SPARK PLUGS!!!! ARE THEY A HYPE OR ARE THEY FOR REAL?

[Mach 1]

"You're making the assumption that electricity reaching the plug is instantaneous. It's not. As soon as enough electrons build up on the electrode and are able to make the spark, it will. With platinum plugs it will do this with fewer electrons and thus a weaker spark. Remember the relief valve analogy?"

Im not seeing this for some reason. Spark is triggered at a precise time, at which high voltage is sent down the plug wire, making the plug spark at a predetermined "advance timing degree before TDC" if you will. now, if were on the same page, your saying the coils are tuned for platinum plugs, having a lower voltage to compensate for the lower voltage "firing" characteristics of platinum plugs?

This could be true, or maybe im just brain dead today...lol.

eithier way, please save the basic analogies.

[SPEEDY88]

COOL!!! I DIDN'T THINK THAT MY TOPIC WOULD REACH 20 REPLIES. THANKS, I AM GOING TO PUT THE MOTORVRAFT SPARK PLUGS IN THERE AND THAT IS WHAT I AM GOING TO USE. WHAT ARE THE AUTOLITES???? WHERE ARE THEY SOLD? ARE THEY THE BEST COPPER PLUGS IN THE MARKET???

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88GT-Bassani X-pipe,Two chamber flowmasters,3:73 gears, King Cobra clutch, Steeda clutch quadrant, pro 5.0, K&N, Hypertech chip, Underdrive Pulleys,High Volume oil pump....ALL POWERED BY MY FOOT!!!

[Mach 1]

No, they are not the best. they are inexpensive, easily available, and better than Champion, so many people use them. I prefer NGK or Motorcraft.

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1993 GT/AOD
'93 Mustang GT

[MTU 50]

I went with Motorcrafts and they work fine and they're dirt cheap too!! I think since people usually believe you get what you pay for that if you buy a more expensive gimmick plug it must be better than a cheap stock replacement, but as Jimberg and friends have explained that is not always the case.

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1991 GT, AOD, Moroso Cold Air, 3.73s, Pulleys, 3-chamber(the left one fell off-NO time+No Money=College), FMS c-springs, and KYBs

[jimberg]

Im not seeing this for some reason. Spark is triggered at a precise time, at which high voltage is sent down the plug wire, making the plug spark at a predetermined "advance timing degree before TDC" if you will.

There is a specific amount of energy necessary for electrons to bridge an air gap to create the spark. This amount of energy is fairly constant for the given gap distance and the electrode design (probably varies more with the typical plug we use since there is more surface area to the electrode allowing for more variations in the path of least resistance). Once the correct amount of energy hits the electrode, it will spark.

I think this is an important thing to note since it also helps us understand better how to get the most out of an aftermarket ignition and coil. It's the gap size with electrode design that will determine how intense the spark is. By increasing the voltage with a better coil and ignition alone, you don't really change the spark much other than its reliability. But, since you have more voltage available, you can increase the gap which will increase the intensity of the spark and maintain the reliability you had at a smaller gap.

now, if were on the same page, your saying the coils are tuned for platinum plugs, having a lower voltage to compensate for the lower voltage "firing" characteristics of platinum plugs?

What I'm saying is that since platinum plugs require less voltage to fire, the coils used with them don't have to produce as much voltage. This does not mean that the coils are of a lower quality or anything, just wimpier as far as how much voltage they put out. They will probably last longer, too. It does mean that if you try to use regular plugs at the same gap as platinum plugs with these coils, you may not get enough voltage to generate a spark which will increase the likelihood of misfires.

I know a lot of this stuff seems trivial, or some people may think, "who cares", but I believe if we understand more about how and why things work the way they do, we wouldn't buy stuff like Bosch+4s or Splitfire spark plugs. The more information someone has, the better decisions they make.



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351W 89 Mustang GT Convertible

[JP85gt]

BY GOD GO BUY MOTORCRAFT PLUGS GAP TO .045 AND BY GOD BE DONE WITH IT . GOT NOS? NO PROBLEM .042 WITH MSD .035 WITHOUT BY GOD .. ROFL lol i can see the points well but good Lord guys lol

[DirtKing]

you can never have too much tech or theory...if you are bored by the discussion go buy autolites and you'll never be sorry! (i love tech...most articles today never go beyond the surface or hype to find out what is REALLY going on!)

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88LX notch, Speedpro EFI Procharged!

[429AL]

mach 1 you should listen to jimburg, he is telling the gospel. i use ngk`s and not platnum. just my 2 cents.

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Stock 89 GT,but not for long.

[jimberg]

Well thanks for the vote of confidence 429AL, but I may very well be wrong. If I am wrong, though, then there is no reason not to use platinum spark plugs.

The topic of this discussion, btw, is not "What spark plugs should I use?" or "What gap should I use?". It was a question concerning the legitimacy of specialty plugs like Splitfires (who I believe are being sued for making unsubstantiated claims about their products) and Bosch +4s ( Interesting thing about these is that they reorient the spark so that it is nearly perpendicuar to the motion of the piston and not nearly parallel like regular plugs. Bosch doesn't claim that all 4 electrodes get spark at once, but you sure could get that impression ).


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351W 89 Mustang GT Convertible