Spark plugs are at the center of your cars ability to run and make power. By some its the most over looked and misunderstood component in the car.For the most part your going to get the crowd that isn’t going to believe this key component is going to make a performance impact.
Before we get too far in lets get some facts out there about spark plugs.
Lets start with a quick 101 on what plugs help do.
SPARK PLUG BASICS:
The spark plug has two primary functions:
* To ignite the air/fuel mixture
* To remove heat from the combustion chamber
Spark plugs transmit electrical energy that turns fuel into working energy. A sufficient amount of voltage must be supplied by the ignition system to cause it to spark across the spark plug’s gap. This is called “Electrical Performance.”
The temperature of the spark plug’s firing end must be kept low enough to prevent pre-ignition, but high enough to prevent fouling. This is called “Thermal Performance”, and is determined by the heat range selected.
It is important to remember that spark plugs do not create heat, they can only remove heat. The spark plug works as a heat exchanger by pulling unwanted thermal energy away from the combustion chamber, and transferring the heat to the engine’s cooling system. The heat range is defined as a plug’s ability to dissipate heat.
The rate of heat transfer is determined by:
* The insulator nose length
* Gas volume around the insulator nose
* The materials/construction of the center electrode and porcelain insulator
A spark plug’s heat range has no relationship to the actual voltage transferred though the spark plug. Or the amount of ground posts used for the function of the plug. Rather, the heat range is a measure of the spark plug’s ability to remove heat from the combustion chamber. The heat range measurement is determined by several factors; the length of the ceramic center insulator nose and its’ ability to absorb and transfer combustion heat, the material composition of the insulator and center electrode material.
The Misconception That platinum, multi post or even the charge core of the plug can lead to pre ignition is simply false. An improper heat rage (too high) can in some cases create an environment more prone to Pre-ignition but Pre-ignition is rare coming from a spark plug.
There are several types of spark plugs available
Spark plug concerns.
How quick will it get up to operational plug cleaning and maintenance temperature.
How efficient is the plug as far as voltage needed to fire.
How is the Fouling resistance of the spark plug.
How much is the concentration of the actual material used in each plug.
How is the over all design of the plug. IE construction and tolerances.
When it comes to brand X Vs brand Y. several things listed above need to get looked at.
The performance and lifetime of the plug center around a few things. One of them being the Core.
We see the core advertised from
standard
platinum
Iridium
Etc.
What dose this mean what is this and how does this effect the performance. What we need to look at further is how much of these Core components is in each plug. While having a platinum core will make for a better more powerful spark over a standard core. What most people don’t realize is the amount of platinum is very important in the performance of the plug.
When there are plug Vs plug debates. It has been seen that not all Platinum plugs are the same. Why is this? this is due to the amount of actual platinum used by each manufacture. There is no actual amount that the core needs to consist of before the manufacture can claim they have a platinum plug. This in part is why some platinum plugs are 2$ and others a 6$ This is the same case with Iridium plugs
So you get the better performing higher concentration of platinum plugs getting solid results and great performance. This ends up showing itself and gaining interest for platinum plugs. From this advancement what you end up with in cases like this is the brand recondition and tradition of one better brand selling another cheaper brand. Who go get the more expensive brand when brand X is way cheaper. While the cheaper brands still have “some” platinum in them the concentration isn’t as high the quality in some cases isn’t as good and you get a lesser plug.
In most cases people are not going to know that there plugs are not running as efficient as they could. A plug with 40% less platinum is still going to fire its still going to work. Its just not going to give the performance of the better plug. So to most people ignorance is bliss.
So there are many factors that play a important roll in spark plugs.
The construction
The concentration of actual material that makes the plugs more powerful
The tolerances of the plugs.
and then there is the actual design of the plug. IE. special features such as Multi post and post position.
Thats coming up in the next installment