Colder spark plugs with tune?

[greg hazlett]

Changed the plugs this morning and it took maybe 30 mins with me taking my time.

Remove engine cover with 8/10 mm socket
Use finger to slide back red locking tabs on COPS
Unplug COPs
1st and last COP needs a flat blade screwdriver to pry up black circular "harness" that is on top of the COP bolt.
Use 8mm socket to remove 4 COP bolts
Remove COP's by pulling up
Remove stock spark plugs
Install 1 step colder plug (NGK 6510) gapped to .028
Install COPS
Install COP bolts
Plug in COP
slide red locking tab toward passenger side
place engine cover back on
Install 2 10mm/2 8mm bolts

Done!

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[Juben]

Changed the plugs this morning and it took maybe 30 mins with me taking my time.

Remove engine cover with 8/10 mm socket
Use finger to slide back red locking tabs on COPS
Unplug COPs
1st and last COP needs a flat blade screwdriver to pry up black circular "harness" that is on top of the COP bolt.
Use 8mm socket to remove 4 COP bolts
Remove COP's by pulling up
Remove stock spark plugs
Install 1 step colder plug (NGK 6510) gapped to .028
Install COPS
Install COP bolts
Plug in COP
slide red locking tab toward passenger side
place engine cover back on
Install 2 10mm/2 8mm bolts

Done!

Thanks for listing those steps, Greg. I was kind of piddling around and it took about the same amount to time. If you hurried, it could probably be done it 15 minutes or so. Don't forget to give us some feedback on your thoughts about them.

I've put almost 500 miles on mine since installation. I'm gonna pull them soon and look at them. I'm also gonna do it at 1k, 2.5k, 5k, and 10k miles (as I've always done on new cars with different plugs) to ensure that no deposits are building up. They haven't previously on my of EBs, but it's always good to quadruple check.

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[Ron@cp-e]

Changed the plugs this morning and it took maybe 30 mins with me taking my time.

Remove engine cover with 8/10 mm socket
Use finger to slide back red locking tabs on COPS
Unplug COPs
1st and last COP needs a flat blade screwdriver to pry up black circular "harness" that is on top of the COP bolt.
Use 8mm socket to remove 4 COP bolts
Remove COP's by pulling up
Remove stock spark plugs
Install 1 step colder plug (NGK 6510) gapped to .028
Install COPS
Install COP bolts
Plug in COP
slide red locking tab toward passenger side
place engine cover back on
Install 2 10mm/2 8mm bolts

Done!

nice
thanks for listing the steps

what was the deciding factor on gap? Factory is .028?
or are you gapping tighter for some reason?

 

[greg hazlett]

I have always had better luck on FI applications at .028 or .030 to avoid spark blowout..let's see what Juben has to say as I think he did .028 as well.

 

[Juben]

I have always had better luck on FI applications at .028 or .030 to avoid spark blowout..let's see what Juben has to say as I think he did .028 as well.

I also have mine at 0.028.

Anytime you increase the combustion pressure in the engines, e.g. add nitrous or more boost, you want to reduce the gap to ensure that the denser air/fuel mix will ignite.

A wider gap will maximize the burn efficiency of the engine by producing a larger spark, however, if the gap is too large, then it'll blow the spark out as Greg mentioned.

Gap measurements are just kind of guidelines as every engine will be different. You want to use the widest gap that you can to ensure a more complete and powerful combustion process, but you don't want that gap to be so wide that the spark gets blown out and you have misfires. I usually start on the higher end of the recommendations and work my way down, 0.001 at a time, to reach where the engine seems to operate the best.

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[ronv95]

Will it run poorly with the stock plugs and a tune? No. Will it run poorly with a range colder than stock plugs? No. I've ran it both ways without problems.

However, where it helps is in reduced detonation or the reduced chance of detonation. Sometimes you might get a bad batch of gas, and if you have a tune, especially a more aggressive tune, colder plugs can help mitigate any potential issues with situations like that.

While I agree that too cold of a plug will develop carbon buildup which will cause the car to misfire and run poorly, one range colder isn't going to do that on these EcoBoost engines. I've had plenty of experience with running colder plugs both on this platform and others.

Everyone seems to trust Ford, right? Even Ford recommends two ranges colder on the FoST with their FRPP tune. Surely Ford would know what they're doing!

For the low cost, it's just good insurance to help make sure your engine runs well and doesn't get damaged.

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I appreciate you posting about your past experiences, it's very helpful info and I'll think I will go ahead and change mine now and keep an eye on them every 1,000 like you

 

[greg hazlett]

Post 16 gives the how to change plugs.

 

[Juben]

Here's some great info on spark plugs, heat ranges, recommendations, etc:

http://stratifiedauto.com/blog/spark-plug-tech/

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[boosted_orange]

Here's some great info on spark plugs, heat ranges, recommendations, etc:

http://stratifiedauto.com/blog/spark-plug-tech/

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[CoyoteFiveO]

Is anyone here running colder spark plugs with their tune(s)? I know that it's usually a good practice, and even Ford recommends two ranges colder with their FoST tune, but I'm having a difficult time finding any information on what plugs we have and what would be a step or two steps colder.

TIA!

Changed mine today to the NGK 6510 definitely made the car feel better with what I already have done. Listed in my signature. Car pulls a lot better!

 

[Evil87GN]

Changed mine today to the NGK 6510 definitely made the car feel better with what I already have done. Listed in my signature. Car pulls a lot better!

Car does feel better with the colder plugs. I changed mine yesterday morning before running errands, and it definitely feels a little crisper. It was damp/misting out, so couldn't really play hard. It's supposed to cool off this weekend, so I'm heading to the track somewhere..lol.

 

[CoyoteFiveO]

Car does feel better with the colder plugs. I changed mine yesterday morning before running errands, and it definitely feels a little crisper. It was damp/misting out, so couldn't really play hard. It's supposed to cool off this weekend, so I'm heading to the track somewhere..lol.

Awesome glad to hear as well!

 

[Nihil]

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[MAPerformance]

We started having issues right around 380hp with our turbo kit on the factory plugs. It doesn't hurt to upgrade but it won't become a necessity until you start pushing over 360whp in my opinion.

 

[Juben]

We started having issues right around 380hp with our turbo kit on the factory plugs. It doesn't hurt to upgrade but it won't become a necessity until you start pushing over 360whp in my opinion.

Did you just go one range colder or two?

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