im really not sure if this is in the right spot but if not oh well, by now everyone knows my set up, built mmr900 motor, a d1 supercharger and the normal bolt ons, (exhaust and such). ive alwayse repalaced my plugs and wires, but at this point im thinkin im gonna have to upgrade, so does anyone know about this, what i should upgrade, and how to go about the ignition system, i know the basics of it, but im not 100% on everything. ive heard that the 9mm wiresll hold up just fine but i dont know much about those coils, and if i need one of those boost a spark type systems??? any help would be great!!
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Ignition ?
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Paul Huizenga
Well-Known Member
Wasted spark ignition, IIRC... A MSD DIS-4 would probably be the way to go if you want to not have to worry about the ignition ever again. They even have adaptor harnesses available so that you don't have to cut any wires - just plug it in.
M
Mustangcwo
Guest
Just my opinion. Keep spending your money on building the HP. Once you get to the point where ignition becomes a problem, either seen on Dyno or test & tune, then upgrade. This way you wont spend money where you dont need it. If you purchase a good set of wires and high performance coil, you'll be good for quite awhile. Many cars in the club are running between 500 and 600 HP on stock ignition systems.
When you get it tuned you will know if you need one. If you start blowing out the spark you'll know it. Make sure your plugs are gapped tight.
Usually blower cars are as low as .032-.035. Not sure if Modular cars are different? What are they pre-gapped at?
So pull one and check it..... I never trust the pre gap from the store. I gap all of mine to 32.
Are those good for blower cars?????????
Paul Huizenga
Well-Known Member
From what I understand, you're not supposed to fool around with the gap on those. It's either right, or you're out of luck.
Paul Huizenga
Well-Known Member
I'm not a big fan of "gimmick" plugs. Platinum plugs (and the iridium ones that followed) were designed to let a car go 100,000 miles between plug changes, not for performance. I'd say stick to copper. They're cheap, they work just fine, you can gap them, and they're available in a bunch of heat ranges.
Do not use those platinum plugs with 4 prongs for a boosted engine, those are supposed to be a hot plug.
First thing is you need to know what type of heads you have to determine what plug is required for them, then go a few ranges colder for the same type of plug if is a boosted application.
As far as the ignition, it won´t hurt to get one in the 400 plus rwhp range because is going to allow you to run a larger gap on the plug without easily blowing the spark out under boost and high rpm. generally a larger gap allows the plug to have a larger spark, thus making it easier for spark and fuel to ignite in the chamber. And to give you an example, a stock gap for a pushrod 5.0 302 is somewhere between .50 to .55, this will not work on a boosted application because it will blow out, so people have to close them to .30 to 35 to avoid this issue (not sure on a modular though, so this may not apply).
You want to run the largest possible gap without blowing the spark for optimum performance.
Aftermarket Ignition systems allow you to go larger.
First thing is you need to know what type of heads you have to determine what plug is required for them, then go a few ranges colder for the same type of plug if is a boosted application.
As far as the ignition, it won´t hurt to get one in the 400 plus rwhp range because is going to allow you to run a larger gap on the plug without easily blowing the spark out under boost and high rpm. generally a larger gap allows the plug to have a larger spark, thus making it easier for spark and fuel to ignite in the chamber. And to give you an example, a stock gap for a pushrod 5.0 302 is somewhere between .50 to .55, this will not work on a boosted application because it will blow out, so people have to close them to .30 to 35 to avoid this issue (not sure on a modular though, so this may not apply).
You want to run the largest possible gap without blowing the spark for optimum performance.
Aftermarket Ignition systems allow you to go larger.
alright i just got off the phone with ford. they said that my car comes with platinum plugs. so should i stick with platinum, or should i go to copper?? which is better. and how do i know how cold a plug is?? probably a stupid question, but i just want to make sure i know everything that i need to know!! and one other question, what does a colder heat range do exactly, why do i need a colder plug, what is it??
Paul Huizenga
Well-Known Member
As I mentioned before, pretty much everything comes with platinum plugs nowadays, to ensure that the gap doesn't change before the end of the emissions warranty period. Platinum and iridium are used because they don't erode and change the gap as quickly as copper electrodes do. A copper plug with the right reach and heat range will do no harm to your engine, no matter what it was originally equipped with - you'll just have to change plugs more often.
The heat range refers to how long the insulator is inside the plug body - a 'hotter' plug will have a deeper cavity around the center electrode, which will transfer heat to the head more slowly than one with a shallower cavity. Colder plugs are preferred in boosted and nitrous applications, because they can shed heat more effectively and won't become 'glow plugs' at the tip like a hotter plug would under boost or spray.
Why not just use super-cold plug for everything? Because under partial load, a cold plug won't get hot enough to stay clean, and will quickly foul with carbon, leading to misfires.
Every plug manufacturer uses their own nomenclature to designate a plug's heat range - refer to their catalogs or web sites to get the magic decoder ring.
Nobody's born knowing all this, BTW...
The heat range refers to how long the insulator is inside the plug body - a 'hotter' plug will have a deeper cavity around the center electrode, which will transfer heat to the head more slowly than one with a shallower cavity. Colder plugs are preferred in boosted and nitrous applications, because they can shed heat more effectively and won't become 'glow plugs' at the tip like a hotter plug would under boost or spray.
Why not just use super-cold plug for everything? Because under partial load, a cold plug won't get hot enough to stay clean, and will quickly foul with carbon, leading to misfires.
Every plug manufacturer uses their own nomenclature to designate a plug's heat range - refer to their catalogs or web sites to get the magic decoder ring.
Nobody's born knowing all this, BTW...