"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...

snip
Less so with 4 engines each with 12 cylinders and (not sure, 2 plugs per
cylinder?)

As for the copper tip/ iridium tip BS, that's just marketing crap of the
highest order and deserves consigning to the same category as those
misinformed persons who think that paying £30 for a can of oil for their
pride and joy will make it last forever, or even make it last ANY longer.


Someday the connection between "longlife" oils and the appearance of
"engine sludging" problems may be made in the minds of the hard of
thinking.


I would never use a "longlife" oil. I just can't believe that such oils
behave _as well_ as normal oils, over the extended time of usage.


Well again, yes and no. Under certain conditions certain plugs will run
better than others ..if you are in the business of screwing the last
horsepower or mile per gallon out of an engine, the plugs are certainly
worth swapping around to see if a particular type works best.


The standard spark plugs fitted to new car/motorcycle engines (in the past)
were the "best compromise". Fitting a softer (hotter) plug or a harder
(cooler) one could reduce erosion of electrodes or fouling of the insulation
in some (possibly many) cases.
Can you still get the wide range of plugs that were available some years
ago, or is that now deemed unnecessary (I've been retired from the motor
trade for some time now)?

Sylvain.

Read one particular chapter of Ernest K Ganns book 'Fate is the Hunter'
for a truly terrifying tale of 'new spark plugs' in a set of engines on an
airliner.."we didn't have time to change them on the last engine, sir" "
and thank christ for that..it was the only one that ran reliably over 3000
feet altitude"

Al spark plugs are not created equal, and they are an integral part of
engine operation.

That doesn't of course mean that Super Unobtanium Plasmaplugs are anything
more than a load of hyped up ******** of course..just that there is some
potential for them not to be.


Snakey