Anybody good at reading plugs?

The MAF and TB looked ok yesterday. I didn’t do a thorough inspection of them, but at a glance they seemed fine. Diffs and transfer case were full. I do intend to drain and refill in the near future for general purposes, but they were not low.

 

OP .... we need much closer pics of the porcelain and ground strap if you want to get better plug reading . For instance I can't read the timing mark on the ground strap to accurately read the timing

 

From what I see the plugs look pretty normal with the exception of the excessive gap due to wear.

I would rather go with NGK or Denso plugs regardless of Iridium or not. IMO they give better performance and wear. Just take a note here that Iridiums should come pregapped from the factory. Do not attempt to re-gap them. Just check the gap and if a new one is off take it back for a replacement. Iridium is very hard, but very brittle and are often broken when people attempt to set the gap.

Run the plugs you have and see what they will give you.

 

I would fill up and then run through at least 3/4 of a tank before checking the mileage. Anything less will not be very accurate.

 

It’s been through a hair over 3/4.

 

Do not I repeat DO NOT put 80 psi in your tires lol. You will instantly regret that. 80 psi is the max range, if you fill them that high they will ride like literal rocks. Every tiny bump you hit in the road will make your truck fly sideways

35 - 40 psi is the normal range

 

Ive always run E rated tires that say 80 psi max on the side, anything over 40 and they ride like hell

 

Here's how to properly read spark plugs .....

https://www.dragstuff.com/techarticles/how-to-read-plugs.html

 

80PSI has been in my 2010 single-cab for years. Yes I’ve driven it lower. Not the point of the thread.

And if I instantly regret it, it’s sooooooo hard to take out.

 

Very cool info!

 

Maybe tire pressure isn't the point of this thread, but you brought it up and a lot of people see that as a big red flag. There's a reason manufacturers put recommended tire pressure info on vehicles. Severe overinflation compromises safety, handling, braking, ride quality, fuel economy and tire life. Sure, you can do whatever you want, but you're not doing yourself any favors by running at 80 psi.
If you're after better mpg at least try a lower pressure and compare. You may be surprised.

 

A) Higher pressure improves fuel economy. The improvement gets smaller and smaller fairly rapidly, but it doesn’t go the opposite direction.

B) The truck in question has had 38psi for the entire 230 miles that I have owned it. Tire pressure has nothing to do with it getting less than 16mpg. Increasing pressure may improve fuel economy slightly, but going from properly inflated to over inflated isn’t going to improve it all that much.

C) I doubt many of the people that think the world is ending when I over inflate my tires have ever done so. I happen to have done it for many years in numerous vehicles. Yes, stopping distance is increased etc. but it’s not all that dramatic. I’ve driven other people’s cars. I always get my trucks back from the tire shop with the manufacturer’s recommended pressure in them and drive around for a few days to a few weeks before I get around to pulling the compressor out of the shop. If you’ve never done it, it’s probably not as dramatic as you think.

 

Shiznit for 2.7l engine owners

 

good to know. I’m thinking of doing mine soon, guess I’ll go copper

 

https://www.championautoparts.com/P...-and-maintenance/how-to-read-spark-plugs.html

 

Filled up this morning. It’s getting 14.7mpg. That’s not quite as bad as I was thinking while I watched he gauge drop. The eroded plugs may have been costing me 1.3mpg or more. I’ll check again when I get down to 3/4 tank. Should be Thursday or Friday. I won’t be increasing tire pressure until after I check it again because I want to know how much was the plugs.

If it’ll do 15.5ish I’d say that’s about all I expected. I was just a bit concerned when I saw the gauge dropping so dang fast and knew it had recently ruined a cat. I don’t care to replace another cat. After reading the link about plug reading I’d say that one of them looked like it might have been a little rich, but the info wasn’t exactly for reading a plug that had been in a daily driver for a long time. None of them looked lean, so it’s not like one cylinder is rich and the rest of the bank is being trimmed way lean to make the O2 sensor happy. Since the 02 is happy, and nothing seems crazy on the plugs, if the new plugs bring it up pretty close to 16mpg, I’ll assume there’s no reason to think that the injectors are gonna trash the new cat.

Side note, the iridium plugs seem fine. I can’t compare them to new NGK U-grooves, but the engine starts more easily than with the worn out plugs, and seems to run great after that.

 

After reading the one from Champion Spark Plugs, which was more for my application anyway, it does appear as though one cylinder was rich. I’ll check the new plugs this weekend and see if it still looks that way and which cylinder it is. Then I’ll run another can of SeaFoam and check again.

 

80 psi on a Tacoma, now I’ve heard it all

 

But it's ok, he's done it before

I like how people have the 'I've done it before so it couldn't have been a bad idea' mentality and then get defensive about their poor choices.

 

What is that old saying? You can't fix …...