here's a good question:

[TRicker]

what kind of gain as N/A could i make with a hotter spark plug?


If i have a MSD ignition and all that jazz why can't i run a hotter plug?

if i tuned for it, and had sufficient octane, what else does it need? i know hotter plugs are usually the option for N/A guys with high compression, and race gas. i have everything but the higher compression. its just a weekend car now and i have a gas station that has a 110 octane unleaded pump so i have the option of always running high octane if i were to try this.

do you think i would see any gain, or no?

i really know nothing about the differences in heat ranges but i do know that more compression=more octane due to predetonation and more spark=better fuel ignition so more higher octane fuel=big spark=big explosion which should give me a noticible gain (even 1HP is noticible on paper) thoughts? (lol i'm sloppy at writing questions)

 

[PDXSVT]

I'm no automotive engineer, but I don't think changing the heat range of your plug by itself is gonna get you any gains... And just using a different plug with different gas will not do much of anything either, UNTIL you adjust your tune and/or do other mods like compression or cold air.

You CAN tune to NEED higher octane gas, and MAYBE you would need a different plug to maximize your gains with the higher octane gas AND TUNE. I won't say a hotter plug is then needed, as there must be times a colder plug is called for. Anyway, an experienced pro with dyno time should be able to do this. A race day tune for use with the high octane gas only should be worth a few additional ponies.

I thought about doing this myself, but I'd rather fix my lack of traction on launch as a bigger limiting factor.

Higher octane does not normally do something for a bigger spark, it ONLY fights predetonation.

 

[my_black99svt]

You are going the wrong order.

To get horse power you add compression, boost, or change the timing and a/f ratio through a tune.

Higher compression, boost or hot engine temps (a/f ratio or timing changes) cause pre-ignition or detonation.

pre-igntion or detonation will destroy an engine, so you run a harder to burn fuel (higher octane)

The higher octane fuel won't ignite as easy so you run hotter plugs.

higher octane fuel or hotter plugs won't add horsepower. They protect the engine or allow to run smoother if you modify the engine.

FYI 87 octane fuel has a higher energy density than 92 octane. Ie if all things the same and if setup for 87 octane, an engine will make slightly power on 87 then 92. I'm not sure if that carries to racing fuel. There may be other additives in it.