[Shotimes] bosch platinum +4's

[Zach Leahy]

Yeah resustances in parallel, got it.  But I dn't know how much that
applies to a spark plug.  Yes it is a resistor, but if you watch a 2
or 4 prong spark plug, the arc only jumps to one electrode.  not
always the same one, but always only to one.  I am sure there is
design intent in the +4's but it just does not really seem effective. 
Perhaps just the exra amount of platinum (casue it is a catalyst for
combustion) is helping out somewhat.

Don't half of the plugs on the SHO really fire backwards from normal
thinking.  i.e I was thinking the polarity was reversed on 3.  Maybe
I'm nuts.

Z

On Apr 6, 2005 3:57 PM, Hartberger, Jason M.  AT3 (AW)
<hartbejm@roosevelt.navy.mil> wrote:
> Electricity does take the path of least resistance, yes, but when
> electricity has to flow through multiple paths to get to the same point, it
> flows through each prong with the same voltage, and current is divided among
> the four prongs with resistance determining each prong's share. In a series
> circuit, current is the same and voltage varies, in a parallel circuit
> voltage remains constant and current varies.
> 
> ---$----$----$-----
>  15V  15V  15V    =45v total (now keep in mind that 45 volts is being put
> out and each resistor is sucking up 15 volts)
>  1A    1A   1A    =1A total (A=amp)
> 
>   |--$--|    15V                       1A                      (pretend the
> vertical lines are connecting to the central line)
> ------$-----  15V             1A
>   |--$--|        15V             1A
>                  =15V total    =3A total
> 
> Now, for the final part of the lesson: series resistance in a parallel
> circuit is lower than straight series resistance. SO, if you have one
> resistor of 15 ohms, your resistance is gonna be 15 ohms. If you have 2
> resistors in parallel (like the bottom picture) of 15 ohms each, the total
> resistance is 7.5 ohms. the math gets somewhat weird, but for two resistors
> of equal resistance in parallel, the series resistance is halved. And, if
> you know ohm's law, you'll know that Current is directly proportional to
> voltage and inversely proportional to resistance. Which means if your
> resistance goes down (the voltage is only seeing the series resistance), the
> current goes up, and you get more current from the same voltage.
> 
> And that, folks, is why people put 4 prongs on a spark plug. any questions?
> 
> and no, it's really not going to make a difference on a car like a SHO. A
> ford GT, maybe, but not a SHO.
> 
> Jason
> 
> God, I hope it all shows up the same way I typed it...
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ian Fisher [mailto:dataflash@yahoo.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 3:47 PM
> To: Zach Leahy; Paul L Fisher
> Cc: BOB FISHER; SHO
> Subject: Re: [Shotimes] bosch platinum +4's
> 
> I never understood the concept anyway. Doesn't
> electricity follow the path of least resistance? ie,
> the current is only going to flow to one prong, not
> four?
> 
> Ian
> 
> --- Zach Leahy <leahyz@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Apr 6, 2005 2:28 PM, Paul L Fisher
> > <sho@paul-fisher.com> wrote:
> > > BMWCCA says to stay away from them. I've heard
> > anecdotal evidence that they
> > > suck as well.
> >
> >
> > Agreed, the general consnsus around here it they are
> > not anything
> > special.  Will they work, yeah probably.  Are you
> > throwing extra
> > dollars away, yeah probably.  They may fit, but
> > expect no gain in
> > performance.  Save the $, buy the motorcrafts.
> >
> > Z
> >
> 
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