Dirty spark plugs
Discussion
Having just learned that the spark plugs on my 450 were so filthy that I was only running on six cylinders, I have a question. How long from new would it take for them to get onto this state? I ask because I bought the vehicle in August from a reputable dealer and so assumed that the plugs were fine at time of purchase.
It wont take long if the car has been cold started a lot and not driven far as they tend to run a little rich, the worst thing you can do is start it to move out of the garage and then shut it down, and then do the same again etc.
The ignition system has to be tip top on these.
Put a new set in and see how it goes, how did the car feel driveability wise when it was running ok?
The ignition system has to be tip top on these.
Put a new set in and see how it goes, how did the car feel driveability wise when it was running ok?
Well, the poor thing has to live outside due to my lack of a garage and so throughout the winter there was a lat of "cold starting". It never refused to start however, and all I noticed was a gradual loss of immediacy in terms of power and accelerator response over the months since I bought the car. I am wondering how often, in the future, to check the plugs.
Surely the lack of power should have had you investigating the cause of that. By leaving it for any length of time it’s likely to cause dirty plugs.
I’d suggest you now replace and check each plug provides a good spark on its corresponding plug lead before moving forward.
You might have an ignition issue that’s causing poor performance at the plug.
Damp, bad connections or old leads etc.
I’d suggest you now replace and check each plug provides a good spark on its corresponding plug lead before moving forward.
You might have an ignition issue that’s causing poor performance at the plug.
Damp, bad connections or old leads etc.
I cannot say what type of plugs they were as the fault was noticed at a garage and they have now changed them. The circumstances around this are a bit complicated. I'd been nursing the car through the winter months with regular short drives and had noticed a slight drop in power (and other things) which I had intended to get looked at. I then got rear-ended by some dozy so-and-so in a Fiat Panda and the car was (eventually) taken to Central TVR for bodywork repairs. It was they who noticed this. By that time the vehicle had not been driven in about a month. I suspect, therefore that a combination of factors contributed to the plugs getting dirty. When I eventually get the car back it will be something I monitor on a regular basis. One more area, I suspect, where TVRs are "idiosyncratic".
You have a good point with the "Italian tune up". I think part of the problem was that I was taking the car out in very adverse conditions (wet, dark, icy) and driving was therefore not exactly spirited. It was either that or not drive it at all, which I felt was the greater of the two evils.
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