Question about my spark plugs

[99RedGs]

I know questions like these get asked alot, but I am not really sure how to word my questions for proper searching.

Ok, I guess I never have really paid attention/ have seen exactly what the proper color of a spark plug burn looks like. I know it is a tan color, so to me these look bad (whitish grey). Also, now that I think about it I don't remember seeing spark plugs with this brown color on the ceramic. I also noticed a slight discoloration on my new spark plug wires (standard replacement 7mm wires).

So these are my questions:

- Does it look like I'm running lean?
- Is the ceramic supposed to turn brown?
- What could cause my wires to discolor?

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Thanks

 

[JungulSouljah]

It looks be running lean to me. Heat will cause them to overheat and burn like you see.

 

[steve]

The tips look pretty normal to me. The cars spend quite a large percentage of their time in closed loop where the AFR is around 14.7:1 and they do run hot by design.

How long have those plugs been in the car?

 

[99RedGs]

The plugs are around 8,000 mi I believe. You are referring to the 420a correct? Just making sure because some people forget the 2gnt'ers post here too .

I just don't want my dd blowing up on me and I guess I've never really seen the ceramic turn brown before so I was worried there, which made me think the plugs looked like the car was running lean so I was probably just overreacting to something I hadn't seen before.

It has been a while since I listened to my engine and I noticed there was a bit more sound from the fuel rail area than I remember so that also made me worry. I tried taking a video, but then remembered my camera doesn't record sound .

 

[steve]

All of the fuel injected catalyst cars spend most of their time trying to run 14:7:1 for emisions.
I don't know if the 420a runs as hot as the 4G63 does but I don't see a problem with how those plugs look other than the rings at the base of the insulators. I can't tell if it's rust, cooked oil, or what.

I'd just get a fresh set and check the gaps before installing them.

 

[Defiant]

Reading plugs pretty-much went out with carburetors.
Looks like your plug boots are rotting. Do you use a lube on them, or has anyone else? The green on the plug base looks like corrosion or soap. Do you wash your engine?