I know on cars where the gap is adj. you might be able to pick up a little bit of power by making a larger gap

I know the plugs for the rx7 are not really adj. on the gab

but I was curious if I was able to grind away some of the material on the plug to make for a larger gap could I gain some power or am I putting myself at more risk then anything?

also iridium plugs are not worth it right?

 

are you kidding?

 

+30hp by sparq gapping mad wyd yo !!!11!one!!shift!!11!!

 

ah the joys of sarcasm

do you really think I am out there thinking this is going to gain much hp if any?


this is more for curiousity then anything

and really only at most thinking MAYBE 1-2hp

but if you really feel the need to be childish about the question then by all means be as imature as you wish.

 

+30hp by sparq gapping mad wyd yo !!!11!one!!shift!!11!!



j/k
i dunno, I guess if you were very conscience about your exact hp... You'ld even get some weight reduction If you've got money to burn, hell buy a set of sparkplugs and try it out. Doesn't see very profitable... none the less I wouldn't mind knowing.

Sarcasm is the lowest form of humor. Its all I'm capable of

 

the answer is no

 

or you could try the top secret method of making your car faster on the top end. Step 1: cut a hole in the floor board 5 inches deep. Step 2: to gain more speed just push the gas pedal down 5 more inches through the floor board. Type R now

 

Common guys!
This is a serious question that I for one would like to see reasonable answer!
Airplane engines and race cars have dual spark systems; it would be reasonable to assume that a bigger, hotter spark, could make more power, or are these systems just for security?
If you had two spark plugs igniting at the same time, the flame front would fill the combustion chamber sooner, without travelling any faster (knock). Wouldn't that develop more HP?
So, could making a bigger spark do the same thing?
Could we modify the ignition to spark both plugs at the same time?
Has anyone tried opening up the trailing hole to do this?
Dave

 

Bigger gaps, with a ignition coil/system that can produce the bigger spark (such as a CDI or Jacobs type system) will produce more HP.

It is common to see gains in the 5-7 HP range with the combo of CDI and large plug gap. However, without increasing the gap there would be almost no HP gain, and without the CDI; the stock system can't consistently fire the plug with a gap the size you need for added HP

And using the standard NGK RE plugs you would not be able to gain any HP. Perhaps if you were using Iridium plugs that come gaped larger, or using a conventional plug that can be gapped larger you might be able to milk some gains.

*edit
as a referance my old Toyota RA6 gained about 12 HP when using a bigger re-gapped plug, racing wires and distributer and a CDI system. In that case it was about a 10% HP increase from 4000 up.

 

wow, more than i thought!

 

A great book to read about Spark therory and operation (yet written in laymans terms) is an older book by Chris Jacobs PhD.E.E, The Doctor's Guide to Automotive Ignition.

Although it was based on his design for the Jacobs ignition system and really before the dedicated coil systems became widespread, it goes pretty well into the gains with Sparkplug gap and ignition system design yet in a very basic easy to read format.

 

damn way more then I thought also as far as gains
I figured more emissions then anything and maybe a small gain at most

more or less just have nothing much to do right now so figured I would just dink with things and see what the results are
not like I am really out to get huge gains on anything

just more or less curious about what would happen

 

Knowing mazda, they would have already been maxed out for maxmium spark already, mazda didnt do TOO many stupied things when they made thies cars, except

1. PD
2. Light switch
3. wiper switch
4. rear wiper
4. putting an automatic in the car "D'oh"
5. Rats nest (nuff said).
6. best of all, Overly complex vaccume system.

 

mazda messed up a lot more then that

ignoring the thirdgen

the intake manifold is a bad bad don't even know why they put it out design for the s4
the wastegate on the turbo sucks
the exhuast is prone to rusting out VERY easily
logicon is a mess
the N/A tranny is weak as hell
idiot lights/clock never works
3800rpm issue
no LSD for the sport only TII and GXL, GTU
no alum hood for the sport
stupid trailing arm susp and mcpherson strut design up front
as well as others
still love the car though

and you are prolly right though that the stock plugs are gapped about as much as you want them on a stock ignition system
but they might have also done it a little conservative as many car makers do just to make sure the car runs under less then ideal situations

but with an aftermarket ignition it might be able to open up a little more as is

just trying to figure out how to do so without damaging the plug


got I hate curiousity

 

fyi, electricity always tends to arc from a sharp point, so if you do manage to widen the gap, make sure you keep the corners nice and sharp

 

Actually, electricity tends to take the path of least resistance. Corners dont have much to do with it.

 

I think he means is arcing situations.

In which an electrical arc from one sharp point to another is easier to create, than one from blunt edges.

 

you say the n/a tranny is weak as hell. my buddy kevin is putting over 210hp through his s5 na tranny in his turbo vert. i'm about to try the same thing.

 

I have a s5 n/a tranny in (surprise!) a n/a s5 'vert, it is showing great signs of wear in 3rd gear.

 

ask him how many times it will last dumping the clutch at 5500rpms

even better with DR

and sorry to say it but 210hp isn't that much

 

In general...

Run the biggest gap possible without chance of the spark blowing out.
Run the coldest spark plug range possible without running into fouling problems.

Since FC's run NGK BUR series spark plugs, there is very little chance you can adjust spark gap.


-Ted