I recently did a spark plug/ wire and coil change on my 98 gt-so 1500 miles later I pulled some plugs to check em. They looked dry but pretty black with a light coating of redish dust-I check some plug charts but nothing matched-the dust rubbed off but the greyish black stayed on plug-I also regapped my plugs to 65 because the coil called for it-any input on this would be great since I'm about to send data to Bama for a retune. Thanks

 

They can carbon up pretty quick from idling or in traffic driving. Or the tune has the mixture too rich. Or maybe a weak O2 sensor isn't giving correct signal? (Guessing there...)
Back in the day with carbs, the only way to really check if the main jets were giving the best A/F, was checking the color of the plugs. The best way for that was to drive up a moderate grade under acceleration, pull over, and check the color of the plugs on the spot so you wouldn't have any carbon from idling.

 

Yeah I live in a city area so I've been In some traffic plus I think the tune is pretty rich-need to get a better tune from Bama -going to try to data log and send them the info-thank u for the help-feel better about it now

 

Do you have any pictures of the plugs? What color is the porcelain? That's what you should be more focused on when reading the plugs.

Bama will be able to take care of any minor adjustments needed, after a datalog. Adding the Screaming Demon coils and new spark gap won't alter the tune very much at all. At that point, Bama will be looking at your tune with a fine tooth comb for mild tweaks, if any.

I'm sure they'll have you squared away, but if you need any other assistance just let me know!

Shane

 

Ok thanks I will take a photo today and post it-

 

 

When looking at the back side of the porcelain it does look a little rich. Although, it's hard to tell since there was a fuel additive ran through the system recently. Fuel additives will create the red you're seeing, but they'll also change the tone of the black suit.

Basically, the porcelain should be bone white when it's constantly seeing 1 Lambda Air/Fuel ratio (cruising speeds only). If the plugs are pulled directly after a WOT run with zero cruising after, the porcelain will be a light grey/tan.

Again, it's hard to tell with the fuel additive still showing on your plugs. The best thing to do would be verify the air/fuel with a wideband gauge, if WOT is where your issues are. If they're just during cruising, a simple datalog will suffice.

Get in touch with the Bama Team and send them a datalog. If they don't see any issues, then you may want to get a wideband that can record the data to send them.

Hit me up if you have more questions!

Shane

 

Thanks SHANE very helpful-I was testing some of the tunes I have now to see performance differences -I see that I can make adjustments on the tuner- of all the options the only one I would be Leary to change us global spark-I don't totally understand what the changes would do-maybe that's why I'm not a tuner-but I would love to create a tune for myself and tweak it-right now stock tune runs 7.3 to 7.4 0-60 -race tune 7.2 to 7.4-no difference at all-mid range feels very similar as well-will do data log ASAP -was hoping for something better-

 

It does seem like there could be a few beneficial tweaks to your tune then. Giving Bama a shout with a datalog will be the best first step. From there, continue to work with them to fine tune the car too. Each person has their own preference of what feels better. Bama can help you reach that point without the need of adjustments on your end, so you can be sure the tune is safe and efficient.

The more details you can provide the Bama Team the better they'll get your tune straightened out. Then we can retest your 0-60 times!

Shane

 

Ok hoping to do data log in the next couple days-been really hot so I want it to average out then I will run it. Thanks for the help with this.

 

Not a problem! Let me know how things go and if I can help with anything else.

Shane