Best Plugs out there for street perf use? Champion- NGK Iridium IX?

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Re: Best Plugs out there for street perf use? Champion- NGK Iridium IX?

Post by FC-Pilot »

Coloradoracer wrote: Wed Nov 21, 2018 8:36 am I run both Autolite Racing and NGK racing plugs in my stuff. I prefer the NGK when I'm tuning, they are much easier to read than the Autolites. Once engine is happy, I switch to the Autolite because they seem to last a little longer in my junk. They do have a harder electrode and don't erode as fast. Electrode is black though, and cut back, which makes reading the timing a little harder than the NGK. There isn't enough money on this planet to force me to put champion in ANYTHING I own, even my weed whackers and lawn mower. They all have NGK or ND in them now.....Bosch also makes a good plug but not common and harder to find. I understand Brisk plugs are very good but they also come with a substantial price tag. Since there isn't really any performance difference, I see no reason to pay $12+ each for a plug if I'm not getting anything more from it.....
I have had similar experience. I prefer Autolite myself as my ET stays consistent longer with then then the NGK's. The NGK would run .01 faster, but would start to fall off by the end of the day or weekend (depending on how many passes I got in each day). I could take my old Autolite plugs and put them back in and the ET would be right back where it was before. I have not used NGK plugs in my daily drivers as autolites work just fine for me and the price seems to be a little better.

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Re: Best Plugs out there for street perf use? Champion- NGK Iridium IX?

Post by dfarr67 »

I use mostly NGK, wanted to try a heat range cooler so out came the IX in and went V-power, very noticeable idle difference (as in rougher).
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Re: Best Plugs out there for street perf use? Champion- NGK Iridium IX?

Post by Keith Morganstein »

Real NGK are good,
but beware where you purchase them.
There is lots of counterfeit NGK on e ay and elsewhere.
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Re: Best Plugs out there for street perf use? Champion- NGK Iridium IX?

Post by novadude »

What’s the consensus on traditional copper vs fine wire iridium for street performance use?
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Re: Best Plugs out there for street perf use? Champion- NGK Iridium IX?

Post by Alaskaracer »

novadude wrote: Sat Nov 24, 2018 10:38 am What’s the consensus on traditional copper vs fine wire iridium for street performance use?
The advantage to the exotic plugs is that they will last substantially longer than a conventional plug. There is no performance gain. It generally also takes less voltage arc over to jump the gap, making it easier on the ignition. Most of that technology was designed for strict emissions controls, and longevity. People don't maintain their cars like they used to so it was necessary to design something that didn't need the maintenance of a standard plug. Some ignition systems were actually designed to utilize a specific plug, so swapping one out with a different plug can create an issue.

But for standard street performance, it's up to you. There is no magical plug that will all of a sudden give you XXX horsepower increase, XXX fuel economy increase, etc.....That's all marketing BS. Just select a plug from a manufacturer of your choice, ensuring that the heat range is correct for your application, and that it's the correct fitment, and run it.

Do you think the fuel teams and other teams ACTUALLY run the E3 spark plugs in their engines? Nope, they are just being paid to market them.....If they offered an advantage over a regular plug, they would all have them......
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Re: Best Plugs out there for street perf use? Champion- NGK Iridium IX?

Post by DanE1 »

Once upon a time I used to pressure test spark plugs so as to see which brand of spark plug would continue to fire as the pressure increased.
Autolite's would take the most pressure, and AC's the least. And, when I filed the ground strap back to the center of the electrode, the Autolite's would take more pressure. Of course, you can buy them that way now.

My neighbor runs a 632" Camero on nitrous, and could not keep spark plugs working for a meet. I suggested he try racing Autolite's and he told me that it was a "FORD" plug and that would not fly. Well, long story short, he runs Autolite Racing Spark Plugs now and no longer has a problem with spark plugs. :wink:
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Re: Best Plugs out there for street perf use? Champion- NGK Iridium IX?

Post by Geoff2 »

I disagree that there is no performance advantage with exotic plugs. Platinum & Iridium plugs do require less arc over voltage. This means you can increase the gap size for greater exposure of the mixture to the spark.
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Re: Best Plugs out there for street perf use? Champion- NGK Iridium IX?

Post by David Redszus »

There are several factors that should be considered when selecting a spark plug.
Among them are:
heat range
plug reach
electrode design
gap
electrode tip material

Electrode tip maximum temperature will determine plug longevity. The higher the maximum
tip temperature, (melting point) the longer the plug will last.

...........Tip melting temps.......Resistance
Nickel.........2615F........................7.6
Copper .......1949F........................1.77
Silver .........1728F........................1.47
Platinum .....3217F........................9.83
Gold ..........1945F........................2.19
Irridium.......4447F........................5.3

A lower resistance value will allow the plug to fire requiring less voltage.
However, the plug air gap is the actual factor that determines firing voltage.

Clearly, all things being equal, silver would be the best electrode tip material for electrical
purposes but not for longevity.
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Re: Best Plugs out there for street perf use? Champion- NGK Iridium IX?

Post by Geoff2 »

Don't know what those resistance number are meant to represent, other than relativity?

Are they for a metre length of a certain diameter for each metal?

The resistance of the of the centre electrode is going to be a fraction of an ohm. So when you add up the resistance of the leads [ hundreds/thousands of ohms ], the coil secondary winding, rotor air gap if rotor used, plug gap, resistance of the resistor in the plug if it is a resistor plug, the resistance of the electrode is inconsequential.
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Re: Best Plugs out there for street perf use? Champion- NGK Iridium IX?

Post by n2xlr8n »

NGK or Autolite for this cat.

Copper in nitrous engines, Iridium in everything else.
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Re: Best Plugs out there for street perf use? Champion- NGK Iridium IX?

Post by David Redszus »

Geoff2 wrote: Wed Nov 28, 2018 4:20 am Don't know what those resistance number are meant to represent, other than relativity?

Are they for a metre length of a certain diameter for each metal?

The resistance of the of the centre electrode is going to be a fraction of an ohm. So when you add up the resistance of the leads [ hundreds/thousands of ohms ], the coil secondary winding, rotor air gap if rotor used, plug gap, resistance of the resistor in the plug if it is a resistor plug, the resistance of the electrode is inconsequential.
Resistance is governed by several factors: material, length, area
and temperature. Wire resistance is proportional to wire length and
temperature, and inversely proportional to cross-sectional area.

Resistance (Ω) = ρ x L x T / A

The resistance units for the materials indicated above are micro ohms * cm.
They most certainly are merely relative to each other.

Given that plug wires and connector resistance will be about 8-10 K ohms, total resistance will be dwarfed
by air gaps at the rotor and plug gap. Total resistance will be on the order of mega ohms.
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Re: Best Plugs out there for street perf use? Champion- NGK Iridium IX?

Post by gruntguru »

Specific resistance or "resistivity" is a material property.
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Re: Best Plugs out there for street perf use? Champion- NGK Iridium IX?

Post by cjperformance »

digger wrote: Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:08 pm I've used champion plugs in my lawn mower for decades. Hope this helps
What altitude are you at, does it run AV Gas?
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Re: Best Plugs out there for street perf use? Champion- NGK Iridium IX?

Post by digger »

cjperformance wrote: Thu Nov 29, 2018 12:03 am
digger wrote: Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:08 pm I've used champion plugs in my lawn mower for decades. Hope this helps
What altitude are you at, does it run AV Gas?
Grass doesn't grow as well at 15000ft and Avgas doesn't work at sealevel....
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Re: Best Plugs out there for street perf use? Champion- NGK Iridium IX?

Post by cjperformance »

digger wrote: Thu Nov 29, 2018 12:57 am
cjperformance wrote: Thu Nov 29, 2018 12:03 am
digger wrote: Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:08 pm I've used champion plugs in my lawn mower for decades. Hope this helps
What altitude are you at, does it run AV Gas?
Grass doesn't grow as well at 15000ft and Avgas doesn't work at sealevel....
:lol: =D>
Craig.
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