[B]I'm looking for advice on what plugs to run now that I'm throwing in New Cams. Cams are Comp XE278AH. The stock plugs are platinum and I've been told to go with one step cooler NGK Copper "V"plugs what do you think?

 

autolite copper. 103's or 104's IIRC. Colder if you have a poweradder.

 

Damn, Comp 278's!!! Thats a nasty nasty cam! Do you plan on doing more racing than street driving?

 

Just go with some NGK TR6 gapped at .035. Theyre great for all around use with N/A, n20, and Blown engines. They are one step colder and they run great!

 

NGK tr-55 they are stock heat rang and a great replacememt plug. That or the autolites would be my two choices.

 

I did have the TR55's and they worked great but now i have the TR55GP just for longevity though.

 

I personally have Autolites as mentioned above but everyone is right with NGK or Autolite. They seem to be great plugs.

 

Why would you lessen the gap when your running NA?

 

Because the difference is not noticeable if you run a wider gap. There is no SOTP increase in power. I mean sure if you want you can run a larger gap, im sure it wouldnt hurt the motor as thats what its supposed to run with.

With the summer heat coming up and most guys running 87 octane due to gas prices, I think .035 is the way to go. Just my opinion.

 

The car can run rougher w/ the lesser gap. But honestlly, theres really no reason IMO to run a lesser gap w/ out a power adder

 

Yea I used the Autolite 103's and the car definately idled worse. It wasnt really bad but it was noticeable. The, I switched to the NGK TR6 plugs and then it idled just like stock. Its a nice smooth idle. I guess the NGKs are cleaner burning than the Autolites.

 

I thought the .035 gap was 2 steps colder.

 

I don't think its the gap that makes the plugs colder

 

Autolite 764 and stock n/a gap is around 052

 

the gap does not change the heat rang of a plug. The reason you make the gap smaller with a power adder is becuase the spark cna get blown out from extra air etc...

 

OK kiddos, time for a spark plug lesson:

Spark plugs have two purposes:

1 - To make spark

2 - To cool the compression chamber.

That's right, plugs have a very important role of drawing heat away from the compression chamber.

Plugs with colder heat ranges, draw more heat away.

The rule of thumb is to run the coldest possible plug w/o causing them to foul. If plugs are too cold, you will not burn all the carbon off the plugs properly and they get fouled. As you drop in heat range rating, you may at first have cold start issues and then as you drop in heat range frurther, you will eventually have problems running even when up to temp.

The advantage of running colder plugs is that you will minimize the chance of having pre-ignition, can advance timing further, and you will make more power.

Power adders require colder plugs! When n/a, you can also use colder plugs. They help, just not as much. You may also have problems passing emmisions if they use a sniffer where you live.

Now, gap and heat range are two different things. If you run n/a, going with a smaller gap will result in a performance loss. If you are n/a, stick with 0.54. If you have a power adder, you need to tighten it up to prevent the spark from being blown out and getting a missfire.

 

So running n/a with the one step colder NGK TR6's you want to still gap at .052-.056, correct? Also would you recommend these over stock motorcraft plug fors n/a?

 

Yes, I plan on racing alot more and I only drive my Stang during the good weather months and not really that far.

 

Why would you gap them @.035 when the book calls for .052-.056?

 

If you run a colder plug, you would use the stock gap rating.

The choice is yours....the nice thing about using the Ford platinums is you do not have to change them but every 50k miles. I fyou want to user a colder copper plug, then you will have to pull them about every 10k miles....maybe longer on an N/A car.

Try them if you want. Either way, you will not notice a big difference. If it were me, I would go with the colder plugs. I have used them on mine for 2 years.

 

Never mind it's early and I didn't read all the responses. Thanks for the info. I'm going to install the NGK TR6's @ .052:clap:

 

Actually, Ford plugs are meant to last 100k miles. lol

 

I know SHM recommends .035 for N/A and .032 for Power Adders. I set mine at .052 though

 

only the double platinums, single plats are good for @60k and coppers are good for @30k. N/A cars should run a gap between .048 to .052 and even on stock or slightly modded Mustangs, 1 step down from the stock heat range is what I recommend to my customers. Ford puts in a plug from the factory that works well under normal driving conditions. problem is, I don't know anyone who drives thier Mustang "normal"


wth all that being said, I recommend Motorcraft AGSF-22C for stock or mild 'Stangs and the AWSFA-12C for P/A cars and anything else, I use & recommend Champions.

 

Wow, I just got schooled. thanks for the info.