Ha, ha. No. When a gap is too big, the ignition system can't provide enough voltage, which causes misfires. Even more with high compression or f/i applications. When there's a dense a/f mixture in the combustion chamber, you need a small gap to ensure that the spark can cut through this mixture. This is why I was misfiring before and the fact that our coil packs are a little on the weak side.

 

Right. The spark is weaker with longer gaps. You want the spark to be just strong enough so that it burns reliably, with as wide a gap as possible so as to have the most surface area to ignite the fuel mixture with. You need to find that happy medium.

 

Spark plugs are not going to hit the pistons if you gap them wide. I don't know where you heard that.

This. ^^

Generally, when you up the pressures inside the combustion chamber (more boost or higher compression ratio) you need to reduce the gap.

 

hey Hey! Give that man a ceegar...

Other than the gap having to be with in range of the actual power available (ie: coils) to actually 'spark' over, the smaller gap with run better at higher rpms while the larger gap will run smoother at idle. The factory setting is a compromise between the two.

 

I mostly said it as a joke lol.

 

So, if I were to get stiffer valve springs and set the ecu at a higher red-line, do you think a .025" gap would be a good setting for that? Just curious.

 

Prolly... Though I'm more inclined in improving the spark through hotter coils, better wires, etc, than I am for reducing the gap. A bigger gap 'unshrouds' the spark more.

 

What sucks is that you can't find aftermarket stuff like that. Unless I'm totally unaware that there really is.