TOPIC: Regapping the Spark Plugs to deliver Maximum Power

There is one area where you can get extra power without costing anything, and that is the Spark Plug Gap setting.

Every system has a coil which charges on a curve. This curve is variable, but the maximum power is NEVER delivered, as it discharges long before max power is attained.

Here's how you find out the maximum value with the least amount of effort...

1) Pick the easiest spark plug to remove and remove the plug wire. Take note of the effect on the engine's balance (missing)
2) Remove the plug and increase the gap on the spark plug by 20% over stock and reinstall.
3) Check the plug to see if it is missing (pull the wire and notice the balance of the engine.)
4) If no changes, go to #. If it changes, then pull the plug and repeat #2) and #3).
5) When you notice a miss, pull the plug and reduce it by 5% until the missing goes away (no change at removal of the wire) THEN reduce the gap by an additional 5%.
6) Apply that value to the rest of your plugs.

What this is doing is increasing the amount of voltage required to jump the gap (discharging the coil) by many levels. More voltage delivered to the plug equals more power delivered to the fuel equals better combustion.

Please post replies to this method with the results you get! You SHOULD notice increased power, reduced emissions AND better mileage!

Ron Hatton
Gadgetman

Keep in mind also if you have the knowledge, you can port the spark plug.. what that means is the above.. gap them and drill a hole on top the spark plug where the metal is.. small hole which aligns with the spark ..

I think that the previous post by “tf4624” is referring to what is also accomplished by using Sonic spark plugs; see: This vendor also handles custom orders (to drill a hole in the ground electrode) for spark plugs you send them.

In addition to increasing the OEM spark plug gap by 10-20% as Ron talks about above, I like to combine that with another plug mod known as “side-gapping”;
see:
This second mod helps ignite the fuel-mix closer to TDC because the ground electrode on the plug is no longer acting as a shield to partially block a developing flame front after plug ignition. The name of the game here is to ignite as much of the fuel as possible as close to TDC as possible for the strongest push on the pistons.

Another consideration is the type of spark plugs you use; if you’re going to be adding combustion enhancers, such as the Groove and/or a hydrogen generator, then the engine will be operating slightly cooler. Because silver and copper plugs are the highest thermal and electrical conductors, they are the best choice when using combustion enhancers; plugs made with other metals can have heat-retention problems and you may have to use a hotter heat-range plug if not using silver or copper ones.

Additionally, when upgrading an ignition system (plugs, wires, coil, etc.), one of the most commonly overlooked items is the need to upgrade the engine ground-wire system too. An OEM ground-wire system can have up to ten times the electrical impedance compared to using a quality, aftermarket ground-wire kit; see: New Level Motor Sports - Car & Truck Accessories, Cold Air Intakes, Flash Tuners, Headers Exhaust & More
This upgrade helps avoid common ignition problems caused by a poor engine ground & static electricity; if you want to understand the importance of properly strapping an engine, see:

We have all seen a vehicle that has one bright headlamp while the other one is dim; this problem is caused by the dim headlamp having a poor or inadequate ground. No matter how much you spend on buying the “brightest” bulbs, that headlamp will never reach its brightness potential until the ground for that headlamp position is repaired. The same is true for the ignition system; don’t limit your system’s potential by not upgrading the engine’s ground-wire system too.

agreed to the above, if you have a toyota prius LOL The car loves to have

the Ground-2ire system.. you can find one at Juicyhbrid

Wow Guys, I assisted MR. Paul, Paul Mills, last year in the construction and installation of HHO units for 18 wheelers and other vehicles and in Strapping the engines as well. Mr. Paul is very up to date on Diesel engines and good on gas engines as well. Excellent mechanic. I was with him when he started the Strapping4engines venture and saw and experienced the results. IT WORKS. I am still in the HHO and HHHN business and using the personal license to aquaint myself with the groove, IT WORKS as we all know. Even my wife could tell the difference with the strapping and the GROOVE without telling her i had done something to the van. MORE POWER she said on both occasions. The groove speaks for itself just do it and tell them to drive it. As Ron told me it really enhances HHO and HHHN, and takes it to a different level as well.I am just old and slow but getting there.

So I see 3 modifications to spark plugs in the descriptions above.

1. Widen the gap.
2. Drill a hole, or port (and some suggest the drill bit notches a dent in the center post)
3. Side gaping.

I came across another called indexing, where the open side of the plug gap faces the intake valve.

Some of these can be combined, others not.
Any experience on applying these methods out there in Gadgetman Land?
Which works best, or is it different for each situation?

And how would this work with a car that has electronic timing? Will the computer go with it, work against it, or not even know?

Thanks for your input.

Ok ,first the computer will not work against it, second the timing is mainly controlled by the intake air temp so not to worry,third all three plug mods will work, we ran indexed plugs in stock cars for years as it throws the fuel and air directly at the spark. All of these will help alittle. Dan gadgetman Mo.

when a friend came over and said he was rasing his corvet i said pull the plugs then i got the drimmel out cut a small notch in the end of spark gap the split it just a little regaped it and then we took it up the road for a small test just for the short ride we could tell that it did a lot better

I'm up at 30% over stock and my vehicle's "idle tone" is the deepest it has ever been. I think that's a clue in getting close to the "sweet spot" of idle etc.

Yes improvements to Ignition will deepen the exhaust tone at idle, you can simply hear the difference. Idle quality-smoothness, sound, are a good indicator of engine health.

This thread is a small goldmine of info! All the above posts have valuable clues in them. Ed Hoffman's "side-gapping" trick can be compared to the torquemaster plugs, in that the idea is to un-shroud the area where the flame starts out, to improve flame spread, better using the time available for combustion. There's only a few thousandth's of a second to get the job done...

What Ron said in the first post here- to get more electrical energy delivered to the air-fuel mix- the Plasma Ignition mod I've done on my Subaru, not only increases the total spark energy. It also delivers that increased energy in orders of magnitude less TIME.
Imagine leaning on a glass window, the window can deflect a little without breaking. Now hit the same glass w/ a hammer, it shatters. The energy is delivered faster-different result.

By simply properly increasing the plug gap, the coil "saturates" longer. The bigger gap needs more voltage potential to ionize the air in that gap. It takes more TIME for the coil to build up higher secondary voltage, as the potential "stacks up" on the center electrode during spark discharge initiation. This time delay makes the coil work more to its potential, and the resulting spark is both hotter AND faster.

Tracy G

I think the trick is to get spark to light off right at the top of the compression stroke of each cylinder, when the air/fuel charge is at max density, to burn as much of the fuel as quickly as possible. That will move the crank faster, turn the drive wheels faster. Fuel delivery (amount) can be adjusted when the computer bulls-eyes the ignition, and not just spray in the neighbourhood, but surgically strike with the right payload.

Good good, picture coming clearer...

I look at it as ignition timing is harder to manipulate w/ modern engines-no dist. to access. Yes playing w/ intake air temp inputs can do some--and after that it's down to design area's much harder to alter. But it's like some strange abstract campfire contest where the rules dictate the competitors will all light their campfires at the same instant. Object of the contest is to see who gets the most measured standard amount of wood burned completely to white flyash,in a fixed amount of Time. OK so you have same amount of wood, same amount of time, but the rules allow you to vary HOW you light it... ferro rod/striker, Matches, cig.lighter, propane torch, road flare, etc. No rules against a Thermite Grenade...Plasma Ignition IS the thermite grenade, and re-gapping plugs properly along w/ upgrades to other ignition parts are all moves in that direction. And regap and upgrades are a lot easier/cheaper too.

Tracy G