Gas Additives

[spliffy]

My Question Is How Accurate Can Looking At A Plug Really Be.... Especially If The Gas You Use Has Ethanol In It (Like All Gas In MN) On My 250x To Get My Plug Black I Can Run A 150 main , To Get It White I Can Run A 145.... But It Still Sputters Quite Abit With That 145 Wide Open & Smokes A Little Crap On Startup.... If Though I Put In A 135 In The Thing Goes Like A Raped Ape (Well For A 250x That Is heh) & Doesn't Smoke On Startup (I'm Guessing That Is Unspent Fuel In The Cylinder From The Bigger Jet) & The Plug Looks The Same As The 145.... White , But It Feels Great As far As Acceleration & Running Clean Goes. So The Real Question Is..... Does Gas With Ethanol Burn Differently & There For Change The Way You Should Look At Your Plug Color? :huh

I wouldn't trust looking at a plug to determine if your motors running the best it can.. Just listen to the motor,,it'll tell ya how it feels..:D

[skemp]

Plug reading has for the most part, become a thing of the past.
Fuel additives usually clean any deposits off a plug that would make any kind of a plug reading possible. Listen to the motor, and pay attention to how it feels. Always go up one size at a time until the motor has a sputter from being rich, then back off 1-2 sizes, depending upon how safe you want to be, and everything should be all right.

I have noticed that when a motor is running lean, it has a loose, wild feeling to it. They run better when they are a tad lean, and have more power, so they wind out a lot faster. When a motor is dialed in, it has a very tight, controlled feeling to it. Everything is working like it should, so it feels like it is supposed to. When a motor is rich, it seems to feel like it is sick, or tired. It just doesn't want to get up and go like it is meant to.

These are just a few observations I have accumulated, and I thought I would share them. Good luck.

[nakomis0]

I wouldn't run with a white plug, unless I was running race gas (110) or a lead additive.

I'm not quite sure if its the same with 4 -strokes, but I know with a 2 -stroke many times if you are running lean, the bike will run better than ever.... until it blows up.

as far as Ethanol, could be another additive that makes your plug white, like you said.

I live in Michigan, don't know what additives we have around here. But plug readings are fairly accurate with the gas around here.

Skemp.. I just re-read your post... Good discription of how the bike feels when its running lean or rich.

[spliffy]

hmmm..... After Skemps Description (Which Is A Good One) I Almost Feel Like I Should Bring My Bike To A Shrink Or Something & Find Out If It Is Depressed.... It Has That Rich Running Feeling.... I Guess I Lean Her Out A Bit... Or Go To A Pyschiatrist With It LOL :p Thanks For the Replies :)