Ok I have an 03' GT That is was bone stock until I installed a ZEX wet nitrous system yesterday.I put new NGK v-power plugs in it that are copper and one step colder than the factory plugs. I checked the plugs today after spraying the N2O a few times and all of the ground straps are white. I know this indicates a lean condition, but how did this happen? I am starting with a 75 shot until I can get a tune. I did however find out that the plugs should be gapped at .35 instead of what i had them gapped to (.52). I haven't checked the plugs sinced I changed the gap to .35. Was this my problem? I havent reset the computer yet also. I didnt think the computer had to relearn the colder plugs, but I'll try it anyway. Oh yea I also run 93 octane in it everyday. If anyone could give me suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.
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BMW R26

 

First off, how white is white? A little white is fine. If they are coated white, then you got problems. Take some pictures and post them if you can or do a google search on reading plugs. There is TONS of info on the internet about plugs.

The small gag is to prevent the nitrous from blowing out the spark. It prevents some missfires and should not affect the burn.

You are smart to read the plugs!

I have never used that ZEX system so please tell us how it is supposed to work. How does the system know how much fuel to add? Does it read bottle pressure? What mechanism does it use?

 

with that kit you can adjust your fuel right? or is zex the one that adds its own fuel into the nozzel as you go i forget? if you have jets maybe set up the fuel jet a tad to make it richer.

what size nozzels are you using anyhow? normally there is a little list that comes with the kit and tells you the jet for that hp level and the fuel jet, some kits also tel you 2 different fuel jets and you choose the one based on your fuel presssure.

 

The ground straps on all of the plugs were coated in white. I checked them this morning after changing the gap to .35 and driving the car for an hour without the juice and they are still white. I am thinking that my engine is running lean all the time now since i put in the colder and copper plugs. I could be wrong though. If the ground straps were white from running lean and then the car started to run richer again, would that make the ground straps turn back to gray?

The ZEX kit is supposed to be a pretty safe kit from what I hear. It is a wet kit. It has a shark nozzle that mixes fuel and nitrous together in a fine mist. It comes with a main control box that houses the fuel and nitrous solenoids. It is supposed automatically change how much fuel is added depending on nitrous bottle pressure. The kit taps into the output wire of the throttle position sensor and only activates at wide open throttle. The kit does come with a sheet that tells you what fuel and nitrous jets to use with what shot. It also tells you how many degrees to retard your timing with what shot. For a 75 shot (what i am running now) it doesnt require retarding the timing at all.

I am tapping into the schrader valve on my fuel rail to supply fuel to the system. One of my theories is that by having my nitrous system attatched to the fuel rail at all times may be causing my fuel injectors to lack fuel at all times (like normal driving without N2O).

All of my connections to the system are very tight and there are no leaks. I made sure i put the correct fuel and nitrous jets in the nozzle. Maybe all that info will help.

 

OK I ruled out my little theory a while ago. I took the fuel line completely apart from the fuel rail and installed the factory schrader valve in its place. I ran down the road for about 5 minutes and checked the plugs.....still lean.

Obviously the only thing left on the car that isnt stock is the plugs. Im pretty sure that little bastard down at tennessee speed sport gave me a hotter set of plugs instead of colder ones like i had asked. The plugs are NGK TR6 .

MT's #1 Customer... I read one of your threads about when you first got your Venom kit. You said you are running Autolite 103's in your car so I guess those will be the plugs I need to go with unless you disagree....

 

Good plug to use. Used by some serious juice users and came highly recomended.

Reading plugs is a real science. The pro racers will actually pull plugs at the end of the race and they won't even allow the car to idle at all. They slice them open and look at them under a microscope. You can tell everything about a motor by reading the plugs if you really know what you are doing.

Trying to read plugs they way you are doing it (which is the way all of us do it) looses some of the value because of the changing driving conditions.

If you run rich, they will should turn back black eventually. If they are just slightly white, you are fine...no worries. Take a photo and post it so I can take a look, or mail a plug or two to me. I would be happy to see them in person and I have guys here that I can show them to.

 

running with the fuel line connected to the shrader valve does not make it run lean. when the fuel solined is off there is no fuel being taken out at all. so its getting plenty of fuel under n/a driving.

 

The autolite 103s are in now. i sprayed it a couple of times and checked the plugs. Now its running fine. Thanks for the help. Now ill go out and smoke some mach 1s and some older cobras!

 

Great!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

BTW, plugs have no affect on A/F. The ground straps will turn white and the insulation cone if the temp is too high. Most likely your plugs looked like that because they got a little too hot, not too lean.