C3 Tech/Performance V8 Technical Info, Internal Engine, External Engine, Basic Tech and Maintenance for the C3 Corvette
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

How do those spark plugs look?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Dec 31, 2015 | 01:53 PM
  #21  
GrandSportC3's Avatar
GrandSportC3
Thread Starter
Team Owner
 
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 182,997
Likes: 88
From: Lakeland, FL
Cruise-In IV-V-VI-VII-VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03, '06, '17
Default

Originally Posted by 454Luvr
I change oil in all our vehicles every 3K miles. If it's down more than 1/2 qt at the change, something's wrong. Haven't had my latest Vette long enough to know how it holds up in this respect, but I've been going by the 1/2 qt rule more than 30 years. Every vehicle that's used more has either fouled the plugs with oil or leaked it in the driveway.

Anyway, if you change your plugs and the miss goes away, even temporarily, you'll know the problem isn't electrical in nature.
I had Vettes that would go through 1 quart in 200 miles...
I'll try the plugs when I'll get home and will also check the timing to make sure I'm at 36 degrees total timing..
Reply
Old Jan 1, 2016 | 02:53 PM
  #22  
GrandSportC3's Avatar
GrandSportC3
Thread Starter
Team Owner
 
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 182,997
Likes: 88
From: Lakeland, FL
Cruise-In IV-V-VI-VII-VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03, '06, '17
Default

Update. Changed out the plugs and no change.. Then I went to check the timing and when I checked my idle timing, I knew immediately that there was a problem.. Idle timing was at 23 degrees
Backed off the timing to 13 degrees at idle and test drove the car.. Drove a lot better.. Went back and checked total timing and I was still at 39 degrees, so I backed it off to 36 degrees total timing which resulted in 11 degrees idle timing.. Test drove it again and it's now 90% better than it was.. It's still not perfect but it may be that I got some bad gas in it.. Since in went to WAWA and put 92 octane into the car, I noticed a difference.. I usually run Shell or Costco 93 octane gas which the car likes a lot.. I'll go back to Costco after that tank and I bet that the car will run 100% perfect with better gas. There is still a little "hole" where the car doesn't pull too well between about 3000 and 3500 RPM but above 3500 RPM, it pulls really hard and feels stronger than ever.

Last edited by GrandSportC3; Jan 1, 2016 at 03:04 PM.
Reply
Old Jan 1, 2016 | 03:13 PM
  #23  
454Luvr's Avatar
454Luvr
Burning Brakes
 
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 823
Likes: 57
From: Austin TX
Default

Originally Posted by GrandSportC3
I had Vettes that would go through 1 quart in 200 miles...
Right. I saw one of those yesterday...



Reply
Old Jan 1, 2016 | 03:24 PM
  #24  
gkull's Avatar
gkull
Team Owner
25 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 21,953
Likes: 1,445
From: Reno Nevada
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist- Modified
Default

Originally Posted by GrandSportC3
Gap is .042 to .043 on the plugs. Not sure what ignition it is.. It's not a HEI but neither is it stock.. It's a tach drive distrubutor without vacuum advance.
You can see the distrubutor in this pic. I think that it's a Mallory..

Did you know that the small throttle return spring goes inside the larger spring?
Reply
Old Jan 1, 2016 | 03:36 PM
  #25  
GrandSportC3's Avatar
GrandSportC3
Thread Starter
Team Owner
 
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 182,997
Likes: 88
From: Lakeland, FL
Cruise-In IV-V-VI-VII-VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03, '06, '17
Default

Originally Posted by 454Luvr
Right. I saw one of those yesterday...



Actually, it did't smoke at all.. Not sure where all the oil went.. it was very strange..
Car ran great otherwise.. it was actually a 383 engine that I had in a 69 Vette that I owned around 1998.. Great power but high oil consumption.

Last edited by GrandSportC3; Jan 1, 2016 at 03:42 PM.
Reply
Old Jan 1, 2016 | 03:40 PM
  #26  
GrandSportC3's Avatar
GrandSportC3
Thread Starter
Team Owner
 
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 182,997
Likes: 88
From: Lakeland, FL
Cruise-In IV-V-VI-VII-VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03, '06, '17
Default

Originally Posted by gkull
Did you know that the small throttle return spring goes inside the larger spring?
Didn't know.. Never had any similar setup on any of my previous Vettes.. it looks wrong the way it is but I never bothered to fix it.
Reply
Old Jan 1, 2016 | 03:55 PM
  #27  
gkull's Avatar
gkull
Team Owner
25 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 21,953
Likes: 1,445
From: Reno Nevada
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist- Modified
Default

Originally Posted by GrandSportC3
Didn't know.. Never had any similar setup on any of my previous Vettes.. it looks wrong the way it is but I never bothered to fix it.
NHRA rule book requires two springs on the throttle return....... and it looks so much better!
Reply
Old Jan 1, 2016 | 04:01 PM
  #28  
GrandSportC3's Avatar
GrandSportC3
Thread Starter
Team Owner
 
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 182,997
Likes: 88
From: Lakeland, FL
Cruise-In IV-V-VI-VII-VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03, '06, '17
Default

Originally Posted by gkull
NHRA rule book requires two springs on the throttle return....... and it looks so much better!
My race car had 2 springs but they were set up differently. Had a special throttle bracket where each of the 2 springs hooked up separately.
Reply
Corvette Stories

The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts

story-0

10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love

 Joe Kucinski
story-1

Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer

 Brett Foote
story-2

10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)

 Michael S. Palmer
story-3

8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems

 Pouria Savadkouei
story-4

10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years

 Joe Kucinski
story-5

How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972

 Joe Kucinski
story-6

Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-7

Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

 Joe Kucinski
story-8

150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

 Joe Kucinski
story-9

8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

 Verdad Gallardo
Old Jan 1, 2016 | 04:08 PM
  #29  
GrandSportC3's Avatar
GrandSportC3
Thread Starter
Team Owner
 
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 182,997
Likes: 88
From: Lakeland, FL
Cruise-In IV-V-VI-VII-VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03, '06, '17
Default

I corrected the spring setup..


Last edited by GrandSportC3; Jan 1, 2016 at 04:15 PM.
Reply
Old Jan 1, 2016 | 06:47 PM
  #30  
7T1vette's Avatar
7T1vette
Team Owner
15 Year Member
Community Builder
Community Influencer
Top Answer: 5
 
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
Default

With a stock ignition coil, the gap on your spark plugs should be set at .035". Setting them at .040" or higher will result in some spark miss at lower RPMs and will be particularly noticible with WOT at lower RPMs. Hopefully, you re-gapped the new plugs to .035".
Reply
Old Jan 1, 2016 | 06:50 PM
  #31  
GrandSportC3's Avatar
GrandSportC3
Thread Starter
Team Owner
 
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 182,997
Likes: 88
From: Lakeland, FL
Cruise-In IV-V-VI-VII-VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03, '06, '17
Default

Originally Posted by 7T1vette
With a stock ignition coil, the gap on your spark plugs should be set at .035". Setting them at .040" or higher will result in some spark miss at lower RPMs and will be particularly noticible with WOT at lower RPMs. Hopefully, you re-gapped the new plugs to .035".
The new Platinum plugs are gapped .035 out of the box..
Reply




All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:06 PM.

story-0
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love

Slideshow: 10 ugly Corvettes that we still kinda love.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-06-03 10:34:17


VIEW MORE
story-1
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer

A lot of money has changed hands at the online auction house over the years.

By Brett Foote | 2026-06-03 10:21:50


VIEW MORE
story-2
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)

Slideshow: 10 great gifts Corvette enthusiasts actually want for Father's Day!

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-06-03 15:43:40


VIEW MORE
story-3
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems

Slideshow: These are the quirks, annoyances, and oddly lovable problems that every Corvette owner eventually learns to live with.

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-05-28 09:31:39


VIEW MORE
story-4
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years

Slideshow: 10 reasons why the C6 Z06 is still a performance benchmark after 20 years.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-27 17:20:09


VIEW MORE
story-5
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972

Slideshow: How much horsepower every Corvette engine lost in 1972.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-27 16:54:53


VIEW MORE
story-6
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!

Slideshow: How to Protect A Convertible Top: 10 DOs & DON'Ts

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-03 00:00:00


VIEW MORE
story-7
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

Slideshow: The 10 most explosive Corvettes ever built based on power-to-weight ratio.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-20 07:23:03


VIEW MORE
story-8
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

Slideshow: From C1 to C8 we compare every Corvette generation by the numbers.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-12 16:54:12


VIEW MORE
story-9
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

Slideshow: Some Corvette pace cars became collectible legends, while others perfectly captured the look and attitude of their era.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-11 09:50:51


VIEW MORE