Quote:
Originally Posted by thstone
Ok, here's twelve to get us started...
Air temp
Humidity
Pressure
Percentage of cloud cover
Throttle position over the past 5-30 minutes
Load over the past 5-30 mins
Length of time at idle over the past 5-30 mins
Length of time at various speeds over the past 5-30 mins
Fans cycling on or off
Inaccuracy of the temp sending unit
Inaccuracy/inconsistency of visually sighting the temp gauge
Amount of other traffic
|
My Boxster is my daily driver and it's the only vehicle I have owned since 2013. I know this car like the back of my hand. I can feel when something is out of order. That being said, as noted the previous temp was between 185° to 186° (these temps are under normal driver conditions. Spirited driving would raise the temp more or sitting still for a long period the temp would go up), even in the Winter time and it's been this way as long as I have owned this car. I have experienced every variation you noted in the last week, except for the temp gauge inaccuracy other then Porsche's calibration, which I understand the gauge always reads lower then the actual temp and I don't have inaccuracy/inconsistency of visually sighting the temp gauge needle with over 6 years of ownership with the car being my DD and the only vehicle I have owned in over 6 years. The only thing different in the last week than previous weeks is the change of spark plugs and we are now in warmer weather.
It's been a week now since the plugs have been changed. I have done city driving short runs, highway driving for over an hour. I have experienced every situation in the last week, air temp changes, was very humid yesterday as it rained and went to 71° with Sunshine. Actually turned on the home A/C unit because of it. I have the four stalk column with the OBC turned on, so I can see the outside temps. I've always been puzzled why this car would still run as warm in the Winter time as it does.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maytag
How old are you?
Waaaay bank in the old days, when we used to have to tune ignition curves with weights and springs, it was important to monitor your flame front; ie, get it moving faster. We'd also maximize the quench area for this very same reason. This was particularly important when cylinder pressures were very high (boosted) or when RPM's were very high (10k rpm and up). So yes, in those days, knowing your spark plugs really well was vital. But only in those very extreme situations.
With today's adaptable/ learning ECU's controlling spark and fuel, based on actual readings from sensors means that you can pretty much slap any old plug in there and you'll see negligible differences, other than longevity of the plug itself. (Again, until you start taking about the extremes)
|
I'm 51 and I have owned a very wide range of vehicles, all of them except one were fuel injected. I understand the ECU can advance and retard timing and adjust the fuel flow, however, the ECU can not control how quick the spark plug will fire over another plug, electricity follows the path of least resistance, the ECU can not control that and the intensity of spark you will get out of the spark plug do to the materials the spark plug is made out of and can not be changed by the ECU. No, even with today's computer controlled cars, you can't just stick any old spark plug into the engine and expect the engine to operate exactly the same. That's a very stupid statement.
My car ran great with the Bosch plugs and the car still runs great with the NGK plugs. The one thing I am seeing is the temp difference, while not huge, it's a pleasant surprise to see the lower temp. I watch my car like a hawk and I notice everything, even a slight change in the temp gauge needle position.