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New spark plugs - why didn't I have this done sooner??

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Old 01-28-2010, 09:53 AM
  #46  
ivangene
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Thanks Bruce - dammit, I was all over the interwebs looking for -10W-40 oils to get the very minimum performance oil I could find

Old 01-28-2010, 11:51 AM
  #47  
tntempest
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I learned a looong time ago to always use the Manufacturers torque spec after working on way to many cars that others had stripped out.

Another thing that will and can happen if they are not tight enough is they will back out slightly and you will hear what sounds like a bad lifter or quiet rod knock and you will think your life is over. As hard as it is to get to these plugs they should always be tightened to spec.
Old 01-28-2010, 12:04 PM
  #48  
Dave!
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My wife got me a torque wrench for christmas. I torque everything I can.

She asks me to hang up a painting--I'm torquing those damn framing nails. To what and how I don't know but they're getting torqued.
Old 01-28-2010, 12:06 PM
  #49  
yasuro
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Originally Posted by AndyK
Is it the consensus here that after 10 years of firing, plugs should work as good as new, as long as they don't exceed the recommended miles?

All I know is my car runs better with the new plugs. Unless removing and installing the coil wires caused a better connection / spark, why else would my car run better after a plug change?
i had delayed my 60k service for about 1k miles and one day i started my car and i had misfires all over the place. at first i thought it was cracked coil packs, but after limping my car to the indie, he determined the coil packs were fine, but the plugs were old and the points showed wear.

he replaced all six and car ran, and still runs, great. he explained that the porsche is pretty good with the wear intervals on the wear items (such as spark plugs, etc.) and he was not surprised that i had some issues a mere 1k miles after my recommended service interval.

by the by, the plugs were clean and didn't seem dirty or sooty, but the points were worn.
Old 01-28-2010, 11:04 PM
  #50  
wwest
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"..but the points were worn.."

About which that nice and solid 40,000 volt spark pulse doesn't give a damn......

"..misfires all over the place..."

And they'll be back....
Old 01-30-2010, 03:56 PM
  #51  
dresler
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Points, okydoky..
Old 01-30-2010, 05:01 PM
  #52  
Barn996
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Originally Posted by Luminator
Have any Ca car owners done the fister D's exhaust mod ? I like the sound of it , and this post has prompted me to change the plugs and mod the mufflers while i have them off. I need to call them and see if its legal to do in CA with the smog requirements .
You will/should love the Fister D mod, because the sound is such an improvement over stock. I did this mod just last month, and I would rank it one of the best improvements you can do on a 911. Darin is informative, and easy to deal with. Good choice IMO.
Old 01-30-2010, 08:42 PM
  #53  
rudy1024
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Originally Posted by ivangene
first time muffler removal is about an hour and a half tops.... after that you can do it in 15 minutes off and 15 back on....
Can someone point me to the DIY to remove the cans? I did a search and it appears that the instructions are embedded in a DIY to do something else. After reading a dozen of so search items I decided to punt and ask the question...

Thanks!
Rudy
Old 01-30-2010, 08:52 PM
  #54  
Barn996
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Originally Posted by rudy1024
Can someone point me to the DIY to remove the cans? I did a search and it appears that the instructions are embedded in a DIY to do something else. After reading a dozen of so search items I decided to punt and ask the question...

Thanks!
Rudy
Go to page 4 of postings, first one listed, go to post #14...great diagram of exhaust.
Old 01-31-2010, 12:03 AM
  #55  
yasuro
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Originally Posted by wwest
"..but the points were worn.."

About which that nice and solid 40,000 volt spark pulse doesn't give a damn......

"..misfires all over the place..."

And they'll be back....
well, no problems to report 8k miles later, so at least in my personal experience, the diagnosis and fix seemed to be right on. i use my car as a DD and drive it during the winter, so wet, slush, etc. seem to have no adverse affects on my car thus far.

i find it interesting that people seem to stick to their theories even in the face of empirical evidence to the contrary. so unless i run into evidence to change my theory, i would assume that worn points make a difference to spark plug performance.
Old 01-31-2010, 12:35 AM
  #56  
gota911
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Originally Posted by rudy1024
Can someone point me to the DIY to remove the cans? I did a search and it appears that the instructions are embedded in a DIY to do something else. After reading a dozen of so search items I decided to punt and ask the question...

Thanks!
Rudy
Rudy, check out this link.

Muffler DIY
Old 01-31-2010, 02:50 AM
  #57  
Pac996
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Originally Posted by Divot
I thought if you lived in Hawaii you can use coconut oil.
Shark oil is prefered. You don't have to change it as often as the coconut oil
Old 01-31-2010, 09:44 AM
  #58  
b-man
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Originally Posted by 1999Porsche911
Failure of spark plugs on a stock engine in less than 50,000 miles is extremely rare and simply because someone changing them earlier and "possibly" getting better peformance afterwards, is no reason to simply start changing them sooner when there is no indication of a problem. Even the cheapest plugs will last 50,000+ miles, thanks to the unleaded fuel we use along with better fuel management.
I respectfully disagree with you. From my experience with my own car ('02 996 with 170k+ miles), I think MOST people would notice a diffference in performance changing them on these cars more frequently than every 50k miles.

A lot of other cars can go much longer. But it depends on the car/engine/ignition system/etc.

Your post also doesn't take into account engine run time which is more important than car miles.

These cars break down coil packs pretty frequently too.

b-man
Old 01-31-2010, 07:45 PM
  #59  
Pac996
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If you want a performance engine to stay performance at its best then check and change as frequintly as possible. There is nothing wrong with pulling plugs to keep an eye on the type of burn the engine is getting. I wont take about the ease of pulling plugs on the 996.....hehehe
Old 02-07-2010, 02:31 PM
  #60  
rudy1024
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Originally Posted by gota911
Rudy, check out this link.

Muffler DIY
Tim/Barn996,

Sorry about the late thanks (business travel has a way of interrupting forum addiction), but perfect!

Much appreciated!

Rudy


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