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Re: TR4A plugs

To: "R. Kastner" <kaskas@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: TR4A plugs
From: Ted Schumacher <tedtsimx@q1.net>
Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2000 15:54:01 -0400
and on occasion. i helped "deliver" dick gale to his room  lorraine strahlman
(mrs. bobby) always ran a tight ship.  earl parker ii is a freind. ted

"R. Kastner" wrote:

> Plug reading indeed is an art.  I spent a lot of hours at the Champion
> school in Toledo and then countless hours from the dyno and the track
> learning the art.  There is as stated by Bill " No way to gather info from a
> used or already dirty plug."   My practice was to have at least a half dozen
> clean plugs with me at every test session.  On a four cyl engine I'd put a
> clean plug in the number two hole ( generally the leanest due to the flow of
> the fuel in the crossover pipe) and on a six in the number two and number
> five holes., you don't need a whole set to get the reading, but they due
> need to be clean or new. Run a couple laps ,cut it clean and look at the
> plugs you have just put in.  Replace them with other clean plugs and do it
> again after you've made the changes you think it needs.  Works wonders in
> the performance and the relability. One of the things that shows up lots of
> times and is very confusing to most folks is the rubber or debris from
> off-track excursions.  Even with filters this junk winds up on the plugs and
> can look like detonation traces. The melted tiny balls of rubber look just
> like aluminum and you need to look very close to see that they are black and
> shiney not aluminum which is silver and shiney.  Dick Gale is the guy who
> was at the track for so many races.  Great guy and a great friend. Bobby
> Strahlman was another fellow for Champion. I did a ton of work for Champion
> of dynoing engines with their engineering plugs before they were put on the
> market.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Bill Babcock <BillB@bnj.com>
> To: <TRBILBO@aol.com>
> Cc: <fot@autox.team.net>
> Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2000 4:42 PM
> Subject: RE: TR4A plugs
>
> > Oh, one other thing. I learned plug reading from a plug wizard that
> champion
> > used to send to the races--can't recall his name but he was a great guy
> and
> > really new plugs inside and out (literally). Some things he showed me are:
> > -- plugs should always be read at the base ring--the little circle of
> > insulation that you can see at the bottom of the insulator--as well as the
> > sides and tip. You need a good light and magnifier to properly read plugs.
> > -- There's no such thing as reading a plug without a clean chop--if you're
> > trying to figure out what's happenbing at full throttle then your chop has
> > to happen at full throttle after a pretty long load--up hill is best. Cut
> > the ignition with the throttle wide open and coast to a stop. Likewise any
> > other throttle position.
> > -- The second place you look is at the edge of the center electrode. If
> the
> > plug is too extended, the base insulator might look fine but the tip edge
> > will be rounded from melting. You also want to look at the center of the
> tip
> > electrode (assuming it's not a platinum tip where the wire is too thin to
> > see anything) for a clean little ring of splatter from the sparks. If it's
> > not there your coil polarity might be reversed (look inside the side
> > electrode) which can give you fits with a high compression engine--you may
> > get misses at full engine load since it takes more potential for the spark
> > to jump from the relatively dull side wire. Sharp edges enable sparks to
> > jump at lower voltage (read up on corona effect if you think that sounds
> > silly)
> >

--
Ted Schumacher
tedtsimx@q1.net
http://www.tsimportedautomotive.com
Fax: 419/ 384-3272 (24 hrs.)
Phone: 800/ 543-6648 (US & Canada)
Tech/Gen Info/Worldwide: 419/ 384-3022

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