Type 4 Unleashed wrote:I will say I don't like the triple electrodes, it just additional area to cause pre ignition, meaning you now have 3 electrodes with corners & edges that heat up and that can cause pre ignition were you only had one before.
I like the Bosch FR7DCX+, the electrode is cut back and the corners & edges are smoothed away out of the box. And I use to get them from Pep Boys for $.99 each untill Pep Boys replaced Bosch with Champion. And an added benefit as far as I am concerned they use a 5/8 plug socket instead of the 13/16. The plug has always been an excelent plug for me. And I run an 010 with a Pertronix module and spiral core wires with a Pert ronix coil.
I have since gone to 12mm & now 10mm plugs
All of the DTC type plugs have "rounded" edge electrodes except for the points surounding the the center electrode 9where they MUST be sharp). Inspect them carefully. These are not the same ilk as the platinum plus 4's and 2's.....though those have interesting technology, they have a different main electrode technology.
I am actually suing them in an FR7DTC format (5/8" shank) in my 2006 jetta and they far outperform the stock irridium plugs...though they have to be gapped on a regular basis. Ray
Piledriver wrote:Given that the Bosch triples the NGKs are direct replacements for were originally designed/spec'd for the UrQuattros, and are still the preferred plugs by many of that fraternity (even at insane boost levels), I suspect your worries about the design are not completely justified.
I will have to give your suggestion a shot if I need resistor plugs along with resistor wires with the MS.
(Usually one resistor is all that's needed to suppress EMI)
The triples are also supposedly available in colder heat ranges.. I wish they were available in 12mm..
I believe there is a difference between water cooled and air cooled.
I don't remember how long I was doing it, but have been filling the edges & corners off of electrodes for years, for no apparent reason and starting maybe 4 or 5 years ago you could get plugs with the electrode shortened with the corners rounded for no apparent reason.
And it doesn't matter how many electrodes a plug has 2 or 4 , there is only one spark and it goes to just one electrode. No wait the spark splits and goes to all 4 electrodes at the same time providing 4 times better ignition.
And as for the resistor plugs, which part of "The plug has always been an excelent plug for me" didn't you understand... I run my motors a little rich, but never fouled a plug even with a .050" gap, but apparently the Pertronix set up worked well.
And any ways you really can't knock something, at least till you've treied it.
Actually there is only one spark...but under high compressio nand high rpm teh riples have been proven time and again to have a better flame front kernel...because they allow fuel to be inspersed within the cage of the three electrodes. Also since the path to ground is constantly changing due to heat, charge compression, and resistance to ionization, one of the three electrodes will always have a path of least resistance that the other tow dont. The last one that fired will typcially have a higher specific heat so spark is randoming rotating. This is quite evident in the fact that the three electrodes wear almost identically. This also means that to keep this function...upon regapping you need to carefully gap them equally. You need the specific tool to do it with. With high compression, moderate to high advance and high rpm....its harder to have miss due to spark blowing out when spark gets weak from low saturation time
Also....these plugs do not run well with a stock VW coil. They are power hogs. The puny 18kv and basic bosch blue are barely adequate. The Pertronix 40Kv coil works well....and they work really well with 55kv Bosch coil and transistorized ignition. There are very good reasons teh Audi and water pumper boys still buy these plugs on a regaular basis. Ray
Last weekend I drove the bus on a 200 mile trip to the New Jersey AllAircooled Gathering show. What a nice show. My bus made it there perfectly. It was 100 miles each way and mostly highway driving, alot of hills, but at high speeds. The engine handled the hills great. I could here the exhaust respond (hum) when I stepped on the gas while going uphill. Sounded healthy. The engine stayed nice and cool.
Here's the wierd thing: normally (with previous buses) this trip burns more than a half-a tank of gas just one way. I usually have to fill-up before returning home. This time I only used a little over an 1/8 of a tank of gas going there, did not have to fill up in NJ, and returned home using only 3/8 of a tank for the entire trip. (I am estimating the gas mileage at 33 mpg, normal cheap octane gas)
I was very pleased, yet shocked, but I am wondering why such good gas mileage? (magic spark plugs?)
Thanks again, your good advice made this happen.
