TOPIC:

Could some of you check the info in the link below and tell me what your thoughts are on "Side Gapping" plugs.

performanceunlimited.com/documents/plugsidegapping.html

It would be my opinion that this would not be worth the effort. I believe that the author of this theory has not taken into account that under compression the entire end of the plug is surronded by a combustable mixture and would ignite instanly and evenly. However, the thought that the plugs would not foul as quickly may have some merit.
In the past we have tried some plugs that had several ground strips that cause the plug to fire in the manner described. We did not see much difference in fouling.
Harry

SUBJECT: Side Gapping Spark Plugs
PROBLEM: Improve spark with standard plugs instead of paying triple for Split-Fire® type plugs
COST: Time only
TIME: 30 minutes
WHAT'S NEEDED: Your favorite spark plugs (Motorcraft or Autolite preferred), feeler gauge

Umm, yeah. If they think Split-Fire plugs do anything special, I'd be pretty cautious about taking their advice.

I'd also think that if there were something to this, I'd wager NGK would already have started doing it years ago. I'm not saying that it's crap, only that I'd definitely expect it to be crap until someone from the 200mph club stepped in to declare otherwise.

If you're looking to improve spark performance, replace the wiring on your bike (time-consuming!), or perform the WiredGeorge coil power upgrade (quick, cheap, effective). Search for "Coil Powering - Direct From Battery" in Community->Filebase under non-year-specific. It'll cost you about the same as replacing four plugs that someone ruined with a die grinder.

This spark issue comes up from time to time. As long as you get the air and fuel mixture ignited, combustion will occur. If you have ever looked at your worn spark plugs, you'll notive that the center electrode wears more toward the back side under the electrode arm. Electricity will take the path of least resistance. I think this modification, will result in the electrode wearing more at that one point. The farther a spark has to travel, the weaker it gets. Sparks like sharp edges. Splitfires have a lot of sharp edges for this. The falacy here is that it shows a stronger spark from this modification...WRONG!!!

Now using to a MSD(Multiple Spark Discharge) is a completelt different story.

I know it's a different application, but when I worked on a Nitro Funnycar team we tried just about every plug possible (we got them free, so expense was not an issue). We settled on the regular plugs... Splitfire, platinum, multi-tip, side electrode and others showed no benefit and often were far worse.

I agree about the comments that this has got to be something the manufacturers have tried themselves and abandoned. Although they do have similar plugs in the product catalogs for special use.

You will notice that the author does not claim any power, torque or mileage increases from this technique. That will be because there aren't any.

On 750 turbos you can use ordinary BR9ES plugs instead of the expensive (and now unavailable) platinum BR9EVs by fitting better coils, like Dynas.

Corey brings up a good point. It seems to me the plug will wear much faster since all of the sparks will occur at almost one location on the tip. As it erodes, the plug gap will enlarge quickly.

As long as your mixture is good, spark energy doesn't make much difference. When your mixture is weak then spark duration and distance makes a difference.

A good mixture has a rapidly expanding flame front for which a higher energy spark won't matter. If the mixture is weak, a longer duration or larger spark can initiate a larger flame front to make up for the slow spread of the flame front.

By weak, I don't mean necessarily too lean or rich, it may simply not be mixed thoroughly, such as in a poorly designed intake path.