[alfa] RE: was spark plugs, now hotter vs. colder

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

Hi Jonathan:

Actually your cocoa powder description is right on the money for a 
sparkplug in the ideal heat range in a well-tuned engine.  If you were 
having a pre-ignition problem, maybe it's just for need of an Italian 
tune-up.  That's to say, get the Spider to an open road and drive it with 
the intentions of its makers in mind.

Back to the Lodge plug heat ranges.  The 2HL is definitely a colder plug 
than the HL.  I don't have a clue what was originally specified for your 
Motronic Spider, but in the earlier cars, their owners manuals specified 
2HL's as an optional plug to be used for "extended high-speed 
driving".  You may find that after a while of your normal short commute 
to/from work, the 2HL's may load up with carbon.  But again, there's always 
a good excuse for an Italian tune-up.  And, if the 2HL's are working for 
you, don't worry about it.

Regards,

Dean


At 11:45 AM 6/17/2004, you wrote:

> Maybe it is the HL, then. Gotta get my letters straight ;-)! It's the hotter
> plug, whichever, b/c the parts guy at Ferrari/Maserati of Seattle, our local
> (and awesome) Alfa dealer, said Alfa originally used one of the two, must be
> the HL, up to I think he said 1974, or maybe it was when L-Jet was
> introduced, and then with the engine changes in 1990, they went back to the
> hotter plug. Point being, he said the one I needed was the hotter of the
> two, and I have no reason to doubt him. However, does my oh-so-descriptive
> "dipped in cocoa powder" description indicate I need a hotter or colder
> plug, or neither, or some other issue? Thanks, Dean and everyone, as always.
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