Tally TransAm

iTrader: (17)

background:

i put my cam in the first week of january, and changed out my NGK TR55's (gapped at .050) for a new set and changed the oil 200 miles later. Dynoed the car approximately 3000 miles later and pulled 367 hp and 362 ftlbs. About 1800 (about 100 miles ago) miles later i changed my oil from M1 10w30 to 4 10w30's and 2 15w50's because of some oil consumption issues. basically car has about 5k since cam (a little less) and new plugs

since about 2-3 weeks ago my car has felt kinda down on power. i have a feeling that my clutch is slipping but im not sure if that is it. my clutch has 45k on it and its getting warn. could it possibly be the slightly thicker oil?

now for the plug issues:

pulled them out today to do a compression check just for the hell of it (which i didnt get to do because the kid whos tester it was lost the adapter that threads into the plug hole).

#7 plug had a little oil on the threads (none on the electrode or ground strap though)

#3 plug had some oil on the threads, same as #7 but not as much

#5 takes the cake though. It had some sort of buildup on the electrode and ground strap. alot of it. it was hard but i could chip it off with a small screwdriver or wire brush. there also seemed to be some oil or buildup (probably build up) on the inside face of the threaded part where the grounding strap is based. i had no idea what this is

all the other plugs looked ok though, they were kinda ashy though. car had an a/f of 12.8-13.0 on the dyno

i didnt have any new plugs so i just cleaned them all up and reinstalled them. they have been in the car for about 5k. but after seeing this i plan on replacing them asap

any ideas on why i could be feeling a loss of power (thicker oil, plugs, etc) also any ideas on the oil on the threads (why and should i be worried about it) any ideas on the build up on #5 (this is what i am most curious about)

any suggestions on plugs, maybe TR6's since they were kinda ashy or maybe tighten the gap some

thanks
ryan

<small>[ March 29, 2003, 04:46 PM: Message edited by: Tally TransAm ]</small>

Tally TransAm

iTrader: (17)

ttt

1dirtyZ

iTrader: (1)

did you tune the car after you put the cam in?

what kind of clutch do you have? is it the stock one?

Tally TransAm

iTrader: (17)

yes

and a spec stage 1

wrencher

iTrader: (2)

If you got build up on certain plugs, you should do a compression test on all cylinders. Then also do a leak down on all cylinders & you'll know what kinda shape the motor is in.