i made a post on NLOC and hey what a surprise no-one responded(maybe i should ask if i should use a 20"or22" wheel, then someone will respond)....anyhow i just installed GMS COP'S and DENSO IT22 plugs evrything is cool and the truck runs well. i did notice when i was pulling the plugs out that they were a bit on the white side with a slight bit of orangy-brown discoloration behind the ground strap...is this normal. i had read a post by typhoon43 and his plugs look very similar and people were giving him mixed reviews as to being too lean and o.k. (unfortunately i can't post pics.)
my mods a re your basic bolt on's : 6lb lower, full exhaust, cai, MP blower, c&l plenum, 55lb inj., the coils and plugs, others as well but these are the motor stuff. oh yeah... no i know the autometer a/f gauges are not the most accurate, but i noticed the gauge barely even reach's the rich end. i saw this a while back when driving and it would only get there under wot. it used to jump all over, even at idle. now it dosen't even go near at idle even when revving the motor. anybody have any ideas?????, i'm a little concerned

 

you mean to tell me that 32 people have looked at this thread and nobody has any input?????.....UNBELIEVABLE

 

Hard to tell by description what the plugs mean. Usually orange tints come from fuel additives such as octane boosters or race gas. White generally means too lean.
No input regarding the AF guage. If it is not a wideband I would not bother with it.
Jim

 

hey ct. thanx glad to see there are some intelligent life forms out there. i am burning off whats left of a few gallons of 100 mixed with some 93. but still other than that spot behind the ground strap the rest of the porcelin is pretty clean & white. i think my next couple of pay checks i'm gonna skim enough to buy one of those inovative set-ups. thanx again

 

Could the lack of "intelligent" responses you expect to receive, have something to do with the composition and "exact" information in your posting?

 

sorry there GUY, i didin't know i was being graded. i didn't realize i had to have a proper composition to get my point across, GUY. pretty much everything that i can think needs to be known is listed, and if it's not those who are in the "know" can always ask.

as to everyone else...sorry, i just get a bit frustrated when i know you guy's know your stuff and i look to these boards for knowledgeable input and can't get any.

 

As said its very hard to read plugs without seeing them in person, also said additives will change the look too. Color is a hard thing to nail down too,
Brownish White can be bad, Greyish White can be bad, and sometimes White can be good. If there's a problem it really depends on what is causing that problem, plus of course heat range of the plug will play a part in it's color too. Either way what you DONT want to see is green, thats usually a clear sign of detonation. Just make sure that discoloration behind the ground strap is not an attack in the early stages. Usually what will happen is you will see little dots or specks and before you know it WAM you cook a plug.
Going by your description and the AF gauge now reading diff, I would def change the fuel filter and check the AF if at all possible.


Here's a few examples

Here's a set of COOKED NGK TR6's

Green Tips are a clear sign of Detonation, but notice how some plugs are diff colors that the others, whitish, brownish and greyish, but all damaged...

Now these puppies below I use to have to order special from Denso, their prob 3-4 ranges colder than stock and as seen some dont even look like they were used, YET the green tips once again tell the story...

Look at them closely and you'll see the Specs I talk of, eventually those plugs would just melt the tip off

Another green NGK, trouble trouble trouble





If you had this one in your hand you'd notice tons of tiny dots (specs)
You can also see it's already eating away at it and the tip is thin on the back




Bottom line is if your NOT burning plugs thats a good thing, if it apprears to be starting to run a little lean I would def change the fuel filter, run only high octane in it, and maybe get some GOOD Injec Cleaner. Of course as said checking the AF correctly is the main thing you should do

 

Rob thanx a ton my friend. that's the kind of help and guidance i was looking for. after comparing my plugs to yours (1st photo of tr6's) mine look like a cross between the one on the far left of the top row and the far right of the bottom row.
I do plan on changing the fuel filter like you said and i have a bottle of lucas fuel injector cleaner that i'm gonna put to use. speaking of the lucas, for a while there i was using the fuel additive. do you think maybe that has affected anything. do you think high flow pumps will help or are needed? the truck is making 480 to the wheels on a conservative race tune.
As far as detonation goes, wouldn't i be able to hear and feel that happening. because the truck has been running strong without any sounds or feeling of detonation.
Thanx again for your help

 

No Prob Bro thats what I'm here for
The upper left and lower right plug in my pic are the best two so thats good,
kinda just the right color you want to see too. (mine show signs of detonation though)

If you werent mis firing and there's no green on your tips your Prob good (Thumbs Up)
Yes when Detonation is bad you will DEF hear it, (cant miss it)
BUT there is a term know as silent detonation and thats when you WONT.
My old truck and motor never once detonated yet it melted 13 sets of plugs before blowing up. And every set had green tips on some or all plugs

Lucas or any additive can change plug color

As for pumps you may have hit the nail on the head there, 480 is def nearing the point where you HAVE TO change pumps. 450 was the spot on my old 02where it started running lean at the top of 3rd gear

BTW all those pic's were from my old 02

The main thing is you werent mis-firing, you didnt cook a plug/plugs, and there's no green tips
Fuel filters are critical in these things, I change mine each and every 3k oil change.

What EXACT Plug and # are you running ?

 

hey rob, i got to fool with the truck this morning. i put my new filter in and put in some lucas fuel system treatment. once i started it up i immediately saw the a/f gauge going to the rich side. when i took it for a spin it looked o.k. as well. in a hard wot acceleration the gauge dipped into the green as it usually does. so i guess the suggestions you had were the key. thanx again you deffinately know your stuff.
as for the plugs i am running now, they are denso it22's. when i ordered them and the granatelli cop's he asked me about my mod's and said these would be what i needed, so.......
by the way, as far as fuel filters go, is there one brand that is better than another. i have been using purolator's, simply because that's all manny, moe, and jack have to offer.

 

GOOD SAVE
So it was the Fuel Filter ???

I dont know of any better one but I changed mine just yesterday and do so every 3K now so I dont have to question it anymore. Back in 02 when my 02 was Brand New and only had a few thousand miles on it my fuel filter clogged and it melted 3 plugs, dam near blew the motor because of that stupid *** fuel filter@($^%@($%@$()%@$($

I got a pic of it
(Brand New Truck with @3K on it)


Our fuel system and especially filter is "barely enough" Ford def fk up there too, so ANY slow down of fuel and YOU ARE in trouble. Do it every oil change and you'll always have piece of mind

Great to hear it's back to normal, and AWESOME CHOICE OF PLUGS thats what I run with a 8lb Lower, 2.7 Upper, and Ported Apten giving me 500 RWHP

 

wow that filter looks like a$$. i think i'm gonna cut mine open and take a looky as well. just to see whats going on in there. that might give me an idea of how the filters perform/hold up/last. thanx bro