[Grim Reaper]

PS: I've been trying to find one of these type of Spark Plug Gapping Pliers. Best way to close the strap to a tighter gap.

 

[Elmore328]

PS: I've been trying to find one of these type of Spark Plug Gapping Pliers. Best way to close the strap to a tighter gap.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Sn...368341&hash=item2398f9f760:g:ykAAAOSw~3pac3PH

 

[mwemaxxowner]

I use this.

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[Jordan]

https://gearheadautomotiveperforman...uct/product&product_id=245&search=Spark+plugs

So I was wrong. Sp-550 are gapped to 0.028 but the heat range is the same as a sp-534.

Sp-542 are one step closer for 2.7 engines.

 

[Elmore328]

https://gearheadautomotiveperforman...uct/product&product_id=245&search=Spark+plugs

So I was wrong. Sp-550 are gapped to 0.028 but the heat range is the same as a sp-534.

Sp-542 are one step closer for 2.7 engines.

I'm REALLY not trying to confuse things but with this comment, does that mean that the SP-550 and SP-534 are the exact same plug with the exception of the pregapping (.028 versus .030)???

 

[milesej05]

I just tap the plugs against the concrete ground to close the gap

 

[bespurcell]

I just tap the plugs against the concrete ground to close the gap

I do something similar.

 

[Scott91370]

PS: I've been trying to find one of these type of Spark Plug Gapping Pliers. Best way to close the strap to a tighter gap.

I've got one and people look at me like I'm crazy when I get it out of the toolbox. Been in the family for over 50 years.

 

[mwemaxxowner]

https://gearheadautomotiveperforman...uct/product&product_id=245&search=Spark+plugs

So I was wrong. Sp-550 are gapped to 0.028 but the heat range is the same as a sp-534.

Sp-542 are one step closer for 2.7 engines.

This is what I thought. Not sure what the difference is. 542 are the 1 step colder plugs. There isn't a suitable plug I know of that is one step colder for the little guy.

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[DBCooper]

The SP 542s are one step colder for the 3.5L. At least they are for my 2012. I'm currently running them at .028 but the next change I'm going to tighten them up a bit to .026; as recommended by my tuner.

 

[Blown F-150]

If the 550's are just a smaller gap, than I'll run them. As Jordan says, WAY cheaper than the 534's.

 

[Grim Reaper]

If the 550's are just a smaller gap, than I'll run them. As Jordan says, WAY cheaper than the 534's.

I order mine from the US and pick them up at the Shipping Warehouse when I visit friends/family in the Lower Mainland. SP-534s are US$5.99 last time on Amazon.com. SP-542s are US$7.43. If the order is under $75, the border doesn't even make me go in to pay the taxes! In Canada however, everyone wants to rip you off for the Motorcraft plugs. Even Amazon.ca rips you off.

Being an old-time hot-rodder, one of the first things I tried was colder plugs (NGKs at that time ... there were no choices then) once I got tuned. The colder plugs had no advantage and no affect on KR (not like when I installed an CAC). I went back to SP-534s because I found the stock plugs ran better in city traffic (and I have times where I drive pure city for weeks at a time). If a person drives a LOT of city traffic, the SP-534s ran better and had less tendency to foul. (I found a tight gap helped more for a smooth running engine).

If I drove a lot of highway (especially towing), then I would probably run SP-542s.

 

[Grim Reaper]

PS: I am anxious to see what the higher volume GT Turbos do for KR. With the lower boost and higher volume of the GTs, I think that will do more for reducing KR in WOT than a colder range of plug.

I have a fair amount of Datalogs that I can do some good comparisons.

 

[milesej05]

BTW...the 6 SP534's I just ordered from RockAuto came out to be $41.63 shipped. I opted for 2-3 day shipping instead of 10-14 day shipping for an extra $2 dollars.

 

[DBCooper]

I just picked up a set of SP-542s from O'Reillys for 5.99 each.

 

[RoastinF150]

I have had great success with:

[h=1]NGK # 6509 Iridium Spark Plug LTR6IX-11[/h]

 

[TOWMA8R]

Ordered some SP-550 today, will pick up tomorrow. From my research and the fact ford now makes them the OEM plug for the newer vehicles and if you go to ford and ask for plugs, they pull up the SP-550 for 10-current eco. They are even offered as an upgrade on most ford racing performance sites.

 

[R0bCincy]

Yep. And in their office is a bookcase loaded with cartons of that specific plug and a manual gapping device.
I watched them gap me a set.

My motor was too hot to swap out so I promised him I'd do them when I got home.

(my truck had spent the previous few hours on his dyno and HE wasn't happy with how the truck was responding to his tune-tweaks. I, on the other hand was grinning as I watched each pull steadily increase. He suddenly looked over at me and asked "you have our plugs in this thing, right?" I replied "what plugs?"

That ended the dyno session. Lol

Obviously I don't know how much the plugs increased performance since the truck was at home when I changed them. But in theory, there was some untapped output waiting for those plugs. I DO know the truck runs fantastic. Always predictable.)

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So what type of numbers did you pull on the dyno?

 

[mwemaxxowner]

Bigly numbers.

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[snakebitten]

I posted the dyno runs on this thread somewhere back a ways.
Although Matt's dyno is identical to the one I did the tune-comparison, I haven't been back on a dyno since the plugs went in.

Oops, not this thread. The GearHead tune thread. Sorry