Roger Galvin's 'Colortune' method

I ran across mention of this as an accurate method to analyze exhaust.
What is it? Thanks in advance.

On 10 Jan 2006 09:52:42 -0800, wrote:

>I ran across mention of this as an accurate method to analyze exhaust.
>What is it? Thanks in advance.

ColorTune was/is a replacement spark plug with a clear glass
insulator. The idea is to obseve the color of the flame in the
cylinder, to determine whether the mixture is rich or lean.
Might be okay on a dynamometer, with the engine/vehicle
stationary, but some people used to install them and ride down the
road WFO, while looking at the plug to try to analyze mixture. A
recipe for disaster.

the fly wrote:

> On 10 Jan 2006 09:52:42 -0800, wrote:
>
> > I ran across mention of this as an accurate method to analyze
> > exhaust. What is it? Thanks in advance.
>
> ColorTune was/is a replacement spark plug with a clear glass
> insulator. The idea is to obseve the color of the flame in the
> cylinder, to determine whether the mixture is rich or lean.
> Might be okay on a dynamometer, with the engine/vehicle
> stationary, but some people used to install them and ride down the
> road WFO, while looking at the plug to try to analyze mixture. A
> recipe for disaster.



Gunson Colortune was for setting the IDLE MIXTURE on a carburetted car.
You adjusted the mixture until the flame was blue.

You were not supposed to drive around with them.

On Tue, 10 Jan 2006, the fly wrote:

> ColorTune was/is a replacement spark plug with a clear glass
> insulator.

"Is", they're still available.

> The idea is to obseve the color of the flame in the
> cylinder, to determine whether the mixture is rich or lean.

Yep. And it works.

> Might be okay on a dynamometer, with the engine/vehicle stationary,

They're meant for stationary usage, yes. Primarily to set idle mixture.

> some people used to install them and ride down the road WFO, while
> looking at the plug to try to analyze mixture.

I doubt it, unless you can come up with a convincing description of how
one would simultaneously drive AND peer closely at one of the spark plugs
in the engine.

Daniel J. Stern wrote:
> On Tue, 10 Jan 2006, the fly wrote:
>
> > ColorTune was/is a replacement spark plug with a clear glass
> > insulator.
>
> "Is", they're still available.
>
> > The idea is to obseve the color of the flame in the
> > cylinder, to determine whether the mixture is rich or lean.
>
> Yep. And it works.
>
> > Might be okay on a dynamometer, with the engine/vehicle stationary,
>
> They're meant for stationary usage, yes. Primarily to set idle mixture.
>
> > some people used to install them and ride down the road WFO, while
> > looking at the plug to try to analyze mixture.
>
> I doubt it, unless you can come up with a convincing description of how
> one would simultaneously drive AND peer closely at one of the spark plugs
> in the engine.

I'm thinking '32 Ford or similar, with no hood? Still would be a bit
of a trick, unless you had an adventurous and brave passenger...

nate

On Tue, 10 Jan 2006, N8N wrote:

>>> some people used to install them and ride down the road WFO, while
>>> looking at the plug to try to analyze mixture.
>>
>> I doubt it, unless you can come up with a convincing description of how
>> one would simultaneously drive AND peer closely at one of the spark
>> plugs in the engine.
>
> I'm thinking '32 Ford or similar, with no hood?

Still not buyin' it. You really have to get your eye right in line with
the axis of the spark plug to see the color flash of combustion.

Daniel J. Stern wrote:
> On Tue, 10 Jan 2006, the fly wrote:
>
>> ColorTune was/is a replacement spark plug with a clear glass
>> insulator.

>> some people used to install them and ride down the road WFO, while
>> looking at the plug to try to analyze mixture.

> I doubt it, unless you can come up with a convincing description of how
> one would simultaneously drive AND peer closely at one of the spark
> plugs in the engine.

Perhaps this will explain it (note the word "ride", not 'drive', above):

http://www.carbtune.com/colortune.html

On Tue, 10 Jan 2006, Mark Olson wrote:

>>> some people used to install them and ride down the road WFO, while
>>> looking at the plug to try to analyze mixture.
>
>> I doubt it, unless you can come up with a convincing description of how
>> one would simultaneously drive AND peer closely at one of the spark
>> plugs in the engine.
>
> Perhaps this will explain it (note the word "ride", not 'drive', above):
> http://www.carbtune.com/colortune.html

I have owned and used Gunson Colortunes for a couple of decades. I know
what they are, how they work and how they're properly used. There is
nothing on the linked page beyond a description of what they are, how they
work and how they're properly used. That's probably why there's no
description on the linked page of the scenario you have hallucinated.
Don't be lazy, let's have your description of exactly how one might ride
down the road while operating the Colortune, at WFO or any other throttle
position.

On Tue, 10 Jan 2006 20:18:40 -0500, "Daniel J. Stern"
> wrote:

>On Tue, 10 Jan 2006, Mark Olson wrote:
>
>>>> some people used to install them and ride down the road WFO, while
>>>> looking at the plug to try to analyze mixture.
>>
>>> I doubt it, unless you can come up with a convincing description of how
>>> one would simultaneously drive AND peer closely at one of the spark
>>> plugs in the engine.
>>
>> Perhaps this will explain it (note the word "ride", not 'drive', above):
>> http://www.carbtune.com/colortune.html
>
>I have owned and used Gunson Colortunes for a couple of decades. I know
>what they are, how they work and how they're properly used. There is
>nothing on the linked page beyond a description of what they are, how they
>work and how they're properly used. That's probably why there's no
>description on the linked page of the scenario you have hallucinated.
>Don't be lazy, let's have your description of exactly how one might ride
>down the road while operating the Colortune, at WFO or any other throttle
>position.

Think two wheels, not four.

I can imagine someone thinking it's really cool to have flames spurting
out of his cyclinder head and installing them for the effect.