changing spark plugs

[tygerfifteen]

how often?
and what difference would it do?
useless at auto mechanics
but did change the oil yesterday WOOHOO.

[Ruckass]

check your maintenance book (owners manual) under your seat.

Ruckass

[abe]

If it looks worn. If the edges of the electrode are round and not sharp toss that baby. You can use an Iridium plug if you are rich or want a plug that lasts.

[Dandy Dan]

Why can Iridium handle a rich mix? Does it burn hotter? How much longer do they last? Any one got a part #?

[SuperJ]

Abe was saying that if you have lots of money you can buy iridium plugs. They won't help you if your motor is running rich.

[Dandy Dan]

Ahh! I see...it all makes sense now!

P.S. I'm like 10 posts away (I need 300) from being a Senior Ruckster!

...Must........keep...............p o s t i n g ......

[jimthejet]

Iridium (or plainum or gold palladium or any other fine wire electrode or "button" applied to the electrode tip) plugs have a wider effective heat range than a standard Inconel side wire electrode / copper core center electrode plug. That means it will burn off deposits over a wider range of combustion chamber temps than a standard plug.

If you want extra protection against running lean while tuning, you can use one. If you jet your carb by ear, feel or stopwatch timing runs, this will work. However, if you like to try to read the sparkplug color for jetting, you will find that it defeats your efforts in that it burns so clean that you'll have trouble distinguishing between lean and spot on.

The NGK Iridium plug is CR8EHIX-9. If you want to go one range colder, for extra protection for advanced timing, use the CR9EHIX-9. They are expensive (cost 3x standard, but last 3x as long), but really prevent fouling if you go too rich in jetting. They are the bomb for 2-strokes.

I am a former spark plug manufacturer quality manager, and have a good bit of motorcycle racing and tuning experience prior to that. So, if you have spark plug questions, I'll be happy to answer them.

[chanito]

Wow! Jim great post, the art of reading spark is a dying one, even with standard plugs, gas now burn so clean they leave little behind to read, so now the best tool to read mixture is an Oxigen sensor, it will be nice to have someone we can consult about plugs, and you can forget about an oxigen sensor in our scooter, its exhaust pipe is way too small for installing a bung and a sensor

[abe]

Ya, welcome Jim. Keep me in line

[SuperJ]

I didn't realize that platinum/iridium plugs had a wider heat range. Thats good to know;D. I simply thought they didn't erode as fast as copper.

Is there an equivalency chart somewhere to look up iridium equivalents for regular small engine spark plugs?

-Josh

[jimthejet]

All the major spark plug manufacturers web sites (and paper catalogs) have conversion charts that cross reference other brands of plugs (so, your stock NGK CR8EH-9 can be substituted or replaced with their brand). Additionally, they list the premium plugs offered, and show the heat range choices for both standard and premium plugs.

There are only a handful of actual plug manufacturers, so many of the brands out there are simply marketing of a perceived "improvement", made for the marketer (I won't say their name, but their intials are Splitfire) by one of the manufacturers. So, before anyone asks, don't buy a plug with multiple sidewire electrodes believing the hype that they somehow give more power, reduced emissions, better mileage or whiter teeth.

The only feature with improved performance is the fine wire (or rare esrth material tip, such as platinum, gold palladium or iridium - you can try to get one with unobtanium, but it is hard to find, ha ha!) center electrode.

None of the manufacturers actually have a copper tip as it would be too soft, but they all use copper in the core of the center electrode for the conductivity at a cheap price.

You don't need to change plugs frequently; as Chanito relates, the gas these days has so few impurities that the plugs burn clean (no deposits), and all you have to affect the performance is electrode wear. Modern plugs last 60k miles in an auto engine without platinum, and 100k miles with it before performance degrades. The Ruckus engine being a liquid-cooled 4-stroke like the auto engine, and accumulating miles at such a slow rate (frequency of use and lower mileage per hour), it should outlast the ownership in most cases.

There is also a wealth of other info on the websites, buried in the FAQs or Technical info or catalog supplements.

[skelly]

Anyone have the NGK part # for an Iridium plug?

[ratpak07]

part #CR9EHIX-9

im going to but this , will it work good on a stock motor??

[skelly]

I put in an NGK Iridium IX plug

Worksjust fine ;D

[chanito]

Does it justify the extra money?

[skelly]

It cost me 15 bux... To me thats not alot of money. Whether it made a difference or not I dunno. On a 49cc engine I dunno if it would even make much of a differnce. I just wanted to get a better plug in there.

[Homestar R_U_C_K_U_S]

There is a part at the BSstore that increases the intensity of the spark plug.

What is the general purpose/benefit of that part and is that a better option than getting a higher quality spark plug?

[jimthejet]

Homeboy, that Battlescooter gadget doesn't increase the intensity of the spark, it just makes for a light show. It purports to ground the coil wire so no leakage occurs. If you were getting leakage, you'd see carbon tracks on the plug cap or insulator (porcelain). Don't waste your money if you are looking for any kind of performance improvement.

I am a former Quality Manager for a spark plug company, and a mechanical engineer, with a motorcycle racing background. I can tell you that other than fine wire electrodes (gold palladium, platinum, etc.) all the other types of plugs (split tips, multiple tips, "fire rings", etc.) are just marketing hype (so they can charge more) with no science or proof behind them.

The fine wire electrode (or platinum tipped) plugs are worth the extra money for greater longevity and increased heat range, which translates to fouling resistance. More important in a two-stroke, yes, but still beneficial in a Ruckus. ;D

[Doctavius]

Iridium plug on Ron Ayers runs for $6.52 US .....