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- Spark plugs with high heat dispersal are referred to as cold, while plugs with less heat-dissipating characteristics are known as hot.
www.championautoparts.com/Technical/Tech-Tips/choosing-the-right-spark-plug-heat-range.htmlChoosing the Right Spark Plug Heat Range - Champion Auto Parts
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A spark plug's heat range is the degree to which it disperses heat. Find out what the appropriate heat range is for your particular spark plug!
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What is Spark Plug Heat Range? A spark plug’s heat range is...
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May 11, 2018 · Hot vs. Cold Spark Plugs. Let’s first define what is a hot versus a cold plug. Looking at a spark plug center ceramic insulator, if the area between the ceramic and the spark plug outer steel shell is deep, that is a hotter heat range plug.
- Marlan Davis
- 4 min
- Air/Fuel Mixture: Lean air/fuel ratios raise cylinder-head temperatures, requiring a colder plug. Rich air/fuel ratios require a hotter plug to prevent fouling.
- Spark Advance: Ignition timing has one of the greatest effects on heat-range choice. Advancing timing raises combustion temperatures, calling for colder plugs.
- Compression Ratio: Increasing the mechanical compression ratio raises cylinder pressure, resulting in higher cylinder temperatures. The higher the compression ratio, the colder the spark plug needs to be.
- Gasoline Quality: With leaded fuels, the lead is attracted to the hotter (core-nose) part of the plug, causing glazing; running a slightly colder plug helps prevent this.
The spark plug is heated during combustion and must dissipate that heat to the cylinder head at a certain rate to avoid overheating the ceramic firing end. The spark plug heat range only indicates the rate that the spark plug dissipates its firing end heat to the engine.
- Spark Plug Basics
- NGK Spark Plug Heat Rating
- Heat Rating and Heat Flow Path of NGK Spark Plugs
- Causes of Carbon Fouling
- Pre-Delivery Fouling
- Causes of Overheating
- Tip Temperature and Firing End Appearance
- Types of Abnormal Combustion
The primary function of the spark plug is to ignite the air-fuel mixture within the combustion chamber under any operating condition. Spark plugs must provide a path and a location for electrical energy from the ignition coil to create a spark used to ignite the air-fuel mixture. A sufficient amount of voltage must be supplied by the ignition syste...
The spark plug heat range has no relationship to the electrical energy transferred through the spark plug. The heat range of a spark plug is the range in which the plug works well thermally. The heat rating of each NGK spark plug is indicated by a number; lower numbers indicate a hotter type, higher numbers indicate a colder type.
Some basic structural factors affecting the heat range of a spark plug are: 1. Surface area and/or length of the insulator nose 2. Thermal conductivity of the insulator, center electrode, etc. 3. Structure of the center electrode such as a copper core, etc. 4. Relative position of the insulator tip to the end of the shell (projection) The major str...
Continuous low-speed driving and/or short tripsSpark plug heat range too coldAir-fuel mixture too richReduced compression and oil usage due to worn piston rings/cylinder wallsCarbon fouling occurs when the spark plug firing end does not reach the self-cleaning temperature of approximately 450°C (842°F). Carbon deposits will begin to burn off from the insulator nose when the self-cleaning temperature is reached. When the heat range is too cold for the engine speed, the firing end temperature will stay below 450°C and car...
Spark plug heat range too hotInsufficient tightening torque and/or no gasketOver-advanced ignition timingFuel octane rating too low (knock is present)There are many external influences that can affect the operating temperature of a spark plug. The following is a brief list to consider in avoiding reduced performance and/or expensive engine damage.
Pre-ignition
1. Pre-ignition occurs when the air-fuel mixture is ignited by a hot object/area in the combustion chamber before the timed spark event occurs. 2. When the spark plug firing end (tip) temperature exceeds 800°C, pre-ignition originating from the overheated insulator ceramic can occur. 3. It is most often caused by the wrong (too hot) heat range spark plug, and/or over-advanced ignition timing. An improperly installed (insufficient torque) spark plug can also result in pre-ignition due to inade...
Knock
1. Occurs when part of the air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber, away from the spark plug, is spontaneously ignited by the pressure from a flame front originating from the spark plug. The two colliding flame fronts contribute to the “knocking” sound. 2. Knock occurs more frequently when using low octane fuel. Low octane fuel has a low resistance to knock (low resistance to ignition). 3. Knock is related to ignition timing. (Knock is sometimes referred to as “spark knock.”) Retarding the...
Misfires
1. A misfire occurs when the spark travels the path of least resistance instead of jumping across the gap. Misfires can be caused by the following: 1.1. Carbon fouling 1.2. Worn or deteriorated ignition system components 1.3. Too large of gap size 1.4. Spark timing excessively advanced or retarded 1.5. Damaged spark plugs (cracked insulator, melted electrodes, etc.) 1.6. Mismatched ignition system components (plug resistance/wire resistance, ignition coils/igniter modules, etc.) 1.7. Insuffic...
A hot spark plug maintains a higher internal operating temperature to burn off oil and carbon deposits, and has no relationship to spark quality or intensity. Conversely, a cold spark plug has a shorter insulator nose and absorbs more combustion chamber heat.
Jun 28, 2024 · The heat range of a spark plug refers to its ability to dissipate heat from the combustion chamber, with lower numbers indicating hotter plugs and higher numbers representing colder plugs.
