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Car Forum / Pontiac / Pontiac Cars / February 2007spark plug wear
Never seen this type of wear on a spark plug.....a little over 60,000 miles on a 2002 grand prix GTP, don't pay a lot of attention to the recommended intervals for anything accept transmission, which is a notorius high fail rate item.....everything else....I use a bit of common sense, 5K between oil changes, 10K between air filters....I've pulled spark plugs out of 3.8 liter motors with 100K and seen no indication of wear, but never a supercharged motor..... GTP started running a bit funky and so I pull the plugs, 64,000 miles and the plugs look like they've been sharpened to a point.....please tell me this ain't the way they come from the factory.....Tried to take a pic, but camera won't focus that close.....tip is gapped at about where I would expect, but I've never seen one burn up in this manner....rounded tip...okay,..... but sharpened tip? Put some nasty old Champion plugs in that I cleaned up a bit and the car runs like I can't remember....I'm headed to the auto parts emporium to see if "new" plugs for this motor look like what I'm used to, in which case, I won't be waiting this long between plug changes next time..... Anybody have any experience/comments?. > Never seen this type of wear on a spark plug.....a little over 60,000 > miles on a 2002 grand prix GTP, don't pay a lot of attention to the [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Anybody have any experience/comments?. What octane of gas do you use in your Grand Prix? The 3800 II Supercharged is supposed to run on 91...though, I use 89 most of the time. >> Anybody have any experience/comments?. > >What octane of gas do you use in your Grand Prix? The 3800 II Supercharged >is supposed to run on 91...though, I use 89 most of the time. Running the best they'll sell, 93 octane, I've put a tank full of regular in it once and that was a few years ago >>> Anybody have any experience/comments?. >> [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Running the best they'll sell, 93 octane, I've put a tank full of > regular in it once and that was a few years ago Just wanted to check. I know some people just use standard 87 octane. >>>> Anybody have any experience/comments?. >>> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > >Just wanted to check. I know some people just use standard 87 octane. And they wonder why performance sucks and the engine doesn't stand up.  SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com >>>>> Anybody have any experience/comments?. >>>> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >> > And they wonder why performance sucks and the engine doesn't stand up. Actually, I run my car on 89, as the 91 is around $1 a liter up here (Ontario, Canada). The car runs fine on it, but I do put the 91 and even 94 in every once in a while. >>>>>> Anybody have any experience/comments?. >>>>> [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >(Ontario, Canada). The car runs fine on it, but I do put the 91 and even 94 >in every once in a while. I feel your pain - I'm in Ontario too. But MANY of these vehicles will actually give enough improvement in fuel consumption using the higher octane fuel to pay the difference - or very close. A supercharged 3.8 will detune significantly to run on 87 or 89. SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com >>>>>>> Anybody have any experience/comments?. >>>>>> [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > octane fuel to pay the difference - or very close. A supercharged 3.8 > will detune significantly to run on 87 or 89. I too have heard that quite a bit. Though, I don't really notice any difference between running my car at 89 and at 91. When I first bought it, the only gas I put in it was 91, but as the gas prices started to climb, I couldn't do it anymore. I got difficult to see 80.0 a liter on the sign, and then realize that I had to pay 92 a liter. But, that's what I get for buying a Supercharged car. I have an '06 supercharged 3.8. My limited experience so far (3000 miles on a 13,000 mile car) shows it actually does better, mileage- wise, on 86/87 octane than on the high grade stuff. I can't 'feel' any performance difference, but I'm sure there is some. Of course, this is a Series III, not a Series II, so YMMV. > I feel your pain - I'm in Ontario too. But MANY of these vehicles will > actually give enough improvement in fuel consumption using the higher [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Can't the Series III run on regular 87? If memory serves, GM doesn't require the Series III to run off higher octane. >I have an '06 supercharged 3.8. My limited experience so far (3000 > miles on a 13,000 mile car) shows it actually does better, mileage- [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >> >> - Show quoted text - Yes. The owner's manual states that premium is recommended, but regular is acceptable if you don't mind the slightly reduced performance. > Can't the Series III run on regular 87? If memory serves, GM doesn't require > the Series III to run off higher octane. That's what I thought. I remember that being one of the 'big improvements' of the Series III. Having a Series II, it says in the owners manual to use no less then 91, but like I said, I do use 89 most of the time. > Yes. The owner's manual states that premium is recommended, but > regular is acceptable if you don't mind the slightly reduced [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >> require >> the Series III to run off higher octane. I can tell a difference in 99 GTP. Normally I run 93 sometimes 92. The best mileage was with the 92 but its 10% ethanol. That may make the difference. 89 & 87 does run as well or get the mileage for me. >I can tell a difference in 99 GTP. Normally I run 93 sometimes 92. The best >mileage was with the 92 but its 10% ethanol. That may make the difference. >89 & 87 does run as well or get the mileage for me. Ethanol fuels GENERALLY give lower mileage as ethanol has less heat value per unit. SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com >> I can tell a difference in 99 GTP. Normally I run 93 sometimes 92. The best >> mileage was with the 92 but its 10% ethanol. That may make the difference. >> 89 & 87 does run as well or get the mileage for me. >> > Ethanol fuels GENERALLY give lower mileage as ethanol has less heat > value per unit. Ethanol sucks in comparison to gasoline. Any legit scientific info on the web will agree. GW > Never seen this type of wear on a spark plug.....a little over 60,000 > miles on a 2002 grand prix GTP, don't pay a lot of attention to the [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Anybody have any experience/comments?. some platinum plugs have a very sharp thin center electrode. GW >> Anybody have any experience/comments?. > >some platinum plugs have a very sharp thin center electrode. >GW These are labled AC Delco 12568387 ITR4A 15 > >some platinum plugs have a very sharp thin center electrode. > >GW > > These are labled AC Delco 12568387 ITR4A 15 That is an Iridium spark plug with a very thin center electrode and possibly a chisel point ground electrode. >> >some platinum plugs have a very sharp thin center electrode. >> >GW [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >That is an Iridium spark plug with a very thin center electrode >and possibly a chisel point ground electrode. Yep, went out and bought 6 of 'em this morning. Expensive little suckers..... Gonna swap 'em out tommorrow, just won't let them go another 100K miles before I pull 'em next time, maybe 50K? I gotta admit it's been awhile since I pulled plugs from a car, do it all the time in my trucks (the gas models anyway), but these sideways mounted V6's and my few spare moments have driven me to (alas!) let somebody else do that lately....so this was my first encounter with that particular configuration....live and learn.....appreciate the input > >That is an Iridium spark plug with a very thin center electrode > >and possibly a chisel point ground electrode. > > Yep, went out and bought 6 of 'em this morning. Expensive little > suckers..... Gonna swap 'em out tommorrow, just won't let them go > another 100K miles before I pull 'em next time, maybe 50K? Welcome to the world of $15 spark plugs ;-) > I gotta admit it's been awhile since I pulled plugs from a car, do it > all the time in my trucks (the gas models anyway), but these sideways > mounted V6's and my few spare moments have driven me to (alas!) let > somebody else do that lately....so this was my first encounter with > that particular configuration....live and learn.....appreciate the > input Glad to help. |
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