Plug reading
- Thread starter Ben34
- Start date
Blue
Judging your cheapness
- Location
- St Cloud Florida
I do the same thing with used plugs they color quicker imo.
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Big Kahuna
Administrator
- Location
- Tuscaloosa, AL
New plugs take a while to change color. Use older plugs. Also you need to ride the ski and do a full throttle run for 20 seconds or so and hit the stop button without letting off the throttle. This is the only way to accurately get a plug reading for a High Speed Setting. Tied to the dock really only helps with low speed settings.
- Location
- Red Bluff CA
Much better off to pull the head after riding for a hour or so and check the piston wash. Best way to tell how your engine is running imo. People say you can read plugs. But in my experience, it's bs.
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Yeah I read piston wash, but does it really tell you if you are lean on like the top end?
Big Kahuna
Administrator
- Location
- Tuscaloosa, AL
Plug chop test is just part of tuning. It gets you in the ball park.
- Location
- Illinois
It won't be close at all. Few seconds isn't long enough, and tied to a dock the load will change. If it's difficult to hold the ski WOT, may just wait until an ideal water condition?
And I second what spark plugs said, check wash. piston wash will give you a much better overall reading, where a plug reading will just help you with max rpm. I don't use plug color to necessarily tune with, but more less to make sure I'm gonna melt the ski down trying to catch up to boat wake!!
You can also check wash through the sparkplug hole with some practice and patience, much easier to do on the shoreline lol.
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
Plug reading is a complete waste of time unless you already know a great deal about your engine, fuel, and plugs for that matter. You can get the full throttle mixture almost perfect by power tuning the main jet/ top screw. Start by strapping the ski down to an open trailer and sinking it almost up to the hood. This should be deep enough for the pump to realistically load the engine. If the pump is breaking free then you are wasting your time. You need a tachometer to do this. Open the top screws three turns out and take some full throttle pulls and note the RPM. If its too rich, (it should be) the rpm will be down. Slowly close the screws between pulls until rpm stops rising then open them until the rpm drops slightly. This is your ideal (safe) mixture. If you run out of adjustment first, change the main jets until you get it back. Once you are done, do some smooth water full throttle pulls to check RPM. If it is about the same as on the trailer you are good to go. If the RPM is lower then open the screws some and make adjustments based on smooth water RPM. Often you will lose throttle response before then unless the pilot is too rich. The plug color will be a better way to know if one cylinder is running a little hotter than the other after you put some time on the engine.
waxhead
wannabe backflipper
- Location
- gold coast
I never read plugs unless I'm looking for deto.
They color up differently depending on what fuel and what oil you are running. That's assuming you can hold it wide open long enough to get it to color up
I have not seen a free ride ski ever able to be held long enough to allow this to happen
They color up differently depending on what fuel and what oil you are running. That's assuming you can hold it wide open long enough to get it to color up
I have not seen a free ride ski ever able to be held long enough to allow this to happen
So whats a good way to tune the top end? Tune screw in and out until power drops, then set in the middle?
waxhead
wannabe backflipper
- Location
- gold coast
Set it rich and wind it in until you get max rpm. When you get max rpm open up the low speed screw 1/2 a turn