Spark Plugs

[Dave Samson]

Anybody have any experience with sidegapping plugs ?

[Dominik]

dave,

what is sidegapping?

(that question includes that I do not have any experience with those).

all I know is that since the introduction of the chrome tip (i.e. CR 42 XLS) a plug for a hot engine does not foul easy in daily traffic.
are you looking for one like this?

dominik

[Dave Samson]

Dom,
Side gapping means to bend the side electrode of the plug to the side to expose the center electrode fully to the cylinder. The result would be an opened blast rather than a sideways shot when the spark hits the flat surface of the side electrode.
What do you think ?

[Dominik]

Frankly,

I have no opinion here. There is so much hocus-pocus going on with spark and ignition (yellow wires alone give a 30 hp gain ...) that I advise to talk to the pros who build that stuff.

i.e. MSD.

I know that a HEI ignition as found on every Chevy, fires through a wider gap, as does a HKZ from Porsche.

My buddy uses the HKZ for his race cars (Chevys) since ages, long before MSD was available in Germany.

Dominik

[DAVID GAGNARD]

I think the idea should work,just do not know if it will. I have seen dirt track guys that run on alcohol actually break off the electrode on their plugs just before the feature race,they claim it will give a few more HP but the plugs do not last long before they "die",they have to arc back to the plug egde or lip or whatever you want to call it and it does make a hell of an arc when it works.......

David

[Dave Samson]

Yes I've heard that it's a well kept secret in the racing fraternity.

[loudpedal]

is an old lawnmower trick.

It helps the motor run cleaner at lower rpm with a fat fuel mixture....(with mechanical injection for example).

The suffix J Champions were in fact pre cut back and saved some filing.

With todays wider heat ranges and finewire pug availibilities all of that is out the window now.

[aeroace]

We used to do this drag racing, but not frequently or with enthusiasm. The plugs wear out immediately. Pull into the staging lane, do a burnout, make a pass, throw the plugs away. It was good for a minescule amount of time reduction, but unless you're trying to turn your 11.02 into a 10.99 pass down the dragstrip, forget about it. Without the ground strap on the sparkplug, the nearest component is the ground. Thus the spark is thrown from the plug to the piston directly. This is not enjoyed by the piston a whole lot as the localized temperature where the spark hits is hotter than aluminum should see. Just get a high quality capacitive discharge ignition box, a good coil, fresh 8mm spiro core wires, and the appropriate heat range sparkplugs. This is the trick, there are no shortcuts.