Re: [alfa] re: electronic ignition

["Dean W. Cains" <dwc@xxxxxx>]

Hi Hugh:

I did quite a bit of plug changing in the '74 Spider for a while there, 
mostly out of boredom.  I tried the Golden Lodges, Bosch +4 (what a joke), 
some exotic and expensive iridium NGK's, but finally settled on a set of 
cheap NGK BP6ES.  I never have to clean them, as I did with some of the 
others, and haven't changed them for a few years now.  The car still starts 
and runs great.  Be sure to index the ground electrode of each plug to keep 
it away from either of the valves.

I mentioned the Bosch +4's, which I think are really crap (and a marketing 
gimmick), after having tried them in the Spica Spider, the Bosch Spider, 
and my wife's Volvo 850 Turbo.  They easily fouled in the Spica car, and 
both the Bosch Spider and Volvo ran rougher than usual, after a while.  In 
fact, the Volvo basically just consumed the plugs and left few remains of 
the electrodes after about 7K miles.  In both those cars I went back to the 
single-electrode Bosch plugs, and the improvement was easily 
noticeable.  They've both also got lots of mileage (20K+ in the Volvo) on 
them now, and still look great.  I think the obvious problem with the +4's 
is that all those ground electrodes shield the spark from the fuel/air 
mix.  Compare the end of a Lodge HL to the Bosch+4, and you'll see just how 
buried the center electrode is in the Bosch.

Regards,

Dean

At 11:56 AM 5/2/2004, you wrote:

> Date: Sun, 2 May 2004 07:53:10 -0600
> From: "Hugh Shawcross" <shawcros@domain.elided>
> Subject: [alfa] re: electronic ignition
>
> >Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 21:32:29 -0400
> >From: "Dean W. Cains" <dwc@domain.elided>
> >Subject: Re: [alfa] electronic ignition
>
> >I've been using a Crane XR3000 spark box and LX91 coil on my '74 Spider for
> several years now.  The engine starts easier, runs >smoother, and the
> ignition is just about maintenance-free (still need to change the plugs).
> I've installed the same for several Alfa->owning friends, with similar
> results.
>
> Did you also change plugs with the new installation? If so did, what did you
> go to?
>
> Hugh
> '74 Spider
> Medicine Hat
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