Plugs and Gap Settings

[NO 5 OH]

A friend of mine that has several Mustangs, ranging from supercharged to turbocharged told me something over the weekend to try on my SVO and I thought I'd post it here to get some opinions on it. My car is stock at the moment, but this week will be getting a turbo style header (no, not the one from ATR ), a Turbo XS boost controller, and a Turbo Coupe intercooler. I plan on doing a couple other things to it as well (exhaust, etc.) but that's after the funds get replenished

What he has done in the past (and it took some considerable chiding to get him to tell me this) is to run a couple steps colder plug and gap them a little less than factory specs. He told me if you do this then you can turn up the timing a little more than what you could under normal heat range plugs gapped within factory spec. My question is this a good or a bad thing to try? I know you have to be really careful with the tuning and such, as too much timing will lead to dreaded detonation, which will ruin a perfectly good turbo motor. I don't plan on running some insane hp combo but I would like it to run a bit better than what it does now (not that it runs bad as it is... but there's always more ).

TIA

[Gator]

Buy the Motorcraft 22C plugs, and gap then at about 34-36.

Its not really as big a secret as yer pal is making it out to be.

And its not going to help all that much. To me its more like a "safety net."

[svono50]

I would have to agree with Gator on this one . . . it is more of a safety net against bad gas, weather and such more so than a performance enhancement. I have had good luck running the stock range Autolite plugs (764's) and haven't had to go to the 763's. I use Autolites because they are easier to find around me than Motorcrafts. As for the gap, I would suggest something in the 28-30 range, which is a wee bit tighter than factory specs, especially if you are running higher than stock boost levels. Good luck with your project.