Why does my car keep blowing up spark plugs

this is the second time this has happened this week. im running 24psi, stock fueling with methanol injection at 50/50 and im not even tuned for it. i was running this same tune without meth for 6 months without issue on just 93 pump gas with these same plugs, and now its doing this shit with the meth on the same tune? shouldnt meth reduce the chances of detonation? do i need colder plugs or some shit? starting to piss me off.

You should tell your car to stop doing meth. It's bad for it. Seek consoling if necessary.

i am considering going cold turkey and just ripping it out. this all started since i installed the system about a month ago, but it was running great for a while up until very recently. even gained a few mpg in my trap speeds with the same tune.

*mpg = mph

Gapping your plugs properly? If you aren't tuned to run 24psi and meth thay is probably the answer to all your problems though bro.

50-50 is too much if it's not tuned.
I'd run no more than 10%, probably just straight water

You always run colder plugs with a turbo,

Why don't you stop putting shit in your car to try to make it fast? You sound like every 240sx fag I know leave your car stock and you wouldn't have issues. You just said you weren't tuned for it you already figured out the issue

Sorry I should have been more specific. I'm tuned for my engine and turbo without the meth. The tune I have is made for my turbo and has been running smoother than a baby's ass since August. The tune just hasn't been adjusted for the meth (ie advanced timing and higher boost). I figure the increase in trap speed was due solely to the lower IATs from the meth.

And the gaps are all at .030. I was even running .032 for a while before the meth without issue. Going to try a colder heat range and .028 next but from all the research I did before going on meth I gathered that if anything the meth should give me the ability to run a higher gap with less chance of detonation. Maybe I was wrong?

But shouldn't increased octane and lower IATs decrease the chances of detonation? My ECU and tune is not set up to adjust its timing maps for octane. It shouldn't be any different than it is on straight 93.

you must be fun at parties

I'm actually the life of the party and a good beer pong partner

You're adding another source of fuel with the meth so you need to accomodate that. Is it tuned on a maf or map sensor?

the meth controller runs off my maf sensor readings. im running a dual nozzle setup, one post intercooler (225ml/min) and one post throttle body (175ml/min).

Out of curiosity have you considered running less meth or water injection and NOT tuning for it? It would suck to be tuned for it and then you have a pump failure or leak and then you run lean and melt a piston.

I personally would never rely on meth to keep my tune in check.

okay stop adding meth just straight water

I was planning on tuning for the meth once I got the system dialed in and ran with it for long enough to feel comfortable that it wouldn't fail. Needless to say that confidence is being shattered and I'm considering just tossing it altogether since I doubt I'll be tuning for it now for the reasons you stated.

I have a bunch of nozzles, I suppose I could try some smaller ones. And I bought my meth and distilled water in bulk so I could easily try a different meth/water concentration.

i could certainly try straight water. maybe just a little meth? im mostly just after lower IATs at this point. maybe even pull out my post-TB nozzle and just run the post-IC one.

my plugs started missing, and all my power is gone

i'd take a pic of them, but it's a subaru and its 1 am, i dont feel like digging around the garage to get an assortment of extensions to take apart my japcrap to show you

I don't think anybody makes a reliable enough pump or system to be able to tune comfortably for meth/water IMO. There are failsafe systems you can make but I'm not sure of the specifics. Maybe a pressure sensor pre nozzle that will trip a light if the pump runs dry/fails.

I have an LED that lights up when the pump's on, but thats it. and its my daily so youre probably right. another reason ive been hesitant to tune for it. my main goal with this system anyway was just to lower IATs enough to get winter-time performance year-round even on 90 degree days.

Pretty solid goal, thats why I would run it.

yeah and from what ive read, most of the cooling comes from the water and the post-IC nozzle. the meth and post-TB nozzle is mostly for octane. so maybe ill rip that out and just run the IC nozzle with a much lower meth concentration.

if you want meth in your water without a tune the only way around it is to add a little meth to your fuel also.
the right ratio could be calculated

its a direct injection motor and theres no alcohol sensor in my fuel system, and my tune doesnt adjust for octane, so i dont see what meth in my gas tank would do differently than simply injecting it the way im doing now.

tldr it tricks your computer la

it would if my tune allowed for that, but unfortunately it doesnt. the stock tune allows for adjusting maps based on octane, but not my custom tune. its made for 93 and 93 alone.

What's the application? Drag racing?

it's an afr issue, not octane

daily driving during the week and drag racing on the weekends.

that could be. since im not adjusting for it, its getting extra fuel probably causing me to run rich. i just got a new diagnostic cable in the mail and am going to run logs once i get a new plug in there. see where im at. i would think my ECU would be able to adjust for AFR however.

>i would think my ECU would be able to adjust for AFR however.
so would i but it looks like it doesn't

im surprised you didnt get a system too rich code

take the methanol out and run straight water instead, your plug "blowing up" issues will disappear. Methanol has less detonation resistance than the gasoline with straight water added to it.91 octane with water bumps up to around 110-118 depending on how well the water is atomized into the intake stream. methanol has an octane rating of 108.

>24psi
>why does my car keep melting plugs
uhh, knock and wrong heat rating. the ceramic has been blown off that plug.

probably go two heat ratings colder this time.

do what this guy said, also run an non-projected type plug in order to keep the ceramic insulator from shattering.

interesting. i think tomorrow im going to rip out my post-tb nozzle and just run straight water into my post-ic nozzle.

dude i had an issue over the winter with a stuck open thermostat. the ecu is made to recognize when the car isnt getting up to temp quick enough and run rich to heat up the engine to compensate. before i tossed in a new water pump and tstat i was puffing clouds of thick black smoke that would make a diesel locomotive blush. never popped a single code. for the temps or the smoke.

Inb4 this is some stupid kid Cobb tuning his WRX with some shit methanol piggyback kit that has already destroyed OPs engine

so these are iridium ngk 7s. im going to order the 8s right now.

you should be running both nozzles post intercooler due to the fact that you will lower your actual iat drop going through the intercooler than if you were to spray afterwards because intercoolers rely on temperature differences in order to exchange heat.

If the incoming air is 150 degrees and its 100 outside, you have a 50 degree temp difference. if you drop your intake charge temps to 120 and its 100 outside your going to get much less cooling than if the intercooler had taken that 150 degree air and lowered it to 120 and then sprayed into that charge.

But user the throttle body is after the intercooler...

both of them are post-ic. one is right after the intercooler, and one is after the throttle body.

...

>VW
found your problem.
memes aside, have you considered spraying it pre-turbo

Lmao on an A4?

no, i havent. nothing ive read points to that being a good idea for my application.

well you have a small turbo so it's good for more top end

mate it's just a bit of fun

its not a stock turbo. it doesnt classify as a 'big' turbo, id say its medium sized. spools by about 3k and has a pretty flat torque curve all the way to redline

You're running a hell of a fine line for what its worth dude lol

>german engine management

>ecu doing what it's programmed to
>meme master still meming

Just let them all meme in peace. I've gotten more than I could have hoped for in this thread in the way of good advice. I'll be putting it into action tomorrow so now just let the kids have their fun.

>But shouldn't increased octane and lower IATs decrease the chances of detonation
you aren't tuned for it, you already have your answer. you are doing something your car and spark plugs weren't designed for.

>melted spark plugs
>ceramic fractured
Seems like you didn't tune it well enough, you're experiencing detonation or pre-ignition.
Reduce your timing advance and get colder plugs.

Thats thermal shock dude. Run 10% and get a colder plug.

Lol OP is a dumbass