Saturday, 04 February 2012
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Diagnosing A higher Performance Modified Engine Is really a Effort And it's also Lots of Secrets
A very common approach to diagnose and tune-up an altered or racing engine is as simple as looking the spark plug firing tips because its appearance can reveal if the engine includes a problem that require correcting. However you must be conscious that exactly the same spark plug firing tips appearance can have different root causes:
A) Mixture or timing misadjustment or other possible mechanical troubles.
B) High end modifications that increase the horse-power level, augmenting therefore the combustion chambers temperature and stress at high RPM.
C) Colder racing spark plugs fouling at idle, stop and go, minimizing speeds.
Unfortunately, for each spark plug firing tip appearance, the standard spark plug troubleshooting charts only are considering as possible trouble causes the initial list A.
However in high end modified engines and racing applications, their email list B is truly the main reason behind the higher temperatures within the combustion chambers that generates overheating, pre-ignition and detonation; and the list C is the main cause of fouled spark plugs that generates misfiring, hard starting, black smoke and great loose of power.
In spite of this, carefully overview of almost all the troubleshooting charts, reveals that the causes of the B and C lists aren't included, or at best mentioned. When talking on the high end field, these causes are with extreme frequency the key responsible for most of the troublesome spark plug firing tip appearance.
As result of this not enough information, wasn't sufficiently clear how the undesirable spark plug firing tip could be as a result of an inappropriate spark plugs heat range. Either was not ever mentioned strongly enough the transcendent importance that have to change the spark plugs heat range, so it never was taken into consideration.
Forasmuch it shouldn't surprise that even experienced engine builders, modifiers and tuners often confuse an overheated spark plug due to the newest amount of power at high RPM, with a lean mixture trouble, since the appearances of their firing tip look exactly the same; making wrong diagnostics, and enriching a combination, as opposed to customize the heat range for the engine's power.
And worst, if the heat excess level provokes pre-ignition or detonation (which is very frequent due to the high amounts of demands how the racing engines are submitted) most often the standard troubleshooting charts are guiding them erroneously to trust their engines are having some mechanical troubles and so they're engaging unnecessarily in repair nonexistent mechanical problems, like air conditioning failure: in order to guess that it is owed to some mixture or timing misadjustment, consequently enriching a combination and/or retarding the ignition timing, arriving inclusive to diminish the boost pressure, the nitrous flow, the compression ratio, etc. losing by this way tons of power, rather than the unique right, simplest, fastest and cheapest solution which is to customizing the spark plug heat range towards the huge power, stress and heat achieved at high RPM.
Due to the same lack of information, they are unable to either distinguish if the cold racing spark plugs are fouling at idle, stop and go, minimizing speeds, from when includes a rich mixture, because have the identical carbon fouled firing tips appearance; and what is still worst, they can not either distinguish if the colder racing spark plugs for heavily modified engines are fouling at idle, stop and go, and lower speeds, from the time the engines has worn-out piston rings and cylinders, because have exactly the same oil fouled firing tips appearance.
Those wrong diagnostics are leading these phones wrong solutions: trying to adjust unnecessarily the air-fuel mixture when they see carbon fouled spark plugs, and being bottled without need in overhauling the engine to repair mechanical troubles that do not exist, after they see oil fouled spark plugs, as opposed to avoiding idle reducing speeds in engines designed for run at high RPM, or get a new spark plug heat range for these type of show off usage.
Also when the traditional spark plug troubleshooting charts mention "wrong heat range" or "check for that correct heat range", because it's insufficient clear, majority of of they are quite familiarized with the concept that "wrong heat range" only might be a spark plug distinct from the stock or the suggested through the manufacturers, ignoring that they should switch the spark plug's heat range.
And, like was not sufficient using this confusion with all the information, until very short time didn't exist method neither tool to do the important task of change the heat range of the sparkplug, based on any sort of high end modification level, so, the election with the aftermarket sparkplug that best works at any RPM load or stress, was left to the intuition, experience and also the criterion of each technician, who only had the unfriendly guesswork of never-ending learning from mistakes proofs, testing different spark plug sets, with inexact and risky results.
But the racing field isn't any spot for mistakes.
Is perfect for that believe that the traditional troubleshooting charts are not probably the most adequate help guide to properly and accurately diagnosing your expensive high end modified or racing engine, risking you to lose your engine and that is still worse, to get rid of the race.
What's then the proper way to diagnose the spark plugs inside the powerful field?
Be sure that, if you are not having real mechanic problems, you must check the heat range of the installed spark plugs, and choose the replacement with the colder heat range better suited for your exactly high performance modification level.
Is it a tough work? It depends. If you are using the right tool, that permits you to see, confirm, verify, select, and choose the actual heat range you need to install in your high performance modified engine, it's a piece of cake!
Of course otherwise..... it may be unending, unfriendly, blind and risky guesswork.
You decide!
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