed the same on mine...not sure what it means?
June 29, 200520 yr I think it means you are running with cheap gas or additives. Now I know that is a bit of a stretch, is there any such thing as cheap gas???
June 29, 200520 yr that would be lean. ideally you want a nice golden brown. Why changed the plugs?? did you go to a colder plug (7 or 8)??? What boost were you running??
June 29, 200520 yr or hot is correct also. it might well be because of too much timing, on California's cheap fuel
June 29, 200520 yr Its hard to see the exact color from the pics, but they look to have a slight tan tone to them, true? if so they look pretty normal. Off boost these car run pretty lean. For best power they should be a little darker. Gary
June 29, 200520 yr Author Gotchya, thanks guys. The car actually smells to be running alittle rich. But the plugs say otherwise. The engine temps are always low. The needle never goes up more than 1/3 on the temp gauge. Im running my timing at aprox. 25-27 degree's with 91 octane run all the time. 5-7psi boost. I changed the plugs because I got new wires. I wanted a clean slate. I changed the disty cap and rotor a couple weeks ago as well. I guess Im just happy they ALL look the same, and not one fouled while the rest clean. -Brian
June 29, 200520 yr Gotchya, thanks guys. The car actually smells to be running alittle rich. But the plugs say otherwise. The engine temps are always low. The needle never goes up more than 1/3 on the temp gauge. Im running my timing at aprox. 25-27 degree's with 91 octane run all the time. 5-7psi boost. I changed the plugs because I got new wires. I wanted a clean slate. I changed the disty cap and rotor a couple weeks ago as well. I guess Im just happy they ALL look the same, and not one fouled while the rest clean. -Brian Keep those plugs in and change to 93 octane; see if they get that golden hue that All Talk mentioned. They look a little lean but not alarming bad. You noticed a very good sign for a Subaru engine.... none were fouled!
June 29, 200520 yr Lean AND Hot Isn't this the way we like them though? Oops! Wrong forum. On a more serious note, it does look to be 'too light'. As was mentioned, they should be golden brown in color. If you were not experiencing detonation, change to 1 step colder plug. If you were experiencing detonation, change to a gas octane one step higher than what you previously ran. Also, you should reduce your timing to stock before doing either of the above. I'm sure you may be able to get away with timing advanced a little but stock timing is 20 degrees. It is worth a try. If you are in Sacramento, CA and the weather.com page is reading right, it's pretty hot there these days.
June 29, 200520 yr 93 octane... there isnt any around here. -Brian Damn it's at every pump I've noticed in MN, WI, and IA. 101 octane at Marathon gast stations on the pump
June 29, 200520 yr Author I dont know how to get a colder plug. I use only NGK's and its hard enough getting them these days from the newbs at the auto store, i dont want to confuse them by asking for a colder plug. I was running at 21 degree's but I find it performs better alittle higher. And yes, the temps are climbing above 90 degree's... im suprised its not in the 100's yet. -Brian
June 30, 200520 yr I gotta say that mine looked like that too. Timing is set to 20 degrees. I don't use premium gas anymore, because I found out that the car runs much better/smoother with plus gas. No detonation
June 30, 200520 yr Colder plugs are easy you go to a motorcycle place. You ask for either a BP7ES (one step coler) or a BP8ES (two steps colder) you should only need the 7's. these plugs have been used in 2 stroke enduro bikes for years. They are about 3 bucks (canadian). so prolly around 2 bucks a piece down there. A colder plug will cool things down, and you will end up with a golden brown plug. most people believe that plugs should come out the way that they came outta the package....they should be a nice golden brown/tan color.
June 30, 200520 yr Eh........Why not. Here is another vote for lean and hot. My plugs looked like that when I changed them in my GL-10. I started fearing the worst, so I replaced them(with NGK Iridiums) and adjusted the fuel pressure up(after installing my Adjustable FPR) to 42psi and that did the trick. Now mine get that nice reddish brown look to them and the car pulled great throughout the powerband. My timing is very advanced, but I also have a very efficient intercooler(Starion) to cool the air charge. You gotta love it when you can hot rod the car all night and come home, pop the hood, and the intercooler core is as cool to the touch as the outside air.
June 30, 200520 yr btw...i also believe that your timing is a little much. Around here we run about 22 degrees...but we also have 94 octane pump fuel. I'm running around 16 degrees..but i'm running High compression block....i'll be back around 22 once i throw in the 110 octane race fuel. i'd think that much timing on that crappy gas is a little much.
June 30, 200520 yr My vote goes to "within normal", I'm taking into consideration that the flash (or ambient lighting) may have washed out the pic a bit. Mine looked like that when I checked recently, I also thought I was running rich. Turned out there was a couple of small leaks in the exhaust system close to the front of the car. Fixed exhaust leak=voila:) . Stock settings will almost always yield greatest reliability (did you expect anything else from me? :lol: ). Just my 2 bucks (PS: PM me if your phone # has changed since we talked last)
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