How to avoid blown spark plugs in your tuned Stinger

[ryan1stinger]

And I forgot to mention the chip I was considering was the RC RS + app. +50 hp seems to be the most aggressive it can get.

Using RC and I’ve been quite pleased with the power and no issues.

 

[victory8ball1507]

the only chip you should be considering is the jb4. I say that when I am against chip tuning, so you know I am serious. It goes like this: real tune - jb4 - everything else. as for the plugs, if you are not going to push it too much then get the desnos. I got the HKS, expensive but I want no issues.

I understand that the JB4 is the gold standard and I am not disputing that that at all. I am trying to understand what occurs for someome who rarely uses the mod. If this were a 1975 350 sb naturally aspirated and I bump carb, jets, shims, straight pipes, etc etc i have a reasonable understanding of what goes on. But the new KIAs have more sensors than a Mars rover. So I guess what I am trying to understand is:

If i go colder plugs i feel the research shows with my driving style that i will suffer carbon fouling due to (i presume) slow and/or unburned fuel because I will not be flying around in race mode even 2% of the time. Again, I don't mind buying the more expensive plugs or the more expensive JB4 if I know with reasonable confidence that it is the best idea for me. For someone who would majority of the time drive leisurely and very seldom in map1 for 10 seconds, what is the most advisable choice for plugs?

 

[General_Vodka]

I understand that the JB4 is the gold standard and I am not disputing that that at all. I am trying to understand what occurs for someome who rarely uses the mod. If this were a 1975 350 sb naturally aspirated and I bump carb, jets, shims, straight pipes, etc etc i have a reasonable understanding of what goes on. But the new KIAs have more sensors than a Mars rover. So I guess what I am trying to understand is:

If i go colder plugs i feel the research shows with my driving style that i will suffer carbon fouling due to (i presume) slow and/or unburned fuel because I will not be flying around in race mode even 2% of the time. Again, I don't mind buying the more expensive plugs or the more expensive JB4 if I know with reasonable confidence that it is the best idea for me. For someone who would majority of the time drive leisurely and very seldom in map1 for 10 seconds, what is the most advisable choice for plugs?

if you don't care about price then get the HKS. They come with a 30 gap, which should work just fine. No issues reported with HKS.

 

[rocket23]

the only chip you should be considering is the jb4. I say that when I am against chip tuning, so you know I am serious. It goes like this: real tune - jb4 - everything else. as for the plugs, if you are not going to push it too much then get the desnos. I got the HKS, expensive but I want no issues.

Didn't the op refer to HKS plugs as possible engine damage? Don't read into the post, I run a Uncle chip with HKS 45's.

 

[General_Vodka]

Didn't the op refer to HKS plugs as possible engine damage? Don't read into the post, I run a Uncle chip with HKS 45's.

i have heard of no issues with the HKS, even though they are colder.

 

[Regs120]

I am not mechanic, but when shortening the gap and making the spark hotter and shorter, doesn't it ware down the spark plug faster?

 

[BrodyS]

This might be a silly question, but I’m upgrading to a jb4 and installing densos. Will the car still run fine if I install the new gapped plugs a few days prior to receiving the jb4?

 

[turboAWD]

This might be a silly question, but I’m upgrading to a jb4 and installing densos. Will the car still run fine if I install the new gapped plugs a few days prior to receiving the jb4?

Yes, should run just fine. jb4 is only pushing it harder at higher rpm.

 

[turboAWD]

I am not mechanic, but when shortening the gap and making the spark hotter and shorter, doesn't it ware down the spark plug faster?

Yes - that's why people are replacing plugs at 15-20K miles. One thing to prepare for when doing jb4..

 

[Davidsg]

Got car re-tuned with a better printout....not bad results considering all I have is a Bi-modal exhaust. (Not sure if that even increases performance at all) Stock gaps as not needed with a proper tune.

Stock 14-15psi

202rwkw/576nm torque

Unichip and tune 16psi

276rwkw/687nm torque

So all up 111nm boost and 74rwkw (37%)View attachment 24636 View attachment 24637

Have you since had to replace or re gap plugs ?

 

[monusa]

i can only speak for the 2.0T W/JB4. i started out with HKS plugs gapped at .022. this was fine for MAP1 but at MAP2/3 and even running only 93 octane, i would get what i call the "turbo herky-jerks" when mashing the gas at around 2K rpms.......did some research and found an OEM-spec'd plug from Champion (iridium-#9409 - heat range is 8) at O'Reily's for $8 apiece. re-gapped them to .024 and even on MAP3, no more "turbo herky-jerk" just awesome power delivery. Even if they have to be replaced after 10K, at least I can change all 4 plugs for about the price of one darn HKS!!!!

 

[Ulikefishsticks]

So, I have had my spark plugs in my car for over a year. I had got the HKS plugs off of K8 Stinger and I had gapped them myself. Now, in that time I have put over 20k miles on the car(covid boredom, heh). When should I swap out the plugs? It has ran fine with JB4 and running map 3 and Map 4 with E30 mixtures every now and then. Should I just pre-emptively swap them out or do people wait for misfires? What is the protocol here? How long should these plugs last for? Thanks.

 

[rocket23]

no clue here ....I have a fraction of those miles,lol

 

[Tonkabob]

Time to replace.

 

[rocket23]

I dunno...last time I blew a plug was during a launch mode..........and those were stockers........with the hk's I haven't had an issue....but aren't they 100,000 plugs for normal driving??

 

[jalcala]

....but aren't they 100,000 plugs for normal driving??

Define "normal driving"...

I am curious too as I just had my HKS installed over the weekend.

 

[Ulikefishsticks]

I would not define my driving as normal lol. I don't push it super hard but I like revving it higher than I should haha. Maybe I'll pick some up and just swap them. I'll have it in my garage for a few days while I attempt to do the lowering springs myself. Hah.

 

[monusa]

Depending on often you "nail it" or use E30/85, etc. i would pull them about every 5k miles to check for deposits. At a minimum, I would pull one from each bank of cylinders. check for obvious "bad" signs. if you don't feel comfortable on how to read the plugs, let your mechanic do so.

If there are issues with the plugs, the sooner you discover the issues, the better. Could mean the difference between engine/ no engine.......These plugs are NOT going to get 100K miles(not that the plugs are no good just that they weren't meant for longevity).....if you have gotten 20K out of them with no issues, consider yourself blessed.

 

[Ulikefishsticks]

Depending on often you "nail it" or use E30/85, etc. i would pull them about every 5k miles to check for deposits. At a minimum, I would pull one from each bank of cylinders. check for obvious "bad" signs. if you don't feel comfortable on how to read the plugs, let your mechanic do so.

If there are issues with the plugs, the sooner you discover the issues, the better. Could mean the difference between engine/ no engine.......These plugs are NOT going to get 100K miles(not that the plugs are no good just that they weren't meant for longevity).....if you have gotten 20K out of them with no issues, consider yourself blessed.

As much as it was a pain in the ass to do them last time, I will definitely order a set and swap them out. I have gotten sick of paying mechanics so much money for work I could do myself. Now I have to find where all my swivels are for the job lol. Are the HKS plugs still the go to? I haven't kept up with what people are using the past year since I have done it.

 

[jalcala]

As much as it was a pain in the ass to do them last time, I will definitely order a set and swap them out. I have gotten sick of paying mechanics so much money for work I could do myself. Now I have to find where all my swivels are for the job lol. Are the HKS plugs still the go to? I haven't kept up with what people are using the past year since I have done it.

Yeah I guess I will need to "invest" in a good set of swivels and extensions so I can do this myself as well.