Civic break down

[California98Civic]

Good advice SimonSells... I have never done that but it might have saved some time/effort. One limitation was that the car was dead in my driveway.

@ Ladogaboy: I know, right... all the guys I spoke with discounted that possibility if I brought it up, even when I was showing the dudes in the store the old plugs. BTW, spec of the spark plug gap is .35 but my gap tool showed as much as .54 on one or two! I should have monitored these more closely (live and learn).

@ honfit: Agreed, makes sense, and I know my way into the distributor quite comfortably now. So that test will be interesting to do... right after I attend to installing a water pressure regulator in my leaking house and getting the gas furnace back online!

Originally Posted by jakobnev

Plugs! \o/

Something to consider: Were the plugs just old as shït, or is something wrong with your car that makes it destroy plugs?

My Ultra Gauge consistently shows longterm trim 1.6% lean when the car is warm. And I advanced ignition timing 2 degrees to 14 BTDC. I'll be watching these new plugs to see how they hold up mile-by-mile. Next summer I want to have my Warm Air Intake adjustable, so when I see IAT go really high (130-140+ degrees) I can adjust it to draw cooler air. When I think back, my problems along these lines appeared late in the summer, after HOT days and the ignition timing advance.

[some_other_dave]

I hope those weren't Bosch platinum plugs. The quality on those sucks, except for the really high-dollar ones that are hard to find anyway. For a Honda, NGK plugs are very good--or you can go with Bosch silver or copper plugs, their QC seems to be just fine. But the platinums with the little speck of Pt in the inner electrode? Bad stuff in my experience.

-soD

[jakobnev]

I'm starting to think there should be a third list, in addition to the ecomod and hypermiling lists, there should be one for maintenance and things to check when buying a used car.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by some_other_dave

I hope those weren't Bosch platinum plugs. The quality on those sucks, except for the really high-dollar ones that are hard to find anyway. For a Honda, NGK plugs are very good--or you can go with Bosch silver or copper plugs, their QC seems to be just fine. But the platinums with the little speck of Pt in the inner electrode? Bad stuff in my experience.

The old ones were NGK and so are the replacements. I considered iridium, but was told those might tax my ignition system. The run "too hot" was the description. I played it safe.

Originally Posted by jakobnev

I'm starting to think there should be a third list, in addition to the ecomod and hypermiling lists, there should be one for maintenance and things to check when buying a used car.

That would be useful. But making it would be a bit of a job.

[Ladogaboy]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

The old ones were NGK and so are the replacements. I considered iridium, but was told those might tax my ignition system. The run "too hot" was the description. I played it safe.

You can get various temperature ratings for spark plugs; they usually list them as "steps." Still, probably not worth doing the research and then paying the extra price for them.

[PaleMelanesian]

Originally Posted by jakobnev

I'm starting to think there should be a third list, in addition to the ecomod and hypermiling lists, there should be one for maintenance and things to check when buying a used car.

That's where the make and model-specific forums come in. In this case, honda-tech is the place to go.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

That's where the make and model-specific forums come in. In this case, honda-tech is the place to go.

I turn to honda-tech.com too, partly at your suggestion, also made by TomO on various occasions. But on this problem... EM outpaced honda-tech in assessing and clarifying the problem with me. And I think that is a great development on this site.

[PaleMelanesian]

to Ecomodder.

[some_other_dave]

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

That's where the make and model-specific forums come in. In this case, honda-tech is the place to go.

...especially if you want to feel like you're in a high-school boy's locker room...

-soD

[PaleMelanesian]

That's the truth! There are some level heads in there, but you have to sift through the mess to find them.