NGK's
 

I have heard on several occasions that the NGK TR6 4177 is suppose to be a colder plug that stock. I'm not seeing that as you can see in the pic below. It burns leaner than any plug that I have tried so far. The pic below illustrates the burn of all 3 plugs under normal drive conditions not WOT. I still need to see what they look like at WOT. So far they are better that stock and the 103's but not as snappy as the Splits. I can see where you would see a difference going from stock plugs to the NGK's. So far I like them but I am puzzled by their leaness after expecting a colder plug. I found them at Carquest for $1.80 each.

http://home.midsouth.rr.com/lightnin...ges/3plugs.jpg

Chuck,
I have posted about this several times about the ngk tr6 4177 plugs that i had detonation problems with them after install but had none before i took other plugs out!These plugs are not that great in my opinion because they made my truck run leaner than my splits and stockers!Everyone runs these plugs just like everyone runs the open filter issue being faster (whatever)so its going to be hard to convince people that these plugs run leaner since they claim to be 1 step colder!

Matt

Silver 01
12.85
109.40

Matt,

I did not experience any detonation and the seem to run good. My MPH was down at the track but it's hard for me to believe it's plug related. As you can see a picture is worth a thousand words and that pic says a lot. I need to see what they look like after several WOT blast. They got rid of most all the miss I was experiencing at 1600 - 1800 RPM's in second and drive at light throttle. This could also be done by bring the cruise timing down a little.

Jim said last week he was thinking about doing a tune on his 01 with Splits to see the results. That would be interesting to have a chip tuned to the plug like most tune to the NGK. BTW, the second set of Splits I pulled out with 6,000 miles looked just as perfect as the first set that had 8,000 miles on them. I think it's race programs with the wrong mix of fuel and lean Nitrous conditions that get these plugs everytime.

High Roller:
 

Do you mean "one step colder" than the stock plugs, or "one step colder" than the next NGK?

I may be wrong, but I don't think you can compare cold/hot between brands?

Dan

Dan,

1 step colder than the stock Autolite platinum plugs. The 103's and Splits seem to burn pretty close to the stock plugs.

http://home.midsouth.rr.com/lightnin...ges/plugs2.jpg

I just put my tr6's back in today and gapped them at .040 instead of .044 like the first time.It had been reported that these plugs gave better throttle response than stock[bull****] As a matter a fact i can't get the first to second scratch with these p.o.s. plugs and i have a miss since installing them for the second time.The stock plugs are better than these, whatever the gap.Matt i agree i get sick of some of the bull**** misinformation i been reading on the boards lately.Tuner recomended or not ,these plugs suck big time on my truck,the stocks are fine but i am going back to the splits.

Everything you ever wanted to know about spark plugs but were afraid to ask.http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/sparkplugs.html.

Gapping can change the performance of a plug. Two or more electrodes makes no difference because electricity ALWAYS follows the path of least resistance. Snake oil plugs like the split fire come around every generation to milk the unwary. They had them back in the 50's in the J.C. Whitney catologs.

After looking at several sets of plugs out of Lightnings and knowing what I know (about how they run very rich) a HOTTER not colder plug would be performance enhancement if it is not mitigated by the computer.

noelvm

Snake oil to you noel,not to those like myself that have had six different plugs in there truck the best by far being the splits,second place belonging to stock platinums. Splitfires are supposed to be hotter than stock,hence better perfomance [in your words] not snake oil,that would be the tourqemasters and the ngk''s.If you have not tried them then you no squat.

Oh great I just spent 3hrs installing NGK's. Now that they are in I plan to run them and see how the perform. I just did a test drive and they felt fine. No detonation and no loss of throttle response. Still lay mucho rubber on the 1-2 shift. Time will tell. The factory plugs I took out look ok. All very even color except the second one in on the passenger side. It had a leaner look to it. The gaps ranged from .043-.045 after 12k miles. I gaped the NGK's at .042.

OK guys now that I have been through spark plug hell. How do you put yourselves through 2-3-4 or more plug changes. After I got done I told my wife I will sell the truck when it needs plugs again. LOL. You guy must have a secrete to doing this hellish job.

Silver-Bolt,practice makes the passenger side and front two on the drivers side go pretty easy,but the two on the back drivers side.,[you know the one's] are never easy, this is why i was so dissapointed in the ngks,the second time around.Going back to the splits will be my 8th install with one being done by ford for 150.00 and it took them an hour.I can do the first 6 plugs in 35-40 minutes,but it takes at least that long for me to do the last two if not more. LTNBOLT's helpful tool list helps. I have a brother inlaw [non ford mechanic] that takes 2 hours to do a regular 5.4 so anyone doing them in that amount of time or less is doing good.

I would agree that if the split is a hotter plug, therein lies your performance gain; however, I would argue that any single electrode plug hotter than the factory plug should also give you increased performance. Also gap is IMPORTANT.

Since the gap size has a direct affect on the spark plugs' tip temperature and on the voltage necessary to ionize (light) the air/fuel mixture, careful attention is required. While it is a popular misconception that plugs are pre-gapped from the factory, the fact remains that the gap must be adjusted for the vehicle that the spark plug is intended for.

A spark plug's voltage requirement is directly proportionate to the gap size. The larger the gap, the more voltage is needed to bridge the gap. Most experienced tuners know that opening gaps up to present a larger spark to the air/fuel mixture, maximizing burn efficiency. It is for this reason that most racers add high power ignition systems. The added power allows them to open the gap, yet still provide a strong spark.

With this in mind, many think the larger the gap the better. In fact, some after-market ignition systems boast that their systems can tolerate gaps that are extreme, be wary of such claims. In most cases, the largest gap you can run may still be smaller than you think.

What is the best gap for our ignition system or to put it another way what is the largest gap we can put on our plugs and still have them fire consistantly at all RPMs. Sounds like a good expleriment for a bench engine since changing plugs in these trucks is so difficult. I know several that have gapped the TR 6s at .44 with good results. Several at .40 didn't seem to run as well.

noelvm

I think it depends on the truck. Mine missed with the Splitfires but not with the stockers or NGK's

Silver
Like some things in life ya just got to make youfself do it. It takes me about 1 hour to change, gap and inspect plugs, and no loss of skin either.

I think you should consult with your tuner about plugs and chips.

Mike

more info you may not want to know about

Many of the more popular after-market ignition systems are of the capacitive discharge type. They store voltage, or accumulate it, until a point at which a trigger signal allows release of this more powerful spark. Companies like Mallory, MSD, Crane and Accel, to name a few, offer such systems.

They affect spark plugs in that they allow the gaps to be opened up to take advantage of the increased capacity. The theory is that the larger and the more intense the spark you are able to present to the air/fuel mixture, the more likely you will be to burn more fuel, and hence the more power you will make. We encourage the use of such systems, but only on modified or older non-computer controlled vehicles.

In reality, computer controlled vehicles do such a good job of lighting off the air/fuel mixture (as evidence by the ultra-low emissions), added ignition capacity would do little to burn more fuel since the stock configuration is doing such a good job. Older non-computer controlled vehicles or those that have been modified with higher compression or boosted (nitrous, turbo, supercharged) engines can certainly take advantage of a more powerful ignition system.

A heat range refers to how much heat a spark plug is capable of removing from the combustion chamber. Remember, spark plugs DO NOT create heat.

Selecting a spark plug with the proper heat range will ensure that the tip will maintain a temperature

high enough to prevent fouling, yet be cool enough to prevent pre-ignition.

While there are many other things that can cause pre-ignition, selecting the proper heat range spark plug will ensure that the spark plug itself is not a hot-spot source.

For NGK Spark Plugs, every heat range colder translates into the ability to remove 70-100 degrees Celsius more heat.

As a rule of thumb, every time you increase compression by one point, or for every 75-100 hp you add, go at least one step colder. Remember, it is better to go colder than is thought necessary. The worst that can happen in this scenario is that the plugs will foul out. If you inadvertently select a heat range that is too hot, the resulting pre-ignition and detonation can cause serious engine damage.

noelvm

The point be is the Splits are not hotter. They burn closer to the same colors of the stock plug than the NGK's. The NGK's are way leaner any way you slice or dice it. If your truck runs fine with them then I wouldn't worry about it. Mine runs fine but as you can see some don't. I'm a little leary about running that lean in daily driving but not at WOT. You don't run WOT all the time but cruising down the road you don't want to burn a valve or piston. Burning a light tan is considered the perfect color for normal engine speeds. There is an old saying the leaner the meaner til you blow. Take that word of advice because apparently it's happened a few times to people on this board.

Silver-Bolt if it runs fine don't worry about it. Just keep a watchful eye on them. I do this with all the plugs I run no matter what brand. You know after changing them that the one to check is the passenger side front plug, LOL.

P.S. The NGK has a V notch in the center electrode for 2 paths of fire. I would say that's a gimmick wouldn't you. Noel you are right there will be only one spark following the least path of resistance.