Honestly I’m afraid to check again....
I was cleaning my spark plugs today and decided to check the gap and adjust as necessary. How often do yall do that with your Abarths? I found 2 plugs well beyond spec at .034", the other 2 were a little loose for my liking at .26", and I had previously set them at .022". That tells me to check way more often than every 10,000 miles. I put them all back at .020" this time and the car runs significantly better.
Madness 500 gen1.5 piggyback ECM & Go Pedal
Madness 500 Maxfire ignition coils & SIKR9A7 gapped at .4mm(0.0157inches)
GFB DV+
Forge Motorsport BOV & wastegate actuator with 7mm preload
Magnaflow Sport Series 15211 exhaust & MPx de-cat downpipe
Madness 500 high flow intake & thermal blanket
FMIC
17x7 Sparco Asseto Garra
R1 brake rotors & steel braided brake lines
Front top brace & bottom anti-roll bar, RRM chassis brace
Neu-F back torsion bar & springs
Honestly I’m afraid to check again....
2013 Rosso Abarth 5spd Bianco 17s
"It feels like you have no suspension! Why does it explode when you shift?
IS YOUR CAR ILLEGAL??" ~ My Mom
Madness 500 gen1.5 piggyback ECM & Go Pedal
Madness 500 Maxfire ignition coils & SIKR9A7 gapped at .4mm(0.0157inches)
GFB DV+
Forge Motorsport BOV & wastegate actuator with 7mm preload
Magnaflow Sport Series 15211 exhaust & MPx de-cat downpipe
Madness 500 high flow intake & thermal blanket
FMIC
17x7 Sparco Asseto Garra
R1 brake rotors & steel braided brake lines
Front top brace & bottom anti-roll bar, RRM chassis brace
Neu-F back torsion bar & springs
The change interval is 30,000 miles, so I bet most people don't check and adjust the plugs. If you are heavily modified, I guess checking them occasionally wouldn't be a bad idea, based on your findings. Like anything else, the harder you push a car, the more maintenance it needs. I imagine that high energy coils may contribute to gap erosion, too. What plugs did you use?
2013 Rosso Abarth 5spd Bianco 17s
"It feels like you have no suspension! Why does it explode when you shift?
IS YOUR CAR ILLEGAL??" ~ My Mom
Madness 500 gen1.5 piggyback ECM & Go Pedal
Madness 500 Maxfire ignition coils & SIKR9A7 gapped at .4mm(0.0157inches)
GFB DV+
Forge Motorsport BOV & wastegate actuator with 7mm preload
Magnaflow Sport Series 15211 exhaust & MPx de-cat downpipe
Madness 500 high flow intake & thermal blanket
FMIC
17x7 Sparco Asseto Garra
R1 brake rotors & steel braided brake lines
Front top brace & bottom anti-roll bar, RRM chassis brace
Neu-F back torsion bar & springs
I replaced mine with stock plugs at around 33,000, no problems since, haven't checked, so at 60K I'm due for another change.
2013 Rosso Abarth with 61K miles, Koni yellow shocks, Madness springs, Neu-f rear sway bar, EBC Yellowstuff brake pads, DOT4 brake fluid, K&N air filter, autocross 17 inch Ciao Milano wheels with Bridgestone Potenza RE71R, daily wheels stock 16 inch Dunlop DZ102. 2017 1st place HS Tidewater Sports Car Club: 2016-2015 1st Place TSCC GS class; 2014-2013: 2nd place in SCCA South Carolina Region G Stock.
My Car blog: http://www.nms-racing.net/
On this; I think cold starts and driving style need to be taken into account, as well as how much oil the car tends to consume. My car is thirsty with the oil and I suspect it has a lot to do with alpine living and cold morning starts. I changed my plugs around 32k mi and they were destroyed. The electrodes were covered in deposits and the gap was out of spec. The new plugs made a massive difference in performance and fuel economy. like an easy 5mpg/ average difference per tank.
It's $60 and 45 minutes to do, so I'm going to do them every 20k mi or maybe less if I see fuel economy fall off.
- Julie
2015 500 Turbo 5mt
2013 500 Pop 5mt
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