Long Term Spark Plug Thoughts

[tigeo]

Same for me anywhere between .025-.026 and at that point, I’m not even going to bother gapping them down .002”.

Exactly - 2 one-thousands of an inch make zero difference...BUt mUH knOcK

 

[victorofhavoc]

Exactly - 2 one-thousands of an inch make zero difference...BUt mUH knOcK

Yeah exactly.

For anyone that doesn't know: It takes approximately 75,000 Volts for a spark to jump 1" at room temperature and under standard atmospheric pressure with relatively low humidity. When we talk about a 0.026" vs 0.024" gap, we're talking 1950V vs 1800V. Further complicating the matter is that higher pressure in the cylinder means a denser medium and therefore requires more charge, as well as higher humidity adding more pressure and a denser medium. The more pressure (boost) exists the harder it will be to cross that gap and more voltage is needed. To a certain extent it is a linear relationship, so if you're running 22psi of boost over atmosphere (14.7psi) then you have increased the voltage required for that gap potential by nearly 250%. This then means under boost that gap difference accounts for 4875V vs 4500V to jump the two gaps respectively, not accounting for humidity or other factors. This means 8% more charge delivered to jump the larger gap, which should be well within scope of the coil packs.

 

[tigeo]

Yeah exactly.

For anyone that doesn't know: It takes approximately 75,000 Volts for a spark to jump 1" at room temperature and under standard atmospheric pressure with relatively low humidity. When we talk about a 0.026" vs 0.024" gap, we're talking 1950V vs 1800V. Further complicating the matter is that higher pressure in the cylinder means a denser medium and therefore requires more charge, as well as higher humidity adding more pressure and a denser medium. The more pressure (boost) exists the harder it will be to cross that gap and more voltage is needed. To a certain extent it is a linear relationship, so if you're running 22psi of boost over atmosphere (14.7psi) then you have increased the voltage required for that gap potential by nearly 250%. This then means under boost that gap difference accounts for 4875V vs 4500V to jump the two gaps respectively, not accounting for humidity or other factors. This means 8% more charge delivered to jump the larger gap, which should be well within scope of the coil packs.

I like your style dude....math/science!

 

[Acadia18]

Yeah exactly.

For anyone that doesn't know: It takes approximately 75,000 Volts for a spark to jump 1" at room temperature and under standard atmospheric pressure with relatively low humidity. When we talk about a 0.026" vs 0.024" gap, we're talking 1950V vs 1800V. Further complicating the matter is that higher pressure in the cylinder means a denser medium and therefore requires more charge, as well as higher humidity adding more pressure and a denser medium. The more pressure (boost) exists the harder it will be to cross that gap and more voltage is needed. To a certain extent it is a linear relationship, so if you're running 22psi of boost over atmosphere (14.7psi) then you have increased the voltage required for that gap potential by nearly 250%. This then means under boost that gap difference accounts for 4875V vs 4500V to jump the two gaps respectively, not accounting for humidity or other factors. This means 8% more charge delivered to jump the larger gap, which should be well within scope of the coil packs.

 

[ZuMBLe]

Yeah exactly.

For anyone that doesn't know: It takes approximately 75,000 Volts for a spark to jump 1" at room temperature and under standard atmospheric pressure with relatively low humidity. When we talk about a 0.026" vs 0.024" gap, we're talking 1950V vs 1800V. Further complicating the matter is that higher pressure in the cylinder means a denser medium and therefore requires more charge, as well as higher humidity adding more pressure and a denser medium. The more pressure (boost) exists the harder it will be to cross that gap and more voltage is needed. To a certain extent it is a linear relationship, so if you're running 22psi of boost over atmosphere (14.7psi) then you have increased the voltage required for that gap potential by nearly 250%. This then means under boost that gap difference accounts for 4875V vs 4500V to jump the two gaps respectively, not accounting for humidity or other factors. This means 8% more charge delivered to jump the larger gap, which should be well within scope of the coil packs.

Tell us what you think about EQT ground cables.

 

[tigeo]

Tell us what you think about EQT ground cables.

I like the idea of not having to worry about damaging them doing plugs but is quite a bit for whatit is.

 

[victorofhavoc]

Tell us what you think about EQT ground cables.

I honestly had to Google them because I hadn't heard of that option yet. Has anyone actually run into grounding issues with their coils on these cars?

From my understanding they're removing the need for the double-headed stud and using this secondary wire. I don't see a problem with it, and it should work fine. I'm sure it's useful if you pull your plugs monthly or you really like tearing down the top end frequently.

When it comes to grounds, they need to support enough load to discharge fast enough. Not much else to it. The purpose of the high voltage in the plug is to generate spark, not heavy amperage load, so a big wire is not necessary to ground it out. Also, the primary ground of the ignition system is actually the spark plug itself sitting in the engine block. That's the other side of the medium which the spark has to travel to, it just so happens to be electrically conducted to the nearest point of the charge source, which would be the little arm on the end of the plug. Ever notice that white insulating plasticy stuff around the tip of the plug? That's what isolates the charge source (the tip) from the destination (the arm) and provides the resistance needed to force a spark rather than a simple conductance.

The ground wires on top are used to discharge the coils in the event the plug didn't fire as it should. It helps tighten up timing calibration as any excess charge can be easily siphoned off.

That's all I know about coil grounding .

 

[ZuMBLe]

I like the idea of not having to worry about damaging them doing plugs but is quite a bit for whatit is.

I've done my own plugs many times, and done them for other MK7 guys. I even use power tools while doing it. Never had a problem. Just need a thin 10mm wrench.

 

[ZuMBLe]

I honestly had to Google them because I hadn't heard of that option yet. Has anyone actually run into grounding issues with their coils on these cars?

From my understanding they're removing the need for the double-headed stud and using this secondary wire. I don't see a problem with it, and it should work fine. I'm sure it's useful if you pull your plugs monthly or you really like tearing down the top end frequently.

When it comes to grounds, they need to support enough load to discharge fast enough. Not much else to it. The purpose of the high voltage in the plug is to generate spark, not heavy amperage load, so a big wire is not necessary to ground it out. Also, the primary ground of the ignition system is actually the spark plug itself sitting in the engine block. That's the other side of the medium which the spark has to travel to, it just so happens to be electrically conducted to the nearest point of the charge source, which would be the little arm on the end of the plug. Ever notice that white insulating plasticy stuff around the tip of the plug? That's what isolates the charge source (the tip) from the destination (the arm) and provides the resistance needed to force a spark rather than a simple conductance.

The ground wires on top are used to discharge the coils in the event the plug didn't fire as it should. It helps tighten up timing calibration as any excess charge can be easily siphoned off.

That's all I know about coil grounding .

Thanks for the insight. The price tag is the real shocker....

 

[tigeo]

I've done my own plugs many times, and done them for other MK7 guys. I even use power tools while doing it. Never had a problem. Just need a thin 10mm wrench.

Same - I bought the thin 10 and typically use a socket vs. my impact gun but I've done it with the power and no drama holding that lower nut.

 

[DarkArrow]

Tell us what you think about EQT ground cables.

Thanks for the insight. The price tag is the real shocker....

I don't think grounding is the issue. I think they were trying to solve the issue of people stripping their heads when removing the coil pack due to the slightly triangular bolts that are OE. You can see the comparison starting at ~10:07.

Or the ham fisted people who snap the wire. It's just a very over-engineered attempt at doing so.

 

[victorofhavoc]

I don't think grounding is the issue. I think they were trying to solve the issue of people stripping their heads when removing the coil pack due to the slightly triangular bolts that are OE. You can see the comparison starting at ~10:07.

Or the ham fisted people who snap the wire. It's just a very over-engineered attempt at doing so.

Yeah I think it can be useful if you remove super frequently.

Regarding price, everything has a value. Some people are willing to pay and some aren't. Honestly, you could make this wire yourself for about a third of what it costs, including buying a soldering kit to make it professional looking. If you don't care about pretty, you can spend 15$ for wire and crimp on some roundends at the coil, then run wires together and terminate at the grounding post.

 

[tigeo]

I don't think grounding is the issue. I think they were trying to solve the issue of people stripping their heads when removing the coil pack due to the slightly triangular bolts that are OE. You can see the comparison starting at ~10:07.

Or the ham fisted people who snap the wire. It's just a very over-engineered attempt at doing so.

The point of it was that over time those bolts get loose potentially causing the ground to not be great (the theory anyway) so moving it off of those helps and then you can replace with a simple normal round stud bolt and a single nut.

 

[victorofhavoc]

The point of it was that over time those bolts get loose potentially causing the ground to not be great (the theory anyway) so moving it off of those helps and then you can replace with a simple normal round stud bolt and a single nut.

Just had a thought, why not just replace the factory post with a steel stud? Then clamp down both the coil and stock wire with a steel nut?

Then you don't have to remove the stud ever again, the ground will be good, and it should cost <5$ at an Ace Hardware Racing. As a bonus, you won't have random extra wires and open ground contacts in the engine bay.

 

[Acadia18]

Just had a thought, why not just replace the factory post with a steel stud? Then clamp down both the coil and stock wire with a steel nut?

Then you don't have to remove the stud ever again, the ground will be good, and it should cost <5$ at an Ace Hardware Racing. As a bonus, you won't have random extra wires and open ground contacts in the engine bay.

Well, that doesn't say "EQT" on it. So it won't make your car idle smoother, reduce knock, and increase throttle response.