Dangers of running too rich???

[muscl car]

Under load, or can I do that in the garage?

IE:

1. Drive down the road, kill it and coast to the side - bring plug sockets?
- or -
2. In garage, in neutral, slowly run rpms all the way up to red line, kill it - check there?

(Sorry if I'm asking lots of questions - I obviously screwed this up the last time and want to get it right this time.)

Edit - I'd rather do this in my garage in case there's issues.

needs to be done like i said ...............high speed pull on a deserted street/road with secondaries opened up then kill the engine and pull the plugs

 

[muscl car]

what you want to see on the plugs when reading them :

the ground strap ........ look for a line about the middle of the strap that indicates your timing is good and that the proper heat range of the plug is correct


the porcelin ...... you want to see a light tan appearance on it to dark or soot black is to rich and if the porcelin is bleach white it's to lean


the metal outer ring of the plug including the 1rst thread should be a nice grayish color if it is sooty black that indicates a to rich of idle/fuel mixture


very good info on plug reading !!!!

http://www.dragstuff.com/techarticles/reading-spark-plugs.html

 

[kenny77]

Again....No.

That all pertains to dragstrip tuning. All talking about what plugs look like and reading them after dragstrip runs.

not going to tell you much about part throttle, cruise , idle mixtures which is where you're having the problem. Just not going to work that way for street tuning a carb.

Of course most Holley guys are so used to dumping gas and running all out pig rich all the time, some don't know the difference from what I've seen

 

[Rick WI]

What are you looking at jetting in? Idle circuit, primaries, ull throttle?

Earl, I'd get a couple sets of new plugs. Before installing a new set adjust the idle and take for a ride. If very light throttle doesn't cause and material issues drive back home and change the plugs. Fire it up with the new plugs and let your nose tell you if it's still too rich. Black smoke and stink of fuel is your guide. Let it idle for a few minutes and if it's pig rich when you repull the plugs you'll see.

Drive around on light throttle like a normal person would around town. After 10 minutes go home, pull the plugs and see what they look like. Look black, primaries are too rich.

 

[Earlsfat]

Now I can't get it started...when it rains it pours, lol.

 

[DoTheDew]

Want to find out exactly whats going on? Like someone holding up a sign with the words 'This is whats wrong, see below" written? Buy a wideband o2 sensor and guage. This will tell you everything you need to know. If you're rich, it'll pay for itself in the cost of fuel within the year.

 

[Aceshigh]

Buy a wideband o2 sensor and guage.

I've heard good things on different forums about this LM-1 setup.
http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/products/lm1.php

Anyone here used it ??
Or is it better to just buy a sensor and gauge??
I know these things aren't cheap......

I'm currently undergoing the same questioning on my new Eddy carb setup.
I think I'm going to snag one of these Glowshift Wideband gauge setups.
I'm getting their Elite 7 series Water/Oil/Volt for my 442.

Here's the 4 options. They are complete kits.
http://www.maperformance.com/glowshift-wideband-oxygen-sensor-controller-with-gauge.html

 

[bbc nova]

Cost some money but you could put it on a chassis dyno with a sniffer.

 

[jroach]

vaccum guages are cheap.

back the mixture screws out until vaccum starts to fall off then turn them back in 1/4 to 1/2turn

 

[Aceshigh]

Here's the Holley method of adjusting Idle Mixture Screws.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPGLUsW5ZeE
(Boxwrench DVD's are awesome, I have 5 of them)

Here's the Edelbrock method of adjusting the Idle Screws.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwPFiGENMw8 < Goto 4:00