Spark Plugs, Coil pack, Wires

['99 ranger]

hey guys,

my truck has a number 4 cylinder misfire...i decided to change out plugs, wires, fuel filter, pcv, and coil pack. i ordered the screamin demon coil (it is cheaper than stock), underdog 8mm performance wires, and im going to get plugs either from orileys (maybe autolite or motocraft if they have them). according to the screamin demon coil i can gap my plugs up to .065 compared to factory .054. what would you all think about doing that? what impact will it have on mpg? im not really concerned about power these trucks arent made for any of that. i dont want to get anyone upset about posting the website. if that is a problem please let me know so i dont have this post deleted.

here is the website where i found the coil and wires:
http://www.stuffforyourranger.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=104&products_id=243

http://www.stuffforyourranger.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_39&products_id=58

 

[daniel3507]

Definitely get Motorcraft plugs. I have the same coil pack and the gap on my plugs is a little larger than factory. I dont remember exactly how much more than factory but i haven't noticed any negative things about i.

 

[Big Jim M]

Use motorcraft plugs and gap them at 54! Then as they age and wear the gap will increase and that coil will STILL make a spark.

The gap in the plug is this size or that size so there will be ENOUGH fuel in tha gap to start the fire! If an .032 gap is large enough to start the fire it is a waste of electricity to make the gap any wider.. there can be NO GAIN from a larger gap!
So stick to the sugfested gap in ALL engines.

Larger capacity coils don't do anything to make the engine run better at normal rpm. The reason they can jump a wider gap is related to their ability to run at higher rpm than our engines can reach. Using them is fine as long as we KNOW they are just a coil for our application.. and nothing special.
Big JIm

 

['99 ranger]

thanks guys!!! i bought the motocraft factory plugs. i will keep them at factory gap.

 

[kycollis]

i had a miss fire in my 4th cylinder. the wire had melted on the manifold

 

[bbrown4.0]

I have the Screamin Demon coil pack, JBA wires, and NGK plugs gapped at .065 and have no complaints. My truck runs great, idles smooth, and gets mileage in the low 20's. Heck, I averaged 22-24 mpg all the way from TX--> FL--> ME loaded with a college dorm room in the bed.

 

[multiranger]

I have a Screamin Demon on the way... I just hope my factory style wires I bought from Pep Boys will deliver the spark... I read plug wires are all the same??? I have no idea.

 

[Big Jim M]

Wow!

I have a Screamin Demon on the way... I just hope my factory style wires I bought from Pep Boys will deliver the spark... I read plug wires are all the same??? I have no idea.

Guys need to read up on what is happening inside their engines before investing in components.

saying "I have no idea" Is about as lame as it gets! WHY IN THE HELL NOT???

The spark plug has a gap in it. THAT gap needs to be wide enough to HAVE fuel in the GAP! ANY wider than needed is a waste.. The COIL BUILDS up lectric PRESSURE until their is ENOUGH to jump across that gap! That JUMP is "seen" as a spark! If the fuel is lit the gap is WIDE enough!!

If the wires are cracked or sun/heat weakoned the spark MAY jump out of the wire before reaching the spark plug. The WIDER the gap is in the plug the MORE likely it is the wire WILL FAIL! Gapping our plugs wider than about .054 is USELESS and has NO EFFECT... cept maybe causing the wires to fail.

Having a good, sound STOCK set of wires, coil and plugs CANNOT be improved on! Yeah the aftermarket ones may be bright red and prettier... but NOT better.

It's Ok to use aftermarket parts... if ya know WHY you are doing that. Don't think for one minute changing coils, wires or plugs for aftermarket ones will do anything better than stock..
Big JIm

 

[88_Eddie]

Yeah the aftermarket ones may be bright red and prettier... but NOT better.

unless they're blue, blue parts do boost fuel economy

 

[bilzy7]

Blue? I like blue... I need to get me all those. Got Bosch spark plugs and. I just feel like I lost power. 205k miles and I sometimes bump on highway... Gonna hafta check things. I had like 5 lbs of acorns under my filter one time lol... Sob's...

 

[multiranger]

Guys need to read up on what is happening inside their engines before investing in components.

saying "I have no idea" Is about as lame as it gets! WHY IN THE HELL NOT???

The spark plug has a gap in it. THAT gap needs to be wide enough to HAVE fuel in the GAP! ANY wider than needed is a waste.. The COIL BUILDS up lectric PRESSURE until their is ENOUGH to jump across that gap! That JUMP is "seen" as a spark! If the fuel is lit the gap is WIDE enough!!

If the wires are cracked or sun/heat weakoned the spark MAY jump out of the wire before reaching the spark plug. The WIDER the gap is in the plug the MORE likely it is the wire WILL FAIL! Gapping our plugs wider than about .054 is USELESS and has NO EFFECT... cept maybe causing the wires to fail.

Having a good, sound STOCK set of wires, coil and plugs CANNOT be improved on! Yeah the aftermarket ones may be bright red and prettier... but NOT better.

It's Ok to use aftermarket parts... if ya know WHY you are doing that. Don't think for one minute changing coils, wires or plugs for aftermarket ones will do anything better than stock..
Big JIm

Ummm yeah ease up Sparky. Now take a deep breath.. I said I have no idea if one plug wire is better than another.Nor do I really care. I ain't consumer reports... Take off you captain ASE certified I know more than anyone cap and chill out with a cold drink... If a wider gap is useless then why in the henry ford did Ford use 8 plugs and wires in a 4 cyl.. Oh wait so did Nissan.. According to ford the plug gap in a 2.3 is .44 so .44 x 2 = wait for it... wait for it... is .88.. so I guess we should gap those at .22 huh.. I effin know why I am doing that... Cause I can. All of you people who bought the Screamin Demon coils and made a difference for the better in how your truck runs you are an idiot just ask Sparky here.... I for one am looking forward to installing mine and setting the gap to .65...

 

[Jason_J]

Actually, the extra plugs in a 4 banger are for emission purposes.

 

[wahl_7s]

I have to agree w/BIG JIM on this one, I race a 4.0SOHC off road. All ignition parts are stock!!!!! so my point is if they hold up to that they will work driving back and forth to work.the best plugs are stock MOTORCRAFT PERIOD... gaped right out of the box. I have tried other plugs and none are anywhere near as good as motorcraft!

 

[Big Jim M]

C'mon Multi!!

Ummm yeah ease up Sparky. Now take a deep breath.. I said I have no idea if one plug wire is better than another.Nor do I really care. I ain't consumer reports... Take off you captain ASE certified I know more than anyone cap and chill out with a cold drink... If a wider gap is useless then why in the henry ford did Ford use 8 plugs and wires in a 4 cyl.. Oh wait so did Nissan.. According to ford the plug gap in a 2.3 is .44 so .44 x 2 = wait for it... wait for it... is .88.. so I guess we should gap those at .22 huh.. I effin know why I am doing that... Cause I can. All of you people who bought the Screamin Demon coils and made a difference for the better in how your truck runs you are an idiot just ask Sparky here.... I for one am looking forward to installing mine and setting the gap to .65...

You really are showing your smarts with that post..

First thing to find out is WHY is there a gap? Cause the gap supplies a spark!

Then what does the spark do? Lites the fire in the fuel.

Why does the gap vary from engine to engine? Cause some engines have a leaner mixture than others. The LEANER the mixture is the wider the gap MUST BE to insure a fire is started.

What happens if the gap is wider than needed? Nothing good! First thing is the coil and wires MUST work harder than needed. Then the plugs may wear quicker from the larger surge of electricity.

What gain could there POSSIBLY be from using a larger gap? There is no possible gain! If a smaller gap will lite the fire anything DIFFERENT from that smaller gap cannot be "seen" by the fuel or the engine as a whole.

Why are some coils advertised as being more "powerful" than others. Stock coils will provide the needed spark at all rpm the engine can get up to. However an engine that has been modified to attain higher rpm than stock MAY need a more powerful coil at that higher rpm. Many stock coils can even attain higher rpm than designed for.

Why do some guys CLAIM this or that after installing aftermarket coils? Most times because the coil they replaced was failing and a new stock coil would have made them just as happy! Many times their problem wasn't the coil in the first place but one of the other tune items installed at the same time as the new coil. At other times the guy is simply to ashmed to admit he has been "taken" by the ads and the posts of other guys that had no idea what a coil does.

If the factory gap is specefied at 44 what kind of gain can I expect from enlarging that gap to 65? I cannot imagine why anyone would WANT to do such a thing after LEARNING why gaps are there in the first place.. But since you asked.. There can be no possible gain. The only things that COULD happen are BAD! Nothing good can come from a larger gap than needed.

Think about it! The spark starts a fire. That fire QUICKLY burns away from the spark area and that area is left with nothing to burn. If the spark occurs again a millisecond later it will do nothing as it will be sparking in a fire.

Ford has at it's pleasure ANY COIL that has ever been made. Do you REALLY THINK the millions of Ford engines produced could have been made better by simply installing a DIFFERENT coil on them all?

Google and these forums can be our friend when we need to learn this or that about engines, or actually anything we could think of that we have a curosity about. Learning is always good. It's never too late to learn about anything..
Big JIm

 

[multiranger]

You really are showing your smarts with that post..

First thing to find out is WHY is there a gap? Cause the gap supplies a spark!

Then what does the spark do? Lites the fire in the fuel.

Why does the gap vary from engine to engine? Cause some engines have a leaner mixture than others. The LEANER the mixture is the wider the gap MUST BE to insure a fire is started.

What happens if the gap is wider than needed? Nothing good! First thing is the coil and wires MUST work harder than needed. Then the plugs may wear quicker from the larger surge of electricity.

What gain could there POSSIBLY be from using a larger gap? There is no possible gain! If a smaller gap will lite the fire anything DIFFERENT from that smaller gap cannot be "seen" by the fuel or the engine as a whole.

Why are some coils advertised as being more "powerful" than others. Stock coils will provide the needed spark at all rpm the engine can get up to. However an engine that has been modified to attain higher rpm than stock MAY need a more powerful coil at that higher rpm. Many stock coils can even attain higher rpm than designed for.

Why do some guys CLAIM this or that after installing aftermarket coils? Most times because the coil they replaced was failing and a new stock coil would have made them just as happy! Many times their problem wasn't the coil in the first place but one of the other tune items installed at the same time as the new coil. At other times the guy is simply to ashmed to admit he has been "taken" by the ads and the posts of other guys that had no idea what a coil does.

If the factory gap is specefied at 44 what kind of gain can I expect from enlarging that gap to 65? I cannot imagine why anyone would WANT to do such a thing after LEARNING why gaps are there in the first place.. But since you asked.. There can be no possible gain. The only things that COULD happen are BAD! Nothing good can come from a larger gap than needed.

Think about it! The spark starts a fire. That fire QUICKLY burns away from the spark area and that area is left with nothing to burn. If the spark occurs again a millisecond later it will do nothing as it will be sparking in a fire.

Ford has at it's pleasure ANY COIL that has ever been made. Do you REALLY THINK the millions of Ford engines produced could have been made better by simply installing a DIFFERENT coil on them all?

Google and these forums can be our friend when we need to learn this or that about engines, or actually anything we could think of that we have a curosity about. Learning is always good. It's never too late to learn about anything..
Big JIm

Tell you what Sparky.. Go back and read my origional post... Where in the hell do you see me mention a damn thing about gap? You don't see it do you?
Cause I didn't mention it... I mentioned only factory style plug wires and one brand of plugwires being better than another. Example. Pay attention here. Is Motorcraft better than AC Delco or Bosch or Moroso Blue Maxx or are they all the same??. Don't answer that.. . And yeah you are right Google is helpful. It made me decide to buy high end Magnacore plugwires to deliver the 45,000 Volts of AC current to my .65 inch gapped Autolight Platnum plugs... You have no idea if my engine is stock or not you didn't ask.. All you do is go off on some rant without asking for facts... Shocking isn't it....