I was talking to a friend today. He had been having problems with getting his snowblower to start. He read online about "Side gapping" spark plugs. Basically you remove a portion of the electrode arm to expose more of the centre electrode to the combustion chamber. He tried this on this snow blower and he said it started on the first pull and runs great. He then pulled the plugs on his 700000 km Dodge Van (318) and side gapped them. He said the results seem promising- the van no longer takes several cranks to start. He said it starts on less than a revolution. Anyone ever try this? Apparently the only downside is the center electrode doesn't last as long as the spark only occurs on the edge of it. However, you can use cheaper plugs and get the same, or better results as more expensive plugs. This doesn't apply to platinum plugs. Pic:
Old racing trick, does work but he difference in racing is small. It's one of those thing you do when everything else is done and you're looking for a few more horses. Indexing the plugs also works. I found that if you are burning a touch of oil, using a soft plug like champion, doesn't foul out as quickly. I like to run AC brand when possible in my Pontiacs. Hard, longer lasting plug.
