So I'm doing my tune Thursday and wanted to make sure I had the correct plugs.. when I went to remove the ones in 3 of the 4 were in finger tight at best !!!!!! The 4th maybe had 5lb on it..omg those were ticking time bombs .. thank God !!!!!
anyways , what's up with the dark ring around one of the plug ??? Also were were even a range colder plug ????
i could also tell my Alta couplers are not a great fit so I coated the **** out of the couplers with rtv and very carefully tightened down the clamps , so let's see if I make any more boost. I wonder if they were leaking at all.
edit: so I see they were the wrong heat range for what mods I have . I can't believe it wasnt missing or pinging at all..I'm just waiting for the sealant to dry and I will test drive it..lol watch, it actually pick up some speed or hp..it's gotta a little with new correct plugs rite ? And I'm very curious to see if I still max out at 11psi...because I did replace my gauge to verify it wasn't that.
is it also possible that my car may not need a range colder plug ? I mean, it was running just fine I guess I will have to compare after the test drive soon..but my old plugs show no signs of running lean . Lol my brothers Veloster turbo o just pulled the plugs and they looked like coated with snow from running regular not premium ..

 

If you're running a smaller SC pulley you need the colder plug. Plug torque value is 20 ft/lbs. When installing it will feel like you're about to break them off.

 

Sweet.....car runs perfect , just as it did before..even makes the same psi so I now know my boots wernt leaking either..

 

I almost killed a puppy trying to install the Alta intercooler boots, even letting them soften up in hot water. Meanwhile... the DDM Works were dead easy to install.

If your intercooler boots aren't sealed, you'll know... When it happened on my mine with the factory boots, the exhaust manifold turned cherry red from simply idling.

 

My Alta boots are too big imo..I wish I had to heat them up n stretch them ..they must be worn out from taking on and off. I'm sure I've personally stretched them some figuring out the best way to reseat the intercooler . O well, I will buys stocks when I have a few extra $$$

 

Stock i/c boots are still the best choice...

 

So that plug on the right has what I think is referred to as corona burn..but if you look at the base of it above the seal/washer it looks like it has soot and or oil on it .. I'm gonna go out to my garage later and grab it and see. But could those be exhaust deposits from it being loose and leaking ??? Wouldn't I have had a miss or atleast a cel ??? Or maybe I'm just being paranoid and it's normal but either way it was a disaster waiting to happen as loose as those plugs were in..lol I could have unscrewed them simple by rotating the plug wire boot on them. I've read that these cars seem to suffer from plugs coming loose . So I tightened them down pretty darn snug. Abit tighter than I usually do on any other vehicle , I guess it's time I invest in a torque wrench though and I will check these in 2k miles and then at every oil change .
If you guys are curious about yours I'd atleast pop off the left side boot not covered by the intercooler and check that plug,if it's loose or not to atleast 20lb your other plugs are probably the same...

 

This

 

That is what I've gotten from all the reading I've done..my car came with these Alta ones but I will for sure be buying stock ones in the near future.

 

Are the plugs in order - 1,2,3,4 left-to-right? Always number them when you pull them so if you identify something just on one plug (like you did) you can go back and just check that one out in the future. I would expect some variation with cylinder number due to the way the intake is set-up and maybe they cylinders run at slightly different temps due to their position. Good you caught they were loose. I would guess there was some blow-by on the darker one, like you suggest.

 

I do remember thankfully that the plug with the discoloration was from cyl 3 if it's in order of 1-2-3-4