87_shee Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 I know this is probably a stupid question, but I was just wondering why this needs to be done? I have been around lots of bikes and sleds( I am no master builder, just your average do it your self kind of guy) and have personally never set the gap on a set of plugs and never seemed to have a problem, Would there be an adavntage to setting the proper gap on my shee? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blowit Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 I know this is probably a stupid question, but I was just wondering why this needs to be done?I have been around lots of bikes and sleds( I am no master builder, just your average do it your self kind of guy) and have personally never set the gap on a set of plugs and never seemed to have a problem, Would there be an adavntage to setting the proper gap on my shee? Thanks The OEM will gap the plug at the factory to meet many bike requirements. The banshee plugs are typically set at .028" which is in the window for a stock Banshee. When you start increasing the state of tune of a bike or changing fuels, ignitions, etc, plug gap requirements change. It takes more time for voltage to jump a larger gap than a small one so timing and gap go hand in hand at times. Many bikes will run fine without gapping the plug correctly but they will just run a bit better with gapping. I will let others explain other reasons but simply checking the gap form the factory is a good precaution. Brandon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireroad Express Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 gapping optimizes your fuel burn. the bigger the flame the better the burn.it maintains a more consistant combustion. some people even go as far as shimming the plugs so the side electrode is not obstructing the incoming fuel charge. this is known as "indexing". there are different schools of thought on this subject. myself, i gap the plugs to stock spec and put em in. if i ran a 200 hp drag bike i might index them as well. :cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gentner8 Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 (edited) There are a lot of tricks with ignition systems. The spark plug is gapped according to the OEM specs with that ignition system. It is more of a fine tuning thing. Idealy you should open the gap until performance decreases (according Jacobs book on how to optimize your ignition) There are people who also index the plugs with washers so that the plug gap directly faces the intake valve. I played around with it a few years ago on my small block, but didnt notice enough benefit to waist my time doing it again. If you have a hotter ignition, open it up another .005 as a general rule (your results may vary) Plugs that are made of different materials like the platinum can be gapped a bit larger than copper. The required voltage to make the spark jump the gap is less. So they can theoretically run a larger gap also. Edited February 3, 2008 by gentner8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87_shee Posted February 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 Thanks guys that was just what I was looking for. Well the next set of plugs I buy I will try this out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bansh-eman Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 to be honest we used to index our plugs when we raced and i could not tell one bit of differance. but it didnt hurt anything either. now i dont bother with any of it. set a stock gap and pop them in. im out having fun now, not in it for titles or anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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