What is my engine doing to these poor spark plugs

[digitalslacker]

They are approx 12k miles old. I was getting a low RPM misfire in Cylinder 2 so I got a new coil pack and put new plugs in it. The plugs that came out sort of concern me. I don't know a whole ton about how they should look but I wouldn't expect them to be this beat up in only 12k miles. I guess my question is: Does the condition of those plugs indicate that something is wrong?

#1


#2


#3


#4

 

[BOOSTR]

http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/techinfo/spark_plugs/faq/faqread2.asp

Click on that link and take a look to see what bad spark plugs look like. Yours look perfectly normal to me.

 

[kms1990]

seems like your running lean or you may have the wrong heat range for the car. the correct heat range is 5 for these cars on the ngk so a part number like this: BKR5EGP the 5 designates heat range, if your using a 5 step to a 6 and try that i recommend iridium plugs for better longevity and same or better spark than copper

 

[digitalslacker]

I'm running the NGK ZFR5F-11 which I thought was recommended longer throw from the FAQ.

I guess i'm just surprised that this car eats plugs so much. I got SVT Contour that doesn't eat plugs nearly as much as this.

Thanks for the link BOOSTR those pictures are really helpful.

 

[kms1990]

they are copper though, that is factory plug type but may not be what your car wants now that its 10+ years old. try stepping to the iridium ix ngk plugs and see, if not step to the 6 heat range

 

[Madzman]

Those don't look too bad. The heat mark is about halfway up the electrode which is fine. The insulator looks good. I don't see a problem.

 

[Fresco]

#3 seems like its arching

 

[tweety2300]

They're copper, better spark but only last 15-20k miles. If you want more go to platinum.

Being a little white or light tan is ok for a naturally aspirated car. If it was turbo then you could be concerned

 

[thuzil]

They look fine to me.