cleaning spark plugs?

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Rapid Robert

Rapid Robert

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I have always glass beaded em with that sock tool where you stick the plug in the side then shop air then blow em off well with air. this vid says that beads can get lodged but I am not seeing any crevice in there which would do that, looks like a curved transition from the insulator to the shell. they say use shop torch (mapp gas iirc). what do you guys think? thank you for your time. RR
 
I too have the sock. I sometimes just spray with starting fluid hold with vice grips and light it up with the torch. Not saying I'm right though.
 
Really goys. For what a set of plugs cost. Even back, wayyy back when I first started in a gas station, we had a Champion spark plug cleaning machine I never ever saw it used. Just a slightest mark or pit will create a hot spot and pre-ignition. And with unleaded gas and today's ignition systems they last a long time. Are your pistons worth it.
 
LO23M8B said:
Really goys. For what a set of plugs cost. Even back, wayyy back when I first started in a gas station, we had a Champion spark plug cleaning machine I never ever saw it used. Just a slightest mark or pit will create a hot spot and pre-ignition. And with unleaded gas and today's ignition systems they last a long time. Are your pistons worth it.
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This. Spark plugs are cheap. Don't you be.

I've seen the bead blast grit get wedged down between the insulator and threaded body. More than once in fact. So I buy new plugs and I STILL inspect them.
 
Hot fire ignitions will burn a carboned spark plug clean.

Especially when gapped at .050 ths.

Just get the oil off them....



20250308_034823.jpg


.035 ths hot fire ignition

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.050 ths. plug gap

Now with the hot fire ignitions it is burning the air/fuel mixture faster and it turn it is actually advancing your timing.

The advance burn has been figuring out to be 4° BTDC. So if the factory setting is 12° BTDC, back it down to 8° BTDC with the hot fire ignition and with the plugs gapped at .050 ths.

Right on, you will even see a cleaner tailpipe.



☆☆☆☆☆
 
George Jets said:
Now with the hot fire ignitions it is burning the air/fuel mixture faster and it turn it is actually advancing your timing.

The advance burn has been figuring out to be 4° BTDC. So if the factory setting is 12° BTDC, back it down to 8° BTDC with the hot fire ignition and with the plugs gapped at .050 ths.
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what?

explain how this works, precisely. and what a "hot fire" ignition is.
 
At $86 a plug for aircraft plugs and two per cylinder, they get cleaned and cleaned for YEARS and Years... OH car plugs, throw the fawkers out!
 
I change the plugs every time I change the oil.
When I lived at home years ago it was every 2 weeks after pay day, that and a tank load of hi-test and I was good to go.
Now it's every time I get the itch, usually 3 times a summer.
Plugs and oil, the cheapest and most important part of maintenance, that's what dad told me anyway.
 
I'll add, same plugs are in the 440 in my Superbird that I installed on 1990! Starts on the 2nd crank after months of storage and runs like a top. Why mess with something that has nothing wrong.... :poke:
 
I hit mine with the wire brush on the bench grinder sometimes.
 
If it makes any difference in quaility, Champions are made in France, NGK's are Japanese..

I think my Mother in law worked in a Champion spark plug factory in Midland Ontario, closed in 1969/70.
 
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I agree with just change them if there dirty in a car. But I always clean them in my lawnmowers and snow blowers unless they are really bad.As for changing them every oil change? Naw.
 
Cleaning a plug is one thing, but (depending on the brand) the plug is worn out long before it fouls.

In this order:

Champion; the softest plug. Easiest to fire under most circumstances. Also the easiest to read (for me and for those who don’t just look at the deposits on the plug) of all of them.

NGK; the middle of the road plug. Harder than a Champion but softer than an Autolite. Somewhat harder to read, but certain plugs have some details that show detonation pretty easily before you really start to see the “normal” signs of detonation.

Autolite; the hardest plug of all three, and by far the hardest to read. Wears forever, but it makes it harder to see weak ignition, spark mark and things like that.

If you are a cheap skate and don’t read plugs, the Autolite is a bargain. It will outlast the NGK’s by a bit and the Champion by wide margin. The Autolite has the least accurate cross reference but those are a guesstimation anyway.

Most guys run the NGK because marketing. Easier to read than an Autolite but has the ridiculous heat range numbering where a colder plug has a HIGHER number and street plugs and race plugs use the same heat range numbers.

Champion plugs are the softest of the three. This makes them easy to read but they need to be changed more often. They also are the easiest to fire because they are the softest. They wear out much quicker. If you don’t want to change plugs (some engine/chassis combinations are so horrible to change plugs I’d never use anything but an Autolite because I hate working on stuff that is miserable to do standard maintenance on) then use the Autolite.

I use Champions and have since 1972 when I started riding dirt bikes. I still use them today.

I can read them easier. You can see the sharp edges smoothing out. When the sharp edges are gone, plug performance goes down.

You can clearly see spark mark so you can easily (relatively speaking) judge ignition performance.

You can see spark mark on the NGK but it takes longer. It takes forever to see on an Autolite.

The upshot is, depending on which brand you are using, cleaning the plug might be the least of your worries.

To that end, you are far better off getting the tune up in line than cleaning plugs.
 
Newbomb Turk said:
I use Champions and have since 1972 when I started riding dirt bikes. I still use them today.
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We can disagree on Champions. In my opinion Champions are garbage. I only use them in "garden" equipment. Mainly because they are the only readily available plug in my area for this application. In my NA engines I mainly use Autolites. In my "power added" engines I use NGK.
 
Charrlie_S said:
We can disagree on Champions. In my opinion Champions are garbage. I only use them in "garden" equipment. Mainly because they are the only readily available plug in my area for this application. In my NA engines I mainly use Autolites. In my "power added" engines I use NGK.
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And yet, I use them in everything. Hmmmmmmm…
 
Rapid Robert said:
I have always glass beaded em with that sock tool where you stick the plug in the side then shop air then blow em off well with air. this vid says that beads can get lodged but I am not seeing any crevice in there which would do that, looks like a curved transition from the insulator to the shell. they say use shop torch (mapp gas iirc). what do you guys think? thank you for your time. RR
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Those cleaners have their place. If you have badly sooted or fuel fouled plugs it can be a good tool for cleaning those plugs off enough to get everything fixed, repaired, tuned up etc. and running well and then install a fresh new set of plugs. I don't think I would ever suggest people go out and buy that cleaner but you already have one this is how I would use it. One a well tuned engine in a street car the sparks plugs will last a good long time before they erode enough to justify replacing.
 
I was a champion man forever in my mopar's but somewhere along the line quality control went to crap which makes them hit and miss in my opinion. I got one box of them about 15 years ago the electrodes were so soft I probably could have gapped it with my thumb okay that's an exaggeration but it was enough that I moved away from champions and never went back. I just found Autolites to be more consistent. I've always used ngk's in my bikes and imports. As far as cleaning your plugs whatever works for you man!
 
As long as the edges on the electrodes have good, sharp square edges and they are not rounded off, the plug is still good. Clean it and go.
 
RustyRatRod said:
As long as the edges on the electrodes have good, sharp square edges and they are not rounded off, the plug is still good. Clean it and go.
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This^^^^^^^^^^. But how many guys even look at the edges of the ground wire? Or the center wire?

An Autolite will probably go 20k even with a very good ignition before you see wear on the edges.

A Champion you might get, maybe 5k. My last set went about 2k ish and I replaced them, but I run a big ignition (too much according to the whiz bang in gym shorts guys) so I know and expect that.

When I was drag racing a plug went 12-15 passes and they were used up.

But that was with a mag that was almost 5 amps at 2500 rpm. At 8500-8800 rpm I have no idea what it made but my best bet was 8 amps.

That eats the edges right off the plug.
 
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