spark plug gap

[hotrodstude]

going to be using an electronic dist.with a mallery mulit charge unit what gap works best for every day driving???which is the best dist. to use would like both vaccuum and mech. advance. its a 56 289 and will not be stock.

2006,f-150,2x4,v-6,5-speed manual,8ft bed,

[Gunslinger]

What kind of coil? Increasing the gap requires a coil that has increased saturation time to put out the required spark and recover quickly. There's probably as much or more hype over coils than most any part of the ignition in the aftermarket. If it takes 30k volts to fire a spark across the plug gap, it doesn't matter if it's a 40k volt, 35k volt or 50k volt coil...it will put out 30k volts. The problem with voltage is if the plug gap is too big and it requires more volts to cross it, then a higher volt coil can do the job where a less coil capable can't. In a well tuned engine a super high voltage coil isn't needed as much as a coil with a fast saturation time.

Everything else being equal, you might try a + .010 gap over the stock specs and see how your car handles it under load. If you feel some ignition breakdown, take it back .005" or to the stock gap.




Poet...Mystic...Soldier of Fortune. As always...self-absorbed, adversarial, cocky and in general a malcontent.

[Mike Van Veghten]

Stick with the .035"
Any small increase in gap will not return anything positive in power, milage or much else.

You have to get up into the .050" or .060" to really gain anything. Even then, for a daily driver...the benefits are small.
And to be able to get the power to jump those gaps, you need a high powered ignition module like the MSD digital line or the MSD 7AL.. To go along with this, you need to keep up with very high quality cap, rotor, plug wires, etc., etc.

The Mallory distributor on it's own merrit doesn't have the extra power required for constant wide gaps. Will it work with .045" gap...yes. It takes some extra "umph" to get there though. What happens to your body when you push hard all day....you sleep VERY well that night right...?
Electrical components are the same. But since sleep doesnt help them recover...that little extra life they give during use...is taken off the other end of that life...if you get what I'm saying.

As I told another just the other day...just carefully trim the ground electrode back until it covers only about 1/2 of the center electrode, deburr lightly and regap to .035 and run them.
This "trick" is very old...and is still used today on REAL racing spark plugs. You get the advantages without spending 6 bucks apeice per plug. The advantages are, a more open flame. The ground strap hides the "spark" somewhat during its short power-on time. When you ceu back the ground strap, the spark still has the same jump distance, but it's going more toward the outer edge of the ground strap, rather than more inside, "under" the strap.

Mike

[hotrodstude]

running a mallory voltmaster mark II. 58,000v. ,which brand do you use in the studes,spark plugs.i like autolite and ngk.stock studes usually came with champions i think. do the delco dist. use gm caps and rotors??? any info on the ignition system would be helpfulthe engone is going into a 27 ford pickup street rod. i plan to bore the 289 to 304.5 cu. in. 10:1 compression annd a cam with 264 dur.and 445 lift.an r-4 intake with the carbs off of a 283 chevy powerpack.2x4 rochester carbs.home made headers and a ford 5-speed.

2006,f-150,2x4,v-6,5-speed manual,8ft bed,

[Mike Van Veghten]

Boooy is that hard to read.
Put in some capital letters and spaces....

Be carefull with that 304 bore. Have your block sonic checked before buying pistons. Most blocks won't go that far without being too thin in two or three places.

Mike

[hotrodstude]

sorry about the english,i have liver problem and have trouble with my though process some days are better than others.i'll edit from now on. thanks.have my wife check it out before posting. charlie.

2006,f-150,2x4,v-6,5-speed manual,8ft bed,