A bit-o-history...from the point of view of the bio-gloppy drive in Nick's
head!
A fellow named Steve Hettrick (sp) is pretty much responsible for the
popularity of NGK plugs on the West Coast. He used to sell them out of the
trunk of his car to any and all parts houses up and down the Western States.
The advantage was that you could stock fewer numbers of plugs and still have
the same coverage as other brands. Steve went on to open the SBH company and
sell all sorts of Japanese parts, but that's another story. The NGK plugs
became quite popular and my guess is that Japan could not keep up with
production, so they opened plants in different countries. (The back of the
plug box had an additional marking on them denoting manufacture at the new
plants. I think it is an M inside of a circle). Some people feel that there
may be a difference in quality between these plugs.
Perhaps this is the reason that some people swear by NGK's and others at them.
I personally have only used Bosch plugs in a TR one time. That one time was
enough. With a new set of plugs in it, my poor TR3 left NY and missed all the
way thru PA until I stopped at a parts house and put Champions in it.
And now for something related...
I worry about people using 3/4" reach plugs into the 1/2" heads. I understand
that the plug is being spaced out, and other people have discussed the
problems inside the chamber, but what about the spacer on the outside? The
heat range of the plug is dependent on the length of the nose, where it is
attached to the case and the size of the case (among others). When running a
spacer on the outside of the plug to control the depth of insertion, the
distance the heat must travel to reach its heat sink (the head) has
increased, thus the heat range may be altered significantly! If the spacer is
a single piece, or several pieces (plug washers) stacked, will also have a
bearing upon the heat transfer. Please bear this in mind when attempting this
mod.
Holey Pistons Batman...
Nick in Nor Cal
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