spark plugs questions

[nitebatman]

I'm just starting to work on my engine to make it a good as it can be, or at least as could as I can afford it to be. I've heard from others on this site that replacing my spark plugs would be a good step. <BR>But what kind of spark plugs would be the best?<BR>Also, I'm not a mechanic, so is it easy to change my spark plugs? How exactly would I do it? Is there a website that might have a instructions on how to do?<BR>Any help would be appriciated.

[david103]

replacing your plugs is always a good idea, but there isn't any real power to be gained from the expensive plugs that are like 15 bucks a piece or some crap. it is probably the simplest maintenance on any car to do. look on the top of the engine, pull out the four wires with the long black things attached to them. way down in each of those holes is a spark plug. you'll need an extension dilly to get to them with your socket wrench (unsure of size). unscrew the old plugs. you might have to gap the new plugs yourself, the exact measurement is in the manual. i think its .43 or something..??? put everything together and wa-la, new plugs.<P>dave

[ProtegeSTS]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by oo7sniper:<BR><STRONG>When I had my stock 1.6l SOHC in my 93 MX-3 I upgraded from the stockers to BOSH Platinum Plugs. By doing this I noticed improved performance, idle, & throttle response. It was only because the old plugs where worn out & not sparking as hot as the should to completely burn the air/fuel mixture in the cylinders. Then not long after that I took them out (even though they were still good) & upgraded to the Bosh Platinum +4 Plugs which did give me even further gains. You can gain SMALL amounts of HP from the plugs but it is almost none at the wheels. I'd recommend the new Denso Iridium plugs for the best performance & longevity. Also upgrade your stock plug wires to the Magnecore 8.5mm KV85 Competition plug wires from <A HREF="http://www.corksport.com." TARGET=_blank>www.corksport.com.</A> One other thing that will help you bring your stock motor back to life is a can of "Gum Out Air Intake/Throttle Body cleaner". Use it every 12,000miles following the directions on the can. Also do a PRM Jet Stream Intake w/ custom 2"-2.25" Hight flow exhaust (get a high flow CAT & muffler). By doing all of those upgrades it allows your car to inhale & exhale a good bit more air, which by upgrading those ignition components will allow you to burn that leaner air/fuel mixture MUCH better than stock. All of those mods will gain you around 10-20HP at the wheels (depending on how worn out your old components where & how dirty your motor was). For further HP gains you could do your self using a dremel tool, port & polish your intake manifold & exhaust manifold (you need to know how to remove them & reinstall them properly though). All you do is romove those manifolds, hold the gasket for it on it. You will see the ports on the manifold are smaller than the gaskets holes. Use your dremel tool to grind (port) the holes inside the manifold untill they are the size of the gasket. Then you need to debur the holes & polish them with your dremel tool. By doing this it allows the air & exhaust to be MUCH less restricted & the polishing helps smooth out the flow. This will gain you roughly 5-10HP more. All those mods together would gain around 15-30HP at the wheels. HP gains would depend on what kind of shape your motor was in before doing those mods. Another two pretty big restrictions on the stock motor are the throttle body & MAF. By upgrading them both you could very well see another 10-15HP at the wheels, now with a total of around 25-40HP gained at the wheels using ALL the mods above. Just make sure you start keeping an eye on the Air/Fuel ratio using a gauge. It may start to run a bit to lean. In that case you would need an adjustable fuel pressure regulator. By running your car on the lean side of stoich (the ideal air/fuel ratio) you will see more of a HP gain. Have fun!<P>--------------------------<P>Jeremy Miller<BR>93 Mazda MX-3 RS-R </STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>i highly doubt youre going to see those kinds of numbers with the above mentioned gains. The stock cams can only do so much. Also, without working the computer to take advantage of this stuff, the results wont be all that great.