A Tale of Two Sparkplugs...BIG dif between 8's & 9's..

[JINKSTER]

So..short...concise...too the point..

1. Bought my beloved "Bone Stock" '03 Silver/Gray Oren Ishii in early '05 with a scant 1,640 miles on the odo.

2. For reasons unbeknowns to me?..it came with NGK CR8E's and i'm certain the 1st owner never had the plugs changed.

3. I added a akro full system with PCIIIUSB and GIPRO ATRE/GearShift Indicator and had it dyno tuned via Air/Fuel.

4. Got hammered on the board when i mentioned i replaced my NGKCR8E's with the same 10,000 miles ago...folks freaking out a bit on me as to why i deviated from the mean recomendation of CR9E's...where the shop manual permits spark heat ranging from CR8E (hottest) too CR9E (mean) too CR10E (coldest)..so...

at 22K miles i changed the plugs again..and this time "Tried" the CR9E's and?...

suckorama...in all aspects...cold hearted...hard starting...noticably boggy down low...obviously?..my busa'a PCIII was AF tuned too the Hotter CR8E's..put like 750 miles on the 9E's and couldn't take it no more...and swapped back out too a fresh set of the Hotter Sparked CR8E's and?..whadda freakin dif...jumps to life as soon as my thumb thinks about touching the starter button and instantaneously rips from all throttle positions/revs...just like she used to. duh.

Point being?..i was really shocked to experience 1st hand how just (1) heat range can have such a dramatic effect on a well tuned busa..and upon removing the colder 9's?..1, 2, & 3 looked just a tad sooty..but #4?...it was completely charcoal black...all over....completely coated...fouled...kaput.

Evidently?..Oren loves her gas and plenty of hot spark to go with it!

anyways..i'm stick'in with the 8's...L8R, Bill.

 

[spotrot]

makes ya wonder if #4 has a spark or injector issue, eh?

 

[Spkrdctr]

Worry less, ride more!!!!!

 

[AJAY]

makes ya wonder if #4 has a spark or injector issue, eh?

Ditto.

Doubt it will help, but since someone was raving about Seafoam yesterday.....

 

[djsin]

seafoam... yep.. i may have to try the cr8 plugs and see what happens

 

[RussellJ]

So 8 runs a hotter spark? Im guessing other benefits to a hotter spark being better efficiency all around... I may have to try the cr8eix's. I have cr9eix's in her now. Come spring I am going to get a tune...

Thank Jink

 

[AJAY]

So 8 runs a hotter spark? Im guessing other benefits to a hotter spark being better efficiency all around... I may have to try the cr8eix's. I have cr9eix's in her now. Come spring I am going to get a tune...

Thank Jink

Not hotter spark, but higher temp plug tip. Typically you want to run the cooler plug UNLESS your plugs are fouling, and then if they are fouling when they didn't foul before with that heat range, then you want to find the cause of the problem, not just fix it with a plug swap.

Plug heat range refers to how well the plug passes heat from the tip to the engine head. If you run a hotter plug, then the plug will be less likely to form deposits that will foul the plug. If your plugs have a nice light tan color, chances are the plug is the right temp range and your engine fuel/air ratios are well adjusted and the ignition is working well. No need to change to a hotter plug. It sounds like the OP has something wrong on his number four cylinder that is causing the plug to foul. The hotter plug keeps that cylinder from fouling, hence better running engine.

The downside of a hotter plug is increased risk of pre-ignition and eventually serious engine damage.

 

[JINKSTER]

makes ya wonder if #4 has a spark or injector issue, eh?

Ditto.

Doubt it will help, but since someone was raving about Seafoam yesterday.....

LOL!..why is it that some folks always seem to go for the darkest most dismal scenarios possible?...is it that their glass is always 1/2 empty?...or raised under a family law of murphys law?...i just find it interesting that no one might ponder the assumption that maybe....just maybe...my #4 was....

"Just The 1st Plug of 4 To Foul"

while running CR9E's in a Busa whose PC was Air/Fuel dyno tuned to a set of CR8E's.

My '03 only has 22K miles on the odo and ever since swapping back to the CR8E's pulls like a paranoid rhino on meth...from any rev or throttle position..matter fact?..i truely believe that under the proper conditions this bear of a bike could yank my 52 year old shoulders outta socket on a hard well hooked up launch...matter fact?..it runs so strong that i went to yanker up in 1st just by nailing the throttle and got zero inches...cause the new rear Q2 instantaneously broke loose on me instead...and before i realized what was happening and dumped out of it she was already gett'in squirrely in the azz...so?..i truely believe i have like zero injector issues...no holed pistons..and my BMC Race AF is clean as a whistle..cause the last time i cleaned it?..i used seafoam to re-oil it...as...well..it seems to keep my injectors clean.

But thanks for all the horrifying suggestions!

she's 8 years old...and i think i finally just got'er fully broke in!

and ya'll oughta know...

Old Busas never die...they just get stronger with age!

Thanks again & L8R, Bill.

 

[AJAY]

LOL!..why is it that some folks always seem to go for the darkest most dismal scenarios possible?...is it that their glass is always 1/2 empty?...or raised under a family law of murphys law?...i just find it interesting that no one might ponder the assumption that maybe....just maybe...my #4 was....

"Just The 1st Plug of 4 To Foul"

while running CR9E's in a Busa whose PC was Air/Fuel dyno tuned to a set of CR8E's.

My '03 only has 22K miles on the odo and ever since swapping back to the CR8E's pulls like a paranoid rhino on meth...from any rev or throttle position..matter fact?..i truely believe that under the proper conditions this bear of a bike could yank my 52 year old shoulders outta socket on a hard well hooked up launch...matter fact?..it runs so strong that i went to yanker up in 1st just by nailing the throttle and got zero inches...cause the new rear Q2 instantaneously broke loose on me instead...and before i realized what was happening and dumped out of it she was already gett'in squirrely in the azz...so?..i truely believe i have like zero injector issues...no holed pistons..and my BMC Race AF is clean as a whistle..cause the last time i cleaned it?..i used seafoam to re-oil it...as...well..it seems to keep my injectors clean.

But thanks for all the horrifying suggestions!

she's 8 years old...and i think i finally just got'er fully broke in!

and ya'll oughta know...

Old Busas never die...they just get stronger with age!

Thanks again & L8R, Bill.

Bill, my apologies. Obviously you have a good handle on your engine. You are using a plug specified by the manual and have cured a poor performance situation with the switch. Again, my apologies.