Pop quiz time...

Off the top of your head, anyone know what the plug gap is for a stock MCS?

Clock's ticking...

 

I'll bite. You cannot set it because the stock plugs have the four prongs and do not have a taditional gap. These come preset when you by the plugs.

GMG

 

>>I'll bite. You cannot set it because the stock plugs have the four prongs and do not have a taditional gap. These come preset when you by the plugs.
>>
>>GMG

Try again - I'm using plugs that don't have four prongs...

Clock's reset...

 

Shot in the dark, .040 or .035

 

I'd like to know for sure....

Come on people someone must know?

 

suggestion - go to the website of the plug manufacturer and see if they have the info.

why are you changing away from the Iridium type plug? What brand are you moving towards?

GMG

 

Denso' website does give the specifications for their plugs.

IK20 has a gap of 1.1mm or 0.044 in
IK22 has a gap of 0.8mm or 0.032 in

I think the correct answer to your question is that MINI does not have a specified gap because the stock plugs are the 4 prong type that are not adjustable.

Here is something from the Denso FAQ

Q. Do I need to set the gap?

A. Generally, no. The DENSO Iridium Power plug comes pre-set with a protective sleeve over the firing end, to protect the gap from accidental alteration. DENSO Iridium Power’s ultra-efficient firing power compensates for normally recommended gap settings that are smaller than the pre-set value. In the cases of vehicle modifications (nitrous, turbo-chargers, super-chargers, high power ignition systems, etc.), some adjustments may be desired. Or, if you prefer to remain consistent with factory specifications, you may adjust. However, please be careful not to place any stress on the fine center electrode during adjustment. You could accidentally break off the very hard, and therefore brittle, tip.

I would go ahead and just use them as they come out of the box. Might be worth measuring them for consistency of gap, but I'd be hesitant to try to adjust them because of the unusual nature of the needle point electrode.

All this being said, I still have not given you a definitive answer to your question other than that there is no specified gap for plugs. What I would do is simply measure the gap and if it is at or very close to Denso's spec, I would not try to adjust it for fear of harming them.

 

Back in the dark ages, we used to have to set the gap carefully to get cars to run well.

That was a deep dark time in automotive-land, and since we had carburators spraying liquid fuel into slow-moving air, and we had points that opened at just the right time to attempt to make a spark, and mechanical and vacuum advance mechanisms for setting ignition timing, and NO feedback about how well any of these things were doing their jobs, you damn-well had better get the gap right.

And change the plugs, file the points (And set THAT gap also, man that was for **** trying to crank the engine "just a tiny bit more" to get the gap at its maximum)every 9,000 miles.
Check rotor and cap, and maybe replace those every 18,000 miles.

This was a terrible system, but it got us through the first hundred years of cars or so.

But now, we have coil-per-plug (Ours are coil-per-pair-of-plugs, but same thing) so we don't have a distributor with rotor and cap.

We have an electronic ignition system so we don't have points or a condensor.

We have fuel injectors spraying right above the intake valves so we get good fuel mixture.

And above all, we have an oxygen sensor in the exhaust measuring how well everything is burning, and adusting the fuel injectors so we get precisely the right amount of fuel in the intake.

All these things add up to a few really good (and one bad side effect) things:

- Put your plugs in when the car is made, replace them every 50,000 or 100,000 miles.
- No gapping of anything since the systems are much more powerful than they ned to be for the car.
- Timing advance can go much farther without trashing the engine due to a knock sensor.
- And the bad thing. Simple things like plug wires, plugs and other ignition enhancement devices don't make more than a teensy-tiny difference anymore. There went a whole aftermarket industry out the door. Anyone having real dynocharts showing gains on a modern engine from sparkplug wires needs to step up to the plate right away.

So, toss them plugs in and DRIVE!!!

 

Trippy is right, errr I mean correct.

Randy Webb checked the gap I had on my accel U grooves at the Richmond pully party and goofy me had gapped those silly things at .087. The car ran fine with those huge gaps. I had the Denso IK22s installed at the same party and to be honest I can't tell any difference between the non gap opened densos and the canyon like gaps i had on the accels.

Second Trippy's motion, throw those puppys in and Motor On.

 

The answer is on a stock MCS the gap is .065" which is what is used for the accel U grooves (pilo ignition upgrade kit).

On the IK-22 use then out of the box. Any gap from about .031 to .035" will work fine and even out of this range will also work.

Enjoy. So spark plug wires are upgraded for "looks" primary??!

 

Thanks minihune, I was looking for an answer, not the talk down my nose at you dissertation Trippy always gives.

 

Excuse me for providing information. (Not like I'm going to stop or anything :smile: )

 

I didn't think that the OEM plugs in the MCS were Denso iridium plugs. The standard plugs in the MC are NGK.