I've asked this question before on another forum and the guys said no but can someone explain why not. It just seems that if a 45 plug is hotter then a 43, which it is, it would have some effect on the temperature of the engine. If it does is it so small that I would not notice.
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Re: Does an AC45 plug cause the engine to run hotter then an AC43
No,it's the plug that runs hotter, not the engine. The hotter plug has a longer insulated centre electrode so heat doesn't dissipate away from the plug as well.
The plug's centre electrode insulation needs to maintain a certain temp for it to self clean by burning off any carbon deposits. If the plug is too cold it will foul.
If the heat range is too hot and the plug is overheating it will wear more rapidly and can cause pre-ignition. This is where the tip has reached a temp high enough to start the fire before the actual spark arrives.
Engine design generally dictates the heat range of the plug, but operating conditions can necessitate an adjustment.
Steve -
Re: Does an AC45 plug cause the engine to run hotter then an AC43
Chester,
I would like to add to what Steve said. Knowing that the higher the number on the AC plug meant the plug was hotter, was why us young guys would run 43's because we seemed to ALWAYS run the engine hard, but at times we calmed down and the plug would foul. I believe 44's were standard and grandma needed 45's to keep her plugs clean (unless she let her grand son use the car). Heads have spark plug cooling holes in them that let's the coolant cool them. As I remember when we did valve jobs those cooling holes were plugged with crud and had to be opened up. They were about 1/4" and rust & crud would plug them.
DomComment
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Re: Does an AC45 plug cause the engine to run hotter then an AC43
As stated the heads are cooled by oceans of water running through them and have enough capacity that engine temps will not change because of plug heat range. Hotter plug temps are quickly absorbed and dissipated.Comment
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