Getting the car ready for spring

[06YarisRS]

I've had the car out a number of times already and it's working great. I have a few jobs to do to get it ready though.

Today, I changed out the plugs for a one step colder set. I also gapped the plugs to .028. I had gotten an intermittent misfire code (about two to three since I turbo'd the car) on cylinder 3. When I removed cylinder 3 plug, I noticed that it was a touch wet and smelled of fuel. Closer inspection of the plug reveals a slight difference in plug gap. I guess I missed that one. It couldn't have been out too much because I had so few misfires. I was happy to see that there was no evidence of detonation and that the plugs look pretty good - at least to my untrained eye.

Getting ready to do the job. Plugs and feeler gauge



When I had the wiper tray off, changing the plugs was a joke. A little more involved, requiring a universal joint to get the extension way down deep into the 2ZR's head.



Torquing the plugs to 80 inch/pounds. I better verify that spec. Going from memory here.



A little dielectric grease on the coil boots.



Gapping plug to 0.28



Plugs look pretty good, but feel free to make observations.



The second plug from the left was from cylinder 3. gap looks definitely wider to me. I understand that under boost, slight deviations in plug gap can cause misfires and unburnt fuel. The ground electrode looks a little off center too. I think it may have been damaged when I first gapped it.