Anyone running the 'Motorsport' map on their THP?

[Dave Clarke]

Was there any SUN?

Yeah there was a bit, it was only random showers tbh

Dave- do those IRIDIUM plugs have to have a new gap set- or they come set?
CBLUE

Like Cyclone says, they're gapped but always check, and tbh 0.8 or 0.75 is better imo

[Czar]

Yeah there was a bit, it was only random showers tbh



Like Cyclone says, they're gapped but always check, and tbh 0.8 or 0.75 is better imo

You should find them already from the box, with a preset electrode air gap of 0.8mm the NGK reference code, ILZKBR7A-8G the 8 is reference to the electrode air gap, so in this instance it refers to 0.8mm.

[Chris_Blue]

Cheers Dave/ Czen
CBLUE

[ds3r]

hi are these plugs worth changing too whats the difference. thanks

[Czar]

hi are these plugs worth changing too whats the difference. thanks

This is a guide to spark plugs I wrote for the BMW MINI forums, however I have adjusted it for you Citroen owners:

Platinum and Iridium is used for it's hardness and resistance to wear, this gives longevity between service intervals, with Iridium being the harder of the two,
Iridium is 6x harder and 8x stronger than Platinum, Iridium has a very high heat melting point of 2,443ºC, with all these factors taken into consideration, Iridium is generally thought of as being the best material for the electrode tip resulting in a fine wire spark plug, well in terms of less maintenance/extended service intervals then yes it is, however Iridium is a very very dense material and is a very poor thermal and electrical conductor, see chart below.



Some of you may well be saying, Why use it at all if what we see/read here is true? As touched upon earlier, Platinum and Iridium are used for their ability to provide longevity between service intervals and the resistance to wear, especially Iridium, that's it.

Now that you have seen the thermal and conductivity chart, we can see that Silver is the best of all precious metals when it comes to thermal and electrical conductivity, so why not fit these instead of the more popular Platinum and Iridium?

Well very simply, you would need a more regular maintenance schedule, unlike the Platinum and Iridium spark plugs, which can be fit and forgotten about for 20,000 miles + if you use or consider using Silver or copper spark plugs, remember these will require more frequent service schedule replacements than the Platinum or Iridium, if you are looking for more performance over longevity, or you track your Citroen, then you should be aware and looking if not using other alternatives to Platinum or Iridium.

Now I've got you thinking, So what's the best spark plug for my Citroen?

That all depends on what you do with your Citroen, and of course your budget, if your Citroen is your daily driver and you rely and trust your dealer (they know best!) then you may as well stop reading now, if on the other hand your Citroen is your daily driver come weekend warrior, or is just your weekend warrior, and you do your maintenance yourself then read on.

So your now thinking about the possibility of a better performing spark plug, with the Citroen you must run a Resistor spark plug, if you were to run a non Resistor spark plug you will have issues with the electronic steering system and the electronic throttle (drive by wire system) So lets now forget about stock/standard Platinum and Iridium spark plugs, and concentrate on PERFORMANCE, if you want the best performance then you have to look at Silver or Copper, as you can clearly see from the thermal and electrical conductivity chart, these two materials are No 1 Silver and 2nd Copper, so you've upgraded your engine/fuel system/ignition system (wires and coil or coil overs in the case of those running THP engines and had your Citroen tuned, why are you still running Platinum or Iridium spark plugs?

The noticeable difference can be quite significant, when running Silver or Copper spark plugs, Just because these tend to be aimed at and marketed as Performance/Racing spark plugs, does not mean their sole purpose is for track use, however the term, Racing spark plugs, are generally just an indicator of the colder heat ranges available from the standard stock spark plug specified for your particular Citroen.

The term spark plug heat range refers to the speed with which the plug can transfer heat from the combustion chamber to the engine cylinder head, it has been found the optimum combustion chamber temperature for petrol engines is between 500ºC – 850ºC when it is within this range it is cool enough to avoid pre-ignition and plug tip overheating which can cause engine damage, while still being hot enough to burn off combustion deposits which cause fouling.

The spark plug can help maintain the optimum combustion chamber temperature, when a spark plug is referred to as a “cold plug” it is one that transfers heat rapidly from the firing tip into the engine cylinder head, which keeps the firing tip cooler. A “hot plug” has a much slower rate of heat transfer, which keeps the firing tip hotter.

An unaltered engine will run within the optimum operating range straight from the manufacturer, but if you make modifications such as a turbo, supercharger, increase compression, timing changes, boost increase, use of alternate racing fuels, or sustained use of nitrous oxide, these can alter the plug tip temperature and may necessitate a colder plug.

A rule of thumb is, one heat range colder per modification or one heat range colder for every 75–100hp you increase. In identical spark plug types, the difference from one full heat range to the next is the ability to remove 70ºC to 100ºC from the combustion chamber!

The heat range numbers used by spark plug manufacturers are generally the higher the number, the colder the plug. (NGK)

Do not make spark plug changes at the same time as another engine modification such as different injectors/timing changes different boost loadings from your chosen forced induction, as in the event of poor results, it can lead to misleading and inaccurate conclusions, an exception would be when the alternate plugs came as part of a single precalibrated upgrade kit. When making spark plug heat range changes, it is better to err on the side of too cold a plug.

The worst thing that can happen from too cold a plug is a fouled spark plug, too hot a spark plug can cause severe engine damage!

This next little bit of information may not be of much use to many of you reading this, however for those that have the time and patience, then you may want to try degree orientation, (indexing) this is lining up the ground electrode with the inlet valve/s, this usually has a window of 45º working from the direct central position alignment of the ground electrode with the inlet valve/s, getting this correct can be quite difficult, firstly you will need to mark the ground electrode position onto the spark plug hex head or porcelain body with a suitable marker, then unscrew the sealing gasket from the spark plug, you then need to place a flat Copper washer of a specific thickness of your choice directly onto the spark plug shoulder, then screw the sealing gasket back onto the spark plug, once you then install and correctly torque down your spark plug you will get an indication as to the general direction of the ground electrode in relation to your inlet valve/s, you may need to do this many times using + or - to your first installed washer thickness to get the ground electrode in the correct orientation to the inlet valve/s, this operation can give a small benefit in terms of performance, but generally this gain can only normally be read on the dyno or felt at the track, and such is the small gain it may not be worth your inconvenience, time or effort to do, however that said if you are looking for every possible FREE amount of performance gain, then it may well be worth your while!

Now all of the above information is just a very quick guide to spark plugs, there is a lot more I could and can add, however I hope it will help all who read this, understand a little more about spark plug selection and fitment for the Citroen.

One final note, both the NGK spark plugs: PLZKBR7A-G and ILZKBR7A-8G M12 X 1.25 X 26.5mm have exactly the same firing temperature heat range, (P denotes Platinum, I denotes Iridium and the 7 denotes heat range) if you are thinking you might need a colder heat range spark plug, there is one available from NGK: LKR8AP M12 X 1.25 X 26.5mm this is one step colder heat range and should only really be considered if you are pushing 230hp + and run you're engine hard.

And a second final note: tightening torque: 15-20nm +/– 3nm (10.8-14.5 lbs/ft) and never ever apply any anti seize compound to the (NGK) spark plug threads, they already have a trivalent (anti seize) metal coating applied at the factory, this is to help reduce the chances of seizure and corrosion, if you do apply anti seize compound to any spark plug thread, this friction free slip coating, gives a false reading to your applied tightening torque figure, by reducing the tightening friction allowing over tightening, and increasing the chance of breaking the gas tight seal between the metal shell and the porcelain, and galling the threads, so be careful when installing any spark plugs and always torque them to their specific tightening torque value!

[ds3r]

hi thanks for that well what a answer some thing i can think about. so much information about spark plugs.

[chiefnerd]

I think that may go down as the ultimate response to any post... Respect czar ;-)

[Czar]

I think that may go down as the ultimate response to any post... Respect czar ;-)

Thank you Chief.

[BOBO-DS3]

bloody hell chief and czar actually getting on lol

[chiefnerd]

hahahahaha...he played nice and gave a ton of great info...I always love that!

[Chris_Blue]

Thank you Chief.

Wonder if its only a temporary truce:rolleyes:
CBLUE

[Chris_Blue]

Do you still set plug gaps the old way
With a pre gauged narrow piece of metal?
CBLUE

[Dave Clarke]

Do you still set plug gaps the old way
With a pre gauged narrow piece of metal?
CBLUE

Feeler guage http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0002BUEG...SIN=B0002BUEGM

[Chris_Blue]

Cheers Dave -Anyone done this map/ any map without the PCV Delete and no problems?
CBLUE

[Dangerousfish]

Cheers Dave -Anyone done this map/ any map without the PCV Delete and no problems?
CBLUE

Yup. Well, no problems as far as my car hasn't blown up again yet.