weired question someone suggested to me that by gapping down the spark plugs it would give me a stronger better spark is this true?
focus rs plugs in a zetec turbo

 

not only stronger, but the right temperature and will also help with missfires, and various other running problems, ive even seen ecus reset due to interference from plugs with too big a gap.

 

During normal operation the spark plug gap would tend to increase due to erosion of the electrode, and with the wider the gap the harder it is to spark across it, but with a narrower gap the faster the plug will wear.
All you need is a enough spark to start the fuel burning.
I would leave the gap as it should be

 

New plugs should NEVER just be thrown in, ALWAYS check the gaps and set them as they are different for many applications. Plus if the plugs have been dropped at any point they may ahve pinched the gap up. You wouldnt put any old grade of engine oil in, just because its wet and slippery, plugs are no different

 

dont suppouse u no wot plug gap a zetec should have wiv focus rs plugs in chaffe as u r so bloody useful
lol u seem to of pretty much helped wiv every problem im havin lol top man

 

Urg not off the top of my head, most gaps should be between .6 and a millimeter. .6 is always a safe bet, but im sure a quick google will tell you the exact size mate

 

could b y my spark is gettin blown out as mine r 1.2 lol useless cu???
shud of checked first

 

Not sure an electrical spark can be blown out! but certainly zetecs use resistor plugs and not conventional ones for sure. What actualy happens is that when boost rises, the air/fuel mix gets denser and it is now harder for the spark to jump the gap. if it is too big then it just wont spark, and you will get a miss fire.

 

The term blown out means it doesn't spark for whatever reason, usually too high a pressure, remember turbo cars have TWO compression ratios not one, the latter CR is the adiabatic CR, that is when under boost, it then needs more energy to jump the same gap as it would without boost.
I don't know about this crap about using "resistor plugs and not conventional", all plugs in any ecu equipped car should be resistor, in fact I can't think of a single engine these days that isn't resistor plugs, emi can knock out ecu's, one of the reasons they are used.
In short just experiment with the gap so long as it sparks under all conditions it is fine.
tabetha

 

well standard 2l zetec plug gap is 1mm, i'd imagine the focus rs mk1 (turbo 2l zetec) would be a bit smaller than this. i'd try 1mm and then 0.8mm and see if it improves.

 

standard gap on the focus rs plugs i had was 1.2 zetec plugs r 1.0 the gap ive found to work best is 0.7 on the focus rs plugs on my setup part of my problem was the actuator was wound most of the way in so way to much boost so ive wound it pretty much all the way out so theres basically no boost but it drives like a non turbo'd car so wen i get a boost gauge tomoroo ill set it up to about 5-6 psi until i get my emerald ecu fitted next week an get it all setup an mapped properly

 

iirc i gapped mine at .75 as thats what the haynes said.

cvh mfi turbo.

 

blown out sounds like they are candles, and is not very technical. and surley all cars adiabatic CR ratio changes as more throttle is applied and more air enters the cylinders! doh! and surley there is more than two compression ratios, surley the compression ratio is constantly changing with the throttle position/boost/air temp/engine rpm. Dont call my information crap about resistor plugs when it is true!

 

No normal cars SUCK literally, atmospheric pressure is the only thing trying to get in, ie 14.5038PSI, or 1 BAR, so they can only ever fill to a certain point dependant on their CC as this denotes the SUCTION, mechanical design then gives the CR.
When air is being forced in by a massive great air pump, or TURBO as most call them more than NATURAL suction occurs to the point of being FORCE fed this is why the same engine size with a turbo makes more power, more air is forced in the same space, along with more fuel injected, this is called a adiabatic compression ratio, if you don't believe it simply read what Geoff Kershaw writes, oh by the way doh!!
Your info was called CRAP about resistor plugs as it is well crap doh!!
Try reading a bit more instead of listening down the pub doh!!, obvious really where do you think other people learn.
I've used accidentally non resistor plugs in cars one knocked out the abs function, a good book to read is by Dave Walker all about engine management, haynes book number H835, the other about turbos and superchargers is book no 9880.
When you've read H835 you can then quote me chapter and verse to show me how wrong I am, go on you know you want to.
tabetha

 

But the amount of air going into the engine varies with throttle position, and therefore is constantly changing. Unless your car is flat out all the time!