Plug Read After 10 Runs and Drive Home

[LTNBOLT]

Here are a couple of pics taken after 10 passes at the track and a drive home. I couldn't get the light to shine right down in the cylinders of both plugs to see the light tan color. I didn't want to use the flash because it gives a fake glossy look to the porcelain.

Read this and tell me if the insulator nose isn't turning tan.
http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/techinfo/spark_plugs/faq/faqread.asp

 

[HIGH ROLLER]

Chuck,
As always thanks for the pictures and info on the TR5 plugs!:tu:

Matt

 

[GROUNDSTRIKE]

Hey thanks Chuck. How did your mph go? Did it improve over the tr6s? Same as the splitfires? Throttle response? Thanks again.. Kevin

 

[LTNBOLT]

Kevin,

The throttle response and mph are basically too close to call. The throttle response is very close. It looks like the mph is there to but the conditions haven't been right for a good comparison. Last Sunday at the first Test n Tune the traction was terrible. My 60' times were off along with my ET. My best time was a 12.88 @ 107.01 (the track was starting to come around after a winter of no racing). Thursday would have been perfect but there was a 25 mph headwind gusting up to 39 mph according to the weather report for that area (it felt like it to). The traction was great with my best time of the night being 12.68 @ 107.43 (best time ever is a 12.65 @ 107.93). Without that headwind I would have ran a new personal best. So from what I've seen so far I think the mph are there. There's always next Thurday, LOL.:tu:

 

[99BlkLitng]

LTNBOLT

Where did you get the plugs and are those the ones that work the best for you. When is it a good idea to switch from stock plugs to aftermarket ones? Also were there any other Ls at the track last Thursday? One of my friends said that there was a white L that had something break on it or something. I will try to be out there this Thursday if it does not rain. Maybe then you will run even lower in the 12s.

Later
Damon

 

[LTNBOLT]

Damon,

I got the plugs at carquest. The white L was (Hotrod) Steve Allen. He had his ET Streets on and said he had trouble hooking up with a 12.9 @ 110mph on his first run. I said "Ok what have you done to run those trap speeds". He had add a shot of nitrous but I don't know how big of a shot. I never saw him after his second run so I guess that explains what happened to him. I hope he didn't break his motor.

I ran my first 3 passes on the cold weather program and ran a best 12.94 @ 106.70 into a headwind from hell. The rest of my runs were on the warm weather program with a best of 12.68 and worst of 12.73 (on a third hot lap). I ran 10 times and could have ran more if I wanted to continually hot lap.

 

[99BlkLitng]

Wow you got to run 10 times on the same night. There must not have been a lot of people there. I guess everyone did not know that the track was open. I hope Hotrod did not do anything too serious to his truck. My friend said that he has a video of some of the runs out there and that he has the one of Hotrod when something went wrong. Hope to see you this thursday along with other L owners.

Later
Damon

 

[xjmd44]

Got a couple a questions.?

LTNBOLT,
I've got a 2001 L with 25000 miles. Last weekend when checking the torque of the plugs, I cracked the insulator on one of them.(Motorcraft Platinum AGSF-12FM1) I bought an (Autolite Double Platinum APP-103 ) as a replacment.

Have you run any tests on these Autolite plugs? Is the Platinum metallurgy of any significance? Also, the TR5's are not Platinum are they? What would the gap be for the TR5 plug?

J. Mark

 

[Jay Lincoln]

Chuck, those plugs look to be just where you need them. Getting a little color on the ground electrode. It's discolored down to the bend. I wouldn't go much leaner. #5 is pretty hot.

 

[xjmd44]

Colder heat range?

LTNBOLT ,

Are these NGX plugs available in a colder heat range? Here where I reside, 90 octane is best we can buy. Are the TR5 plugs too hot for a stock set-up with 90 grade? My truck is stock as the day it was born. Please reply.

JMD

 

[LTNBOLT]

xjmd44,

The NGK TR6 is colder and might be a better choice for 90 octane. When stock these trucks are on the fat side so leaness is usually not an issue.

You asked about platinum plugs earlier so I'll tell what I know. When platinum plugs started to become common they were tried in the turbo Grand National. They never seemed to perform as well as standard AC plugs so all the literature said don't waste your money. Now we have the lightning which is another forced induction motor and the same seems to hold true for it. The standard plugs seem to perform better plus some people have reported the porcelain cracking off the platinum plugs causing valve damage. I think maybe the platinum tip gets too hot and causes the porcelain to break apart.

If yours is stock gap them at .044". Spec is between .042"- .046". Gap them at .040" if you are running a pulley.

 

[xjmd44]

Since brand New.

I've been checking the torque of the plugs every 10,000 miles and was just chatting via Email with Jay, about an idea I had to possibly get a better torque down intially in order to worry less a bout the jettison effect. Thank you for the reply LTNBOLT....I reckon the TR5 are going in this week-end. :tu: