gap them plugs...
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Chicknstripn
Well-known member
You can use a set of needle nosed pliers with a bit of tape around the ends to grab the arm(section opposite the electrode) and gap them that way.
Sorry about my lack of spark plug nomenclature.
This method has worked flawless for me.
Sorry about my lack of spark plug nomenclature.
This method has worked flawless for me.
I just stick mine in straight from the box and never had a problem! YET! lol
I run them at the .030 gap and it just transformed my bike! better start up, better idle and its never run stronger! i have the ironmachine leads and caps too so that may help? :up:
user_deleted
Well-known member
i would not touch the factory gap. why? get a magnifying glass and you'll see what i'm talking about. the center electrode is iridium. the outer shell grounding electrode is not. where does the spark jump to? look at the inside portion of the outer shell electrode. takes a magnifying glass. there is a small "dob" of precious metal iridium located there. that is where the spark jumps to then carried to the outer shell electrode. that "dob" is easily disturbed and detached from its attachment point by running a gap gauge of any type between it and the center electrode and if this happens the plug is junk.
Yeah i am with lunatic! i mean i didnt know that clever stuff but i did read somewhere not to touch them so as i say its straight out of the box for me! and Chicago check that out what he said with the magnifying glass to make sure there is no damage to the iridium or you will enter the "bermuda triangle" of what shall i try next and never come out the other side!
rchuff
Well-known member
I do NOT touch the plugs I use them the way they come in the box. Like John said if you mess with them then they are JUNK.
vicenzajay
Well-known member
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I had good luck with the iridiums in the bike now - but if you want to go another route entirely, try the Brisk BOR10LGS. No gap or indexing worries. Also not cheap - like $18 a plug. I've used one for almost two years in my Blast, and it's been a superb performer. Their heat ratings are different, so the 10 would be equivalent to the NGK 9 or Denso 27.
user_deleted
Well-known member
as usual.....i have absolutely no idea what you're talking about......but the 40-plus XB's i've installed NGK DCPR9EIX plugs in would strongly disagree.
user_deleted
Well-known member
I'm SURE I don't know what I'm talking about either but the question to you sir is the topic of this thread... did you gap all those NGK DCPR9EIX spark plugs to the SM's specified .035 or did you install them at the pre-set factory gap of .030
Your answer will close this topic for me today and I will try them again with CAREFUL awareness to the sensitive electrode you have alerted us all to
topics like this can be discussed to death with no agreement ever reached. you mentioned "firing sequence" in your previous post and that H-D motors will be influenced on how they idle and perform by the spark plug gap. no validity or truth to any of that. think of it in these terms: back in the days of points/condensor/coil style ignition which had been around since the early 1900's....dwell time was greatly affected by the gap of both the spark plugs and the ignition points. what is dwell time? it is a critical component of that specific style of ignition system. it is the amount of time that the ignition coil has to be loaded with current and build up the internal voltage before the points open collapsing the inner coil field and firing the current out the center tower and down the plug wire into the center tower of the distributor cap. was very important to get those specs correct when performing a tune-up back in the day. none of that exists now. has all been replaced by the data stored in the vehicles' ecm or ecu. the plug manufacturers set the plug gap during the manufacturing process to a pre-determined measurement that suits the applications for a specific plug. they are extremely close for most all applications that plug will be used in. in essence 5 thousandths of an inch(0.005) means nothing these days....has absolutely no affect whatsoever on vehicle performance....and to answer your question.....YES...i do NOT touch the air-gap and install as out of the box.
wow, what a discussion. The gap recommended by manufactures is about flame front initialization. The speed of electricity is the about the same as the speed of light, 186,000 miles per second. Changing the gap to control timing is nonsense in that term. The gap will have an affect on the amount of energy required to 'jump' the gap. The spark across the spark plug's electrodes forms a small kernel of flame approximately the size of the spark plug gap. As it grows in size, its heat output increases, which allows it to grow at an accelerating rate, expanding rapidly through the combustion chamber. This growth is due to the travel of the flame front through the combustible fuel air mix itself, and due to turbulence which rapidly stretches the burning zone into a complex of fingers of burning gas that have a much greater surface area than a simple spherical ball of flame would have. (a)
A spark gap consists of an arrangement of two conducting electrodes separated by a gap usually filled with a gas such as air, designed to allow an electric spark to pass between the conductors. When the voltage difference between the conductors exceeds the breakdown voltage of the gas within the gap, a spark forms, ionizing the gas and drastically reducing its electrical resistance. An electric current then flows until the path of ionized gas is broken or the current reduces below a minimum value called the "holding current". This usually happens when the voltage drops, but in some cases occurs when the heated gas rises, stretching out and then breaking the filament of ionized gas. Usually, the action of ionizing the gas is violent and disruptive, often leading to sound (ranging from a snap for a spark plug to thunder for a lightning discharge), light and heat.
Spark gaps were used historically in early electrical equipment, such as spark gap radio transmitters, electrostatic machines, and X-ray machines. Their most widespread use today is in spark plugs to ignite the fuel in internal combustion engines, but they are also used in lightning arresters and other devices to protect electrical equipment from high-voltage transients. (b)
Modified engines with higher compression or forced induction will typically require smaller electrode gap settings (to ensure ignitability in these denser air/fuel mixtures) as the voltage requirement at the electrode gap is increased due to higher combustion pressures. As a rule, the more power you are making, the smaller the gap you will need. (c)
Bottom line, .005" is not going to make a huge difference. Better to leave the gap at .030" than risk damaging the ground electrode.
(a) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_knocking
(b) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spark_gap
(c)http://www.ngk.com.au/spark-plugs/technical-information/electrode-gap
A spark gap consists of an arrangement of two conducting electrodes separated by a gap usually filled with a gas such as air, designed to allow an electric spark to pass between the conductors. When the voltage difference between the conductors exceeds the breakdown voltage of the gas within the gap, a spark forms, ionizing the gas and drastically reducing its electrical resistance. An electric current then flows until the path of ionized gas is broken or the current reduces below a minimum value called the "holding current". This usually happens when the voltage drops, but in some cases occurs when the heated gas rises, stretching out and then breaking the filament of ionized gas. Usually, the action of ionizing the gas is violent and disruptive, often leading to sound (ranging from a snap for a spark plug to thunder for a lightning discharge), light and heat.
Spark gaps were used historically in early electrical equipment, such as spark gap radio transmitters, electrostatic machines, and X-ray machines. Their most widespread use today is in spark plugs to ignite the fuel in internal combustion engines, but they are also used in lightning arresters and other devices to protect electrical equipment from high-voltage transients. (b)
Modified engines with higher compression or forced induction will typically require smaller electrode gap settings (to ensure ignitability in these denser air/fuel mixtures) as the voltage requirement at the electrode gap is increased due to higher combustion pressures. As a rule, the more power you are making, the smaller the gap you will need. (c)
Bottom line, .005" is not going to make a huge difference. Better to leave the gap at .030" than risk damaging the ground electrode.
(a) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_knocking
(b) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spark_gap
(c)http://www.ngk.com.au/spark-plugs/technical-information/electrode-gap
user_deleted
Well-known member
if you want to get really wacky you can always "index" the plugs when you install them in your buell. but then again i've also done that on several occasions....took alot of patience and time to do it correctly...and found no measurable gains in anything to speak of.
Chicknstripn
Well-known member
I'm not getting sucked into this oil thread like blackhole!
This has been extremely informative. I thank logix an lunatic for taking the time to share their wisdom. I know .005 of an inch is nothing but some of us get a little too caught up in perfectionism.
From here on out, my iridium plugs go straight from the box to the bike!
This has been extremely informative. I thank logix an lunatic for taking the time to share their wisdom. I know .005 of an inch is nothing but some of us get a little too caught up in perfectionism.
From here on out, my iridium plugs go straight from the box to the bike!
From here on out, my iridium plugs go straight from the box to the bike!
good to hear, especially since your wife would probably have to gap them for you right now gimp. LOL. JK DevilDog.
if you want to get really wacky you can always "index" the plugs when you install them in your buell
I used to do this on a big block pro-gas Camaro I had back in the 80's. What a pain in the ass. Had to make a jig to match the head to determine the index washer thickness. You always manage to bring back fond memories John. LOl
good to hear, especially since your wife would probably have to gap them for you right now gimp. LOL. JK DevilDog.
if you want to get really wacky you can always "index" the plugs when you install them in your buell
I used to do this on a big block pro-gas Camaro I had back in the 80's. What a pain in the ass. Had to make a jig to match the head to determine the index washer thickness. You always manage to bring back fond memories John. LOl
Chicknstripn
Well-known member
Everytime you old heads knock the dust off your crusty knowledge vaults it reminds me of why this has become the only Buell forum I truly belong to. It also makes me aware of how much I don't really know!
I appreciate the fact that you guys answer these threads in a manner that is not too condescending or down right rude and disrespectful. This forum does a great job using more fact than attitude to set things straight. It also humbles me when I realize I don't know nearly as much as I think I do! I believe alot of us "younger" Buellers know a lot less about motors than we think we do.
I appreciate the fact that you guys answer these threads in a manner that is not too condescending or down right rude and disrespectful. This forum does a great job using more fact than attitude to set things straight. It also humbles me when I realize I don't know nearly as much as I think I do! I believe alot of us "younger" Buellers know a lot less about motors than we think we do.
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user_deleted
Well-known member
from a geezer who has pretty much seen it all.....don't sell yourself short. you have helped a ton of guys on here thru the years with a wealth of great knowledge and insight. this board is a much better place with you being active on it. i on the other hand am outstanding at providing info on distributor points.....condensors....carb jetting.....426 Hemi V-8 care and tuning. all info that has become completely useless this century. LOL LOL
Amen to that chicknstipn, you hit the nail on the head.
i on the other hand am outstanding at providing info on distributor points.....condensors....carb jetting.....426 Hemi V-8 care and tuning. all info that has become completely useless this century. LOL LOL
A lost art for sure. John, I have so much respect for the knowledge that you give here. The damn thing wont let me give you any more rep points. LOL
Everytime you old heads knock the dust off your crusty knowledge vaults
As I am sure that Lunatic will agree, all that knowledge comes from the school of hard knocks and much much thinner wallets.
A lost art for sure. John, I have so much respect for the knowledge that you give here. The damn thing wont let me give you any more rep points. LOL
Everytime you old heads knock the dust off your crusty knowledge vaults
As I am sure that Lunatic will agree, all that knowledge comes from the school of hard knocks and much much thinner wallets.
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rchuff
Well-known member
Nice write up mrlogix. :up: on the other page. I tried to give you and john rep points but this new forum crap will not let me either.
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The interweb almost makes it too easy. A lot of good info out there if you have the time to do your homework boys and girls.
http://www.msdperformance.com/ignitioninfo/ignition.html
http://www.iceignition.com/ignition-theory
http://www.fme-cat.com/training-center.aspx#
http://www.msdperformance.com/ignitioninfo/ignition.html
http://www.iceignition.com/ignition-theory
http://www.fme-cat.com/training-center.aspx#
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