Plug Cuts Continued

[bruce plecan]

These are my opinions and observations doing this
is an area that reguires pratice skill and consentration
IT IS ALSO DANGEROUS, and should be done on a
private road or at a sanctioned race track.....
Depending on the level of HP/CID has a great effect
on doing plug cuts the closer an engine is to stock the
longer it takes to color the plug.  On your really healthy
engines don't go out and do the first ones at red line
work up to it.  On a stock engine ya might have to drive
around 50 miles to soot the plug enough for it to color.
  So the deal is this run up thru the gears heavily into
the gas, but it's not drag racing, then load the motor
in high at WOT and acclerate to the rpm you want to
read.  Then in one motion you kill the ignition, and put
the tranny into neutral.  Coasting down in gear, or 
letting the motor idle down ruins your results unless you 
want to take high vehicle speed idle readings.......
  WARNING if you have a late model car use an 
ignition disable switch, REMEMBER cars have 
locking steering columns.  Do not turn of the key
unless you have rendered the steering lock, and
shifter lock inoperative.  Failing to do so will earn
you the dayglow orange cone shaped hat award..
Don't laugh I've seen someone lock the column
at speed.............  They had a weird stare for 4
days...........
  Now open the hood, and take a little break.  
Don't remove the plugs the instant the car stops
rolling.  ESPECIALLY on AL heads.  One nice
thing about Champions is they seem to be the 
least willing to pull threads out when removing
plugs from a hot motor.  Be sure to never seize
plugs even if iron heads if you are thinking about
plug cuts.  Justa a little dab is enough.  The most
misterious miss I ever had was once when I put 
a dab a little to large on a set of plugs on a rotary
and after putting in new plugs the car had a miss
anyway was the neversize..
  What your looking for GOOD:
Slightly tan color
Min rounding of of center electrode
Tan color on the center porclean is actually
    often a ring, and if too high up the cone
    good, and do not try any more timing
    If the ring is right down at the tip you might
    try a little more advance
BAD THINGS
Little tiny black/silver specks about the size
   of fly turds,  they are piston pieces, due to
   detonation.
Funny bluish (gun blue), or greenish/blue
     color on the side electrode, to hot of plug
     or combustion chamber temp
Corners worn off center electrode, to much 
    timing, lean.
A little pidgeon bill crusting right where the center
    electrode meets porclean, it the glue holding things
    together, and it got hot enough to ooze out (too 
    much timing) (can do this a idle speeds too).
HTH Bruce    Static Electricity Alert:  Be sure to
                      have a grounding strap on your
                      cone shaped hat, when working 
                      on them little black smoked filled
                      thingies