TXFO wrote: I think you can get them from focus-power. if Tom dosent have them, he'll at least know where to get them. C-F-M and Mcnews have always been good resources too. Alot of people use them for nitrous so the speed shops are a good place to check. if you want, you can get 1 step colder plugs from Ford. Its not copper but it draws out more heat. Is that why you want copper plugs?
I dont think I would have need to pull out more heat, though it would be interesting to see what the effect would be with the higher power ignition system. I really wanted them more than anything just to run the sidegapping test with. I wanted just a plain everyday copper core plug, get back to the basics sort of thing.
I would like to try the one step colder plugs, I had never though of trying that with this ignition and see if it would respond any differently.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
03 white zx3 wrote: last week's gas mileage...
22.72 miles to the gallon.
I dont know about you, but that seems way off to me. I just have a hard time concieving a Focus getting that poorly of fuel economy. I mean short trip driving is one thing and will definately send mileage in a tail spin, but I still think that is awfully low.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
TXFO, I checked the plugs today and they were in great shape. I sidegapped the plugs at 102,800 miles and I have 104,326 miles on the car now so not quite 2000 miles on them. The edges where still plenty sharp and I didnt see anything abnormal about the plugs at all. I went ahead and opened up the gap to approx. 0.055". I dont think it will make a huge difference but I'll give it a shot just the same.
When I go down to Florida the first part of August I'll get to see how she does with all highway miles then. I'd like to see 34 mpg on the highway, but I'll just wait until Im on the road and see it before I get excited about it.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
SyntheticShield wrote: 03 white zx3 wrote: last week's gas mileage...
22.72 miles to the gallon.
I dont know about you, but that seems way off to me. I just have a hard time concieving a Focus getting that poorly of fuel economy. I mean short trip driving is one thing and will definately send mileage in a tail spin, but I still think that is awfully low.
Well, quite honestly I really don't have the slightest idea where to even begin looking for my problem.
I keep my tires inflated properly, perform routine maintenance etc. I've never really gotten any better than that, besides on longer trips where I've gotten maybe 29-32 mpg all highway.
Good God though I saw a commercial tonight that advertised the 2005s getting 35 mpg!! HA! I WISH! My husband's 13 year old Civics get better gas mileage than my Focus.
____________________ "Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either, just fuck off and leave me alone. "
The only other thing that comes to mind is the timing set up. I know the Focus didnt come from the factory with a set timing and it varies from one vehicle to the next. I dont know if anyone else has any ideas, but that could be part of it too though I dont know without hooking up a scan tool. Another issue it could be would be the O2 sensors, though as new as yours is I would be a little hard pressed to suspect that unless the quality of gas or something else has just clogged them up.
What you could try is getting a REALLY good quality octane booster, I have something in mind but cant remember the name of it. Amsoil's P.I. is a really good gas additive, but not really meat for what Im thinking. Ive had a couple of customers that had O2 sensor issues and I recommended that they run this octane booster to just make sure it wasnt a dirty O2 sensor and in every case this octane booster has cleared up the issue. I know you can find it in O'Reilly's but I dont know how wide spread they are across the nation.
But it may be worth a try. Get a bottle of the good stuff, may cost around $10 or so and run a tank with it. It would be even better if you could get on the highway some more while running a tank with the octane booster. Other than that, I cant think of much else.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
Interesting topic, thanks for the info. I checked out the link provided on side gapping and I noticed that in the pictures of the side gapped plugs, the porcelain around the electrode had turned brown in every picture while the standard plugs were pure white still. Any ideas what that's all about?
I know the brownish color is a normal indication. In fact that brownish discoloration will tell you where the plug is indexed at. On V design motor you can 'index' or point the plugs towards the exhaust valves. This is supposed to help combustion. Ive indexed plugs before and you can get inexpensive spacer kits to index your plugs though on our motors I dont think it would be much help since the plugs are in the center of the chamber anyway.
I cant explain why the others were white unless they were not pulled out of the same motor, but the brownish color is a normal indication for spark plugs. If you have a haynes manual you can turn to the back of it and they should have some colored pictures of spark plugs there and what the different 'appearances' of plugs can tell you about the condition of your motor, specifically the combustion process, such as whether timing is set right, fuel mixture, valve condition, etc.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
Thanks. I just thought it was curious. Maybe the other plugs in the picture were fresh out of the package. This is an interesting tip and I'll have to try it - probably after we move into our new place, way too much to do in the meantime.
When I get married, Im going to go down to Florida. I think I'll drive down with normal plugs and see what the mileage is, then side gapped some plugs while Im down there and drive back and see what the all highway difference is if any. Or if I can get my hands on some E3 spark plugs, I'll drive back with them since they employ a pretty similar concept and are designed with that in mind.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
03 white zx3 wrote: Good God though I saw a commercial tonight that advertised the 2005s getting 35 mpg!! HA! I WISH! My husband's 13 year old Civics get better gas mileage than my Focus.
I filled up today. I usually get about 4 weeks or so on a tank of gas, because I ride my bike to work, (15 mi. 1 way), every day except when it storms or I run out of clean clothes. I usually drive pretty conservatively. Most of the roads I use are 35 to 50 mph 2 lane secondary roads with fairly light traffic. I get into Cleveland rarely and do about 15% freeway driving at around 70mph.
I filled up today, and got 35.1 mpg. I think that might be a new record for me with this car. I almost always get 32+ in the summer and 28.5 to 30.5 in winter.
BTW, gas today at Costco was $1.94 for reg.
____________________ If you can't read this, you're illiterate.
Holy crap am I getting screwed or what?!
Seriously. What can I do to up my mpg? I keep my tires inflated properly... what else is there? I don't drive like an idiot (jackrabbit starts and what) although I do enjoy the acceleration of getting up on the highway
Any suggestions? Cuz I can't imagine taking my car into the stealership the way it is now and not having them blame the bad mileage on something that is modded in the car.
____________________ "Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either, just fuck off and leave me alone. "
Not to get ya'll off topic but...it took me rereading the first post to figure out that you were talking about spark plugs and not all terrain vehicles (ATV).
Yeah I know it said ATX but I had a blonde moment.
Okay carry on. Jus tthought I would reveal my stupidity.
I would have to know what FD stands for to know what to get
and ummm.. TXFO you do remember that I have an 8 year old child right? This is our only "family car" that fits us all, since our Civic is basicaly what you said, nothing but the steering wheel passenger's seat and driver's seat. Literaly nothing else! The other Civic is sick in the garage.
My poor focus is nothing but a baby hauler. and a dog hauler. hockey equipment etc.
____________________ "Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either, just fuck off and leave me alone. "
bama wrote: Not to get ya'll off topic but...it took me rereading the first post to figure out that you were talking about spark plugs and not all terrain vehicles (ATV).
Yeah I know it said ATX but I had a blonde moment.
Okay carry on. Jus tthought I would reveal my stupidity.
Your forgiven.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
WOW!!! I don't have any experience with an ATX. Mine is an '02 MTX. I short shift at 2000rpm and drive like a granny, but have managed to average 35.4mpg for the 35000miles I've owned my ZX3. My best tank yet was 491 miles. I communte about 13 miles one way to work and it takes me 35-40 minutes, so I am not getting much cruising along the way.
I am currently experimenting with my gap opened up to .061" from .050". So far it looks like that has increased my mileage by another 0.3mpg. Still a little too early to tell. I may try the side gapping as my next experiment.
Thanks for the idea!
____________________ Slowest car I ever owned, but it gets me there everytime!
and a dog hauler. hockey equipment etc. 