diagnose my plugs

i try to keep fresh sets of plugs in my riv since i driver it like a race car most of the time.
i last changed out my plugs 6/24/08 with 136k miles on the odo. i used AL104's like always and set the gap to .056.

today i pulled the front bank plugs to see how they looked (i try to do this every month or so). checked gap and saw they were at .062 and all looked like they were pretty worn. i have 145k on the motor now.
did i really go through a set of plugs in 9k hard miles??
i dont really mind changing them that often, since they are $11 a set, but do any of you do it that frequent?

my questions are:
1. would i benefit from AL104 race plugs?
2. am i running too rich based on plug condition
3. is that glazing or normal color? (do i need 103's)
4. anything else you can tell me based on the plug?
here is a pic of one of the front plugs for your viewing pleasure:
(copper tip has slight angle on the electrode side)


last time i scanned i had almost 0KR all the way to 90+mph.
havent noticed any coolant drop since last flush/fill.
need any other info?

thanks for any help,
Matthew


AA, please merge this with other plug threads if you feel it fits.

Two of my plugs looked very similar to yours, and found it to be coolant leaking through the LIM gasket. Have you replaced it yet?

FYI, my coolant level changed very little over thousands of miles.

still oem gasket

btw, all 3 rear plugs looked much better than the fronts. gap was still a little large, but they looked good enough to leave in another 10k.(still changed them out though)

i plan on changing that gasket out come fall when i have $$ and a P&P blower.

What kind of plugs are those? If they are coppers, yes you should need to regap them after 9K, and no you haven't "gone through" them, they just need to be regapped. Not a big deal.

There is no reason to replace those plugs, just regap them.

The discoloration - line up all 6 in order please. I agree with AA you might have a slight LIM leak causing the discolor, or some other reason, but they aren't black, so I'm not too concerned.

autolite plugs.(AL104) already have a new set in.

front 3 look identical to that one pictured, back 3 look like new except slightly larger gap.(no discoloration on rear plugs)
i can take pictures of all 6 if you really need it though.(cant say i remember exactly which cylinder they were from, but i can tell you by looking at them if they were from front or back banks.

i makes sense that the front side of the LIM may be slightly leaking causing the discolor/ash. only other thing different about the front bank is plog.
thanks for the help guys.