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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> "Side Gapping" the plug.
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Message started by scubachef on 03/20/14 at 20:57:26

Title: "Side Gapping" the plug.
Post by scubachef on 03/20/14 at 20:57:26

An old racer's trick is to cut the electrode arm short on a spark plug to make a shorter path for the spark and un-shroud the spark for more complete combustion. Has anyone tried this with the Savage? If so, any difference? I'm going to give it a shot, just thought I would see if there were any words of wisdom out there already. Thanks.

Title: Re: "Side Gapping" the plug.
Post by Serowbot on 03/20/14 at 22:21:27

BS gapping...
So many spark plug myths...
Think about it... once that tiny spark is enough to ignite a pressurized cylinder of fuel,... what will more spark do?...

It's like using a bigger Bic to ignite a bundle of dynamite...
Boom!,... is still Boom!...

It's like trying to get an A+... on a yes/no question...
:-/...

Title: Re: "Side Gapping" the plug.
Post by gizzo on 03/21/14 at 00:23:06

Need to do that side gapping thing on the spark plug of my pulse jet to get it to start. Or shove a lit sparkler up the tailpipe. Neither of which has anything to do with the Savage. It just is.

Title: Re: "Side Gapping" the plug.
Post by Dave on 03/21/14 at 03:22:26

Engine buildiers and spark plug companies spend millions of dollars in reseacrh to get better performance and mileage. If something as simple as "side gapping" a spark plug would help - I do believe that all spark plugs would come side gapped from the factory.

All the information I have ever seen from the engine and spark plug folks show you want nice flat surfaces with square corners.....without any rounding of the electrode edges. The newer plugs with exotic metal tips are long lasting as the metal does not erode and get rounded at the edges.

A standard plug works great in the low rpm and primitive Savage.....an Iridium plug is a couple bucks more and - it works too!

Title: Re: "Side Gapping" the plug.
Post by shorty on 03/21/14 at 04:06:04

I remember installing super duper coils on cars, big-ass spark but no change in performance.. it either ignites, or doesn't

Title: Re: "Side Gapping" the plug.
Post by Steve H on 03/21/14 at 09:07:32

I'm like Shorty...seen people spend lots of money with super everything and not change performance at all. Sometimes a little hotter spark might help ease starting on a hard to start but that's been about it. And, higher voltage seems a little better at really high RPM's. But you'll never see those on a Savage.

Title: Re: "Side Gapping" the plug.
Post by Kris01 on 03/21/14 at 09:15:20

I think what most folks forget about when reading about spark plug modifications is that they are intended for higher compression engines. Our engines are what? 8:1 or 8.5:1 compression? That's plenty low for a standard run of the mill spark plug. No exotic metals or crazy tricks needed.