Re: DHadley, fouled plugs not fouled?
No problem!<br /><br />1 -- Some motors do tend to load up at idle. It has a lot to do with what oil, how good the plugs really are, how good the ignition voltage really is (at the plug), the condition of the pistons, rings and cylinder walls, recirc valve condition, etc -- all in a combination. For instance if the rings are starting to stick obviously the idle quality starts to suffer. After idling for several hours it may help to rev her up and help burn off some fuel that had "puddled" up in the intake and front half. I wouldnt say that its carbon exactly, perhaps just extra fuel.<br /><br />2 -- Sure you can clean old plugs. Wire wheel, bead blast etc. Will they be as good as new? Nope. Will they get you home as a spare if you ever needed one? Sure.<br /><br />3- 100 hours seems to be about right. Most OE's recommend de-carbing every 50 hours and installing new plugs after the proceedure. De-carb certianly takes a toll on spark plugs, so most never see 100 hours.<br /><br />Sure new plugs will run better. 4 mph is great. You ever notice how spark plug brand X always shows you a running motor with brand Y plugs and then installs theirs and its so much better? They're comparing their new plug to someone elses old wore out plug. Sure its gonna be better!<br /><br />As far as reading plugs, I was refering to the color. Plugs are "read" to help tune motors. The stock car guys do it all the time. You'll see them at the end of a run or the end of a qualifying lap push in the clutch and cut the motor cold at the highest rpm. That tells them what the motor was running like (rich or lean) at that rpm.<br /><br />We really cant do that with 2 stroke plugs. They are normally darker than a 4 stroke plug anyway. Nature of the motor. We test the lean / rich deal with the primer. I've seen guys get home from a boat ride, pull the plugs and think the plugs are fouled. Maybe they are, maybe they arent. <br /><br />Long deal but I hoped that helped. Glad you asked.
