So the other day my car started running really rough coming home from work. When I got home I checked things out and noticed I smelled gas, and sure enough plug 5 wasnt firing. so I ordered a coil pack and new wires that Ill be installing tomorrow. I also pulled the NGK's I just replaced 2 months ago, and they're all pretty gross. a few are completely black. I took pics with my crappy camera phone. should they be this bad already?

http://usera.imagecave.com/enjoi_311/

If the coil pack and wires dont fix it, what else could it be?
I did replace the plugs with bosch platinum 4's, but of course my coil pack and wires are ripped out. Im curious to see how they do.

 

The ceramic insert should stay white, or better a yellowish orange (indicates you are using quality fuel/additives). Looks like you are running a little rich, from what I cant tell from the pics, but that's a guess (cause the pic sucks) but you say you can smell gas, which supports my idea.
Here's what to do before installing anything:
1. CHECK FOR CODES!
2. swap a coil from a cyl you know to be firing and see if this issue goes away.
3. report back to the forum with findings.

 

what I found interesting is that 3 are black and 3 are white. My engine light has been on since I bought the car, the owners said it had been on for over 2 years. when I checked the CEL, it came back as o2 sensors, which I will be replacing along with the coil pack and wires. When the engine was running rough, the CEL was flashing. I think the 02 sensors are the original culprit, which is why 3 are black and 3 are normal.