JDM_DC4_Fanatic

I recently attended an NGK products training seminar for work. My boss sends us to a hand full of product clinics every year to keep us up to date on the newest products.

The speaker showed us a few interesting things about their plugs, wires and O2 sensors. One thing that I thought would really help alot of the guys on here, is about fuel economy.

I'm not sure about the United States, but here in Canada(eastern) the government mandates that a percentage of ethanol is to be added to the gasoline to reduce emissions. What does this mean? It means that our cars are running lean(Hotter) in an attempt to reduce tail pipe emissions. The computer tries to adjust this by increasing the volume of fuel going to the injectors. However, the ethanol still burns much hotter, which can create extreme lean conditions. Many of us need to have our cars Emission Tested (smoged) and Honda's are notorious for running high levels of NoX.

So, our cars are already running lean because of the ethanol in the fuel, then someone goes and adds an intake to the car, which further increases the amount of air going in. The computer tries to compensate by adding more fuel, but once the fuel trim level is peaked out, and more air is still coming in, you cant stop the lean condition.

So, what does this have to do with spark plugs? Most of our engines werent designed to run with ethanol in the fuel, so the spark plug was designed to a specific way the car was ment to be run, and with a particular grade of fuel. years later, the fuel changed, and so should your spark plugs. This does not apply to cars built from 2006+.

The solution to this is to change your plus that you run. Whats recommend is to use an Iridium plug, however, the gaping also needs to be changed. Most cars need to go to a 1 step colder plug, and close the gap my .010" (10 thou).

We were all given spark plug listing books, so I will list off what the OEM spec plug and gap is, and what is recommended to be installed if you are running ethanol in your gas.

1981-1983 OEM plug# BR6ES - .044" gap Replace with BRP7EIX-11 Gap -.036"

1984-1985 OEM plug# BUR4EB-11 - .044" gap Replace with BRP7EIX-11 Gap -.036"

1986-1989 OEM plug# BRP5EY-11 - .044" gap Replace with BRP6EP-11 Gap - .036"

1990-2002 OEM plug# ZFR5f-11 - .044" gap Replace with PZFR6F-11 Gap - .036"

2003-2005 OEM plug# IZFR6K-11 - .044" gap Replace with IZFR7K-11 Gap - .040"

So, with that said, I will end my rant. I hope that what I shared will help your cars run better, and run longer per tank

jravensc

Thats handy. I'm assuming that changing the spark plugs will help in any motor running ethanol, not just modifides.

JDM_DC4_Fanatic

yes, the plugs should be actually changed for any modification in theory. The plug that is installed in the engine from the factory is designed for the factory engine, and wont necessarily give you the most out of your performance upgrades. Modding your car is like having ethanol in the engine, the plug wasn't designed for that set up. So, it still does its job, now its just a matter of efficiency.

pos_cd5

so how exactly does running a different plug that is 1 step colder and smaller gapped going to help with the lean condition of the engine? you stated that the plug needs to be changed to acomodate the different fuel but you didnt state what it does different.

JDM_DC4_Fanatic

I guess you dont know how a spark plug works. A colder plug wont burn the fuel/air as fast so the flame front is more even, slow burning, and more complete. This gives you more power, less emissions, and better fuel economy.

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

hate to bring it back from the dead but its 2012 and why ngk still lists zr5 for LS motor and ZR6 for vtec motor
we been using ethanol for some time now in our fuels but i cant find anything related to what you posted on their webpage.

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

autozone doesnt even carry those part numbers anymore btw its bkr6e for gsr