hotter plugs

[gotama]

burning mexican gas fouls up the plugs fast..im useing autolite 63 now and gonna get some ngk's..whats is the hottest plug i can put in?..any sugestions please

[dlb]

if you want hotter plugs, just move up the heat range one step and see how it goes.

why do you want hotter plugs though? do you anticipate greater heat cleaning the plugs better? beware of pinging and hotter running temps if you go for it.

[gotama]

i go 200 miles and the plugs are all fouled up..clean em and same thing..car runs cold as a cucumber now..dont even have the fan hooked up..prob why they foul up

[dlb]

what do the fouled plugs look like? is it oil or fuel that's fouling them? how high does the gauge read once the car has been running a while? if it's not reaching full temp, that's your problem. changing spark plugs would only be treating one of the symptoms. you'd still have the bigger underlying issue.

running cold would probably be due to a stuck open thermostat. they're easy to replace. if the temp is ok but the plugs are fuel-fouled, check the choke to make sure it's not stuck closed, then check the AAP to make sure it's not ruptured. AAP test procedure is in the FSM. also check the vacuum hose routing to make sure the AAP is only getting vacuum when the engine is cold.

oil-fouled plugs could be worn valve stem seals, worn rings, or gummed up oil scraper rings. a compression test would help you determine the condition of the rings.

[Petros]

sounds like you need to put a can of smoke stop in to lower oil consumption or something.

It might be caused by the wrong heat range plugs, what color are they when you check them?

the idea with spark plugs is you ALWAYS want to run the coolest plug you can that will not foul. So if you are getting carbon deposits from running too cool a plug, than you have to move up in temp range. I do not see how they type of gasoline will affect that, unless it is really low octane, that will cause you have to run a cooler plug, and risk fouling.

I have had good luck with the NGK plug that is the one listed for the stock Tercel engine.