If you really want to perform some
car modification, the best thing is to first take care of your
engine performance because
car modification is not only about changing your car
body kits and
installing some sub woofers to add a groove in your sound. No
car modification is completed if the
car's performance is not state of the art. For this purpose, you may get many advice. I would specifically refer to the car's
spark plugs and their impact on
engine performance and how you can do some modifications either by some
spark plugs replacement or
spark plug gapping or choose the right spark plugs for your car by assessing and
reading spark plugs requirements for your car.
Before getting into details I would just peek into the
spark plug's functioning or
how does a spark plug work. I know many of you
car enthusiasts must know the purpose of spark plugs and how does a spark plug work. So I will not go into a detail.Just a quick review.
Purpose Of A Spark Plug, How Does A Spark Plug Work?Spark plug actually causes an ignition through its
ignition coil in the
internal combustion chamber of the engine which creates a
small spark. Search out for
internal combustion engine fundamentals for more details. This spark when unites with the air and some drops of fuel, it creates a perfect combination for a small explosion. This small explosion creates a pressure which causes the pistons in the engine's cylinders to move and eventually creates a torque to move the cam shaft and ultimately the car starts to move. As simple as that.
So the purpose of a
spark plug is integral in moving a car. Obviously if the spark is of not a good quality there would be implications on the
car's engine performance so to perform some
car modification pertaining to spark plugs, one has to make sure that the
spark plug is of good quality which produces a better spark to ensure swift movement of a car.
Now coming to the
spark plug modification or replacement, let us first analyze that what effects the
performance of the spark plug. The spark plug's performance is effected by following factors.
1) Wear and Tear of spark plug.
2) The gap between
central and
ground electrode or
spark plug gapping.
3) Voltage provided to create a spark.
4) Altitude and temperature of the location.
To alter the performance or
efficiency of spark plugs, one should try to alter the above factors or if he is going to perform some
spark plugs replacement he should keep the above factors in mind. Now let's see how the above mentioned factors effect the efficiency of a spark plug and how you can modify or use the above mentioned factors in
better performance of spark plugs and ultimately of the car.
1) Wear And Tear Of Spark Plug.Spark plugs have to go through series of
small explosions in order to be functional thus making them more prone to wear and tear. So definitely a
damaged spark plug or a spark plug having a lot of
carbon deposited at its tip will not perform adequately. So make sure that spark plugs are always in a good condition in order for your car as whole to be efficient or perform well. Generally a spark plug's life is about 10,000 to 20,000 miles. However some manufacturers assemble spark plugs which have two or in other words
multiple ground electrodes to enhance the life of a spark plug. But it has been observed that it has some
implications on fuel injection of the car.2) Spark Plug Gapping.This is the most important factor of
spark plugs performance. However people have different views about the
spark plug gapping. Some say that the
more the gap, the better is the spark. Where as some say that
small gap is good as it requires small amount of voltage to create the spark. Normally a spark plug requires a very high voltage of about 40,000 to 100,000 volts to cover the gap. I am open here for suggestions. Tell me if you have any suggestions regarding this topic. However if you really want to make the
spark plug gapping larger or smaller you can use a very
fine nosed pliers as a s
park plug gapper or
spark plug gap tool. To enlarge the gap, pull the ground electrodes outwards using pliers. However be extremely cautious here and make sure you
do not apply pressure on the center electrode or it may damage.If you want to make the gap smaller, gently tap the ground electrode on a hard surface. You can use a feeler guage to measure the gap between center and ground electrode.
3) Voltage Provided.As described above
spark plugs need a
very high amount of voltage to create a spark so use a
good quality car batteries to make sure that a voltage is provided to create the spark.
4) Altitude And Temperature Of The Location.The
altitude where your car operates and the
temperature in which your car operates is
crucial for the performance of your spark plugs. For this reason the spark plugs have been divided into two kind which are:
a) Hot Spark Plugs:Hot spark plugs are spark plugs in which the surface area of
ceramic exhaust coating contacts less with the
metal part of the spark plug thus exhausting less heat. I am saying the
ceramic insulator as an exhaust because the
ceramic insulator coating works as a heat exhaust. So hot spark plugs are good in low performing cars or in cold areas. Similarly they are
good at high altitude areas where oxygen is less to burn the fuel.
b) Cold Spark Plugs:These spark plugs have larger surface area of
ceramic insulator coating thus exhausting more heat and keeping the spark plugs cold. You can have a look at the
image of spark plugs structure for
spark plug cross reference.
Cold spark plugs are best for
high performance engines or
turbo charged engines. If you are looking forward for
engine upgrades then I reckon you should also pay some consideration towards your
spark plug replacement.Above mentioned factors are helpful in assessing and
reading spark plugs requirements for your car. You may have come to know how
spark plug can be modified by changing spark plugs gapping as well as what spark plugs would be better for
your car's specific requirements.
