Carby Dax RT carb tuning

[snarlofdisgust]

I never ever do a plug chop. I think that idea is just one more half-baked fuddlestick some idiot made up that we two strokers were left thinking is "bible". Well, as in real life I found out all religious books are way not worth believing because they're full of errors and fairy tales etc proving they're a far cry from being the final word, I don't believe in doing "plug chops" either (or the nonsense about there being just one "tuned length" for an expansion chamber whereas in reality there are three). Why? Think about it. Does the combustion process continuously put layer upon layer of new deposits on the spark plug? NO! It's a very slow process. If it weren't then we'd have to totally scrap it clean once a week. Shoot, I clean mine like once every 6 months! If it is running rich at low speed and lean at high speed then it just doesn't change from black to white and back to black every block. forget it. don't happen.
Believe nothing - test everything

Thanks jag, my carb was at a big of an angle, I heated up the pipe real good and bent it straight then welded up the holes. If it's till running rich I'll check the float but I bet it was the carb angle.

 

[Purple Haze]

That's a good point, snarlo, if the carb is at an angle, float level changes. A lot of people miss this, then can't figure out why their carb isn't running right. Thats one reason the off-roaders run spring-loaded needles in their carbs. Now, on to the plug chop debate. I want to add my 2 cents, and some will be shocked, because I usually agree with Fabian on most things. But Jaguar is right on this one, plug chopping is an out-dated tool, since it originated in the days of leaded fuel. Todays fuels don't leave the residues that change the color of the plug, the only color you'll get is the oil, so it might be somewhat useful in checking your mix ratio, but it's just as accurate to pull the plug anytime after a run. If it's brown, you're good, if it's too light or ashy-looking, add more oil to the mix, but it's useless as a way to check mixture richness. Old habits die hard, but leave the plug-reading to Smokey Yunick and the mid 20th century.

 

[Deleted member 12676]

cool! I hate being the lone voice of reason. So with synthetic oil is the plug color providing any useful feedback of info?

 

[crassius]

Can't leave you hanging on this jaguar. I do a chop every so often to see if I see anything relevant, but never seem to unless the problem is so bad it can be figured out without the chop : (

Back in the 70s I was considered the local expert on 'cycle carbs, but that was because I had a dyno & could tell a lot about jet performance from its gauges.