Great video. It’s a good thing you’ve mentioned the gap mod. Many people take spark plugs and put them in without checking if the gap is the one recommended for their engine.
Could you explain why gaps are important and perhaps something about different temperatures and types and spark plugs? I have no idea what I just wrote, hence the request :)
Spark plug gaps differ due to compression ratio of your engine. If the air is denser (higher compression ratio) it’s harder for the spark to jump across the gap (air acts as an insulator).
The gap is important as it is basically how far the spark has to jump. A bigger gap is a longer weaker jump and a smaller gap is a short but stronger spark. The gap must be done correctly or it may not actually get the spark across and miss this can happen in two ways.
1 the gap is to big and the air charge when coming up to compression as it just jump the air to spark (the gap) it can be blown away and not spark spark referred to as blow out. This is common on force induction engines
2 the gap is to small the spark is strong but it’s so short it doesn’t ignite or completely ignite the fuel thus missing or not firing that cylinder at all.
Next temperature EE many be needed here but from what I’ve been told a hotter plug is one that the spark has a higher temperature tho it has a nice hot strong spark it takes more energy from the ignition system to make and is more prone to blow out they also wear faster but can prove a good spark more consistently. And going colder is the opposite the spark has a lower temperature when going across the gap as it’s colder it takes less to power but is a long strong spark (a relative description) less likely to been blown out but won’t always offer the same spark everytime due to the moving air in the cylinder.
Types are more an application and price because of what they are made off for example platinum and iridium are expensive but offer the longest and best sparks in standard applications (these are becoming standard I’m cars today) and other is copper plugs short lived but copper is a very good conductor of electricity.
Bonus fact you can have more than one earth tail (the bit on the very end opposite the electrode) racing plugs have three instead of one so instead of having to jump the the same place every time it jumps to which ever is easier of the three for more consistent spark.
Haha engineering explained think this will call for another video.
Perfect timing! I was literally just about to walk outside and change mine. I don’t know if you’ve explained this in another video, but I’m curious if/how brake balance affects weight transfer onto the front wheel(s) while braking in a strait line.This is important to me because I need to brake hard with my motorcycle in order to actually set off traffic light sensors at night. Keep up the good work homie.
Didn’t talk about the discolouration of the ceramic above the hex on the plug that’s the biggest give away that plugs need changing.
The ceramic discoloration has absolutely no bearing on if it’s time to replace or not.
[DELETED]
EE, could you do a short about why do we need to gap the plugs and what happens in the cylinder?
I bought BOSCH plugs recommended for my V4 ford and the owners manual said that the gap should be 1,5MM while the plug was 1,1. It still runs like a dream so why should i regap it?
It has to do with cylinder compression, intake flow, etc… If the gap is too small the spark may not be big enough to ignite the fuel. If the gap is too large the spark can be blown out (like a candle) and the fuel won’t burn in that case either. Both result in a misfire.
This video really sparked my intresst
I think this video filled my knowledge gap
I saw AutoZone sponsored Scotty Kilmer, too. Looks like when an automotive company decides to go with a “hip new advertising strategy”, they sponsor people on YouTube. Elio Motors and Gumout did this, too.
Comments
Great video Jason さん
I changed after 27800 km
Great video.
It’s a good thing you’ve mentioned the gap mod.
Many people take spark plugs and put them in without checking if the gap is the one recommended for their engine.
Could you explain why gaps are important and perhaps something about different temperatures and types and spark plugs? I have no idea what I just wrote, hence the request :)
Spark plug gaps differ due to compression ratio of your engine. If the air is denser (higher compression ratio) it’s harder for the spark to jump across the gap (air acts as an insulator).
The gap is important as it is basically how far the spark has to jump. A bigger gap is a longer weaker jump and a smaller gap is a short but stronger spark. The gap must be done correctly or it may not actually get the spark across and miss this can happen in two ways.
1 the gap is to big and the air charge when coming up to compression as it just jump the air to spark (the gap) it can be blown away and not spark spark referred to as blow out. This is common on force induction engines
2 the gap is to small the spark is strong but it’s so short it doesn’t ignite or completely ignite the fuel thus missing or not firing that cylinder at all.
Next temperature EE many be needed here but from what I’ve been told a hotter plug is one that the spark has a higher temperature tho it has a nice hot strong spark it takes more energy from the ignition system to make and is more prone to blow out they also wear faster but can prove a good spark more consistently. And going colder is the opposite the spark has a lower temperature when going across the gap as it’s colder it takes less to power but is a long strong spark (a relative description) less likely to been blown out but won’t always offer the same spark everytime due to the moving air in the cylinder.
Types are more an application and price because of what they are made off for example platinum and iridium are expensive but offer the longest and best sparks in standard applications (these are becoming standard I’m cars today) and other is copper plugs short lived but copper is a very good conductor of electricity.
Bonus fact you can have more than one earth tail (the bit on the very end opposite the electrode) racing plugs have three instead of one so instead of having to jump the the same place every time it jumps to which ever is easier of the three for more consistent spark.
Haha engineering explained think this will call for another video.
Perfect timing! I was literally just about to walk outside and change mine.
I don’t know if you’ve explained this in another video, but I’m curious if/how brake balance affects weight transfer onto the front wheel(s) while braking in a strait line.This is important to me because I need to brake hard with my motorcycle in order to actually set off traffic light sensors at night. Keep up the good work homie.
Didn’t talk about the discolouration of the ceramic above the hex on the plug that’s the biggest give away that plugs need changing.
The ceramic discoloration has absolutely no bearing on if it’s time to replace or not.
[DELETED]
EE, could you do a short about why do we need to gap the plugs and what happens in the cylinder?
I bought BOSCH plugs recommended for my V4 ford and the owners manual said that the gap should be 1,5MM while the plug was 1,1. It still runs like a dream so why should i regap it?
It has to do with cylinder compression, intake flow, etc… If the gap is too small the spark may not be big enough to ignite the fuel. If the gap is too large the spark can be blown out (like a candle) and the fuel won’t burn in that case either. Both result in a misfire.
This video really sparked my intresst
I think this video filled my knowledge gap
I saw AutoZone sponsored Scotty Kilmer, too. Looks like when an automotive company decides to go with a “hip new advertising strategy”, they sponsor people on YouTube. Elio Motors and Gumout did this, too.