E3 Spark Plugs News

E3 Spark Plugs offers tips to make sure your motorized toys and tools are ready for springtime.

Come March 17, just a week away, spring will have officially sprung and people everywhere will be happily anticipating some warm-weather fun. Of course, many will be anticipating for a bit longer than others. Those living in the nation’s northernmost states may see another snowstorm or two before the grass greens and the locals don tank tops and flip flops. Either way, E3 Spark Plugs says March is the ideal time for springtime maintenance on all those motorized rides and tools that you’ll be using when the higher temperatures return.

Top priority might be your lawn and garden tools, including lawn mowers, hedge trimmers and chainsaws. If you haven’t already, replace the spark plugs, drain the old oil and gas and fill up anew, replace filters, sharpen or replace dull blades, and repair or replace any broken or worn parts including grips, cables and belts.

Itching to take that ATV out of the garage and hit the trails? Or are you an avid angler looking forward to some time on the water? Now is the time to replace the fluid in the lower gearbox of your boat’s outboard motor and replace the oil and fuel in your ATV. Also pick up new sets of boat spark plugs or powersports / performance spark plugs, including a back up set and a plug wrench to keep in your tackle box or ATV toolbox. Check E3 Spark Plugs’ online catalog to find just the right plugs for your tools and toys.

While you’re at it, it’s also a great time to check your wallet for expired driver’s licenses, fishing and hunting licenses or firearm licenses. Also check your tags and inspection stickers to make sure they’re still valid. Better to spend a few minutes now than to have your day on the water or the trails cut short when you get busted for past-due renewals.

Not all spark plugs are created equal. Some spark plugs are made to burn hotter than others. Making sure that you install the right spark plugs can make a critical difference in the way your engine performs.  Using spark plugs that burn too hot for your particular engine can result in pre-detonation and cause your engine to overheat. But if your spark plugs burn too cold, your engine may perform sluggishly and you can end up with carbon fouling requiring you to clean or replace your spark plugs.

Don't let this happen to your spark plugs! Make sure you get the right hot or cold spark plug for your engine based on its model and use.

Spark plugs work by forcing electricity to arc across a gap, much like a bolt of lightning arcs from a cloud to the ground. A high voltage – anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000 volts – is needed to create a strong enough spark to ignite the fuel/air mixture and start your engine. All spark plugs feature ceramic inserts designed to insulate the high voltage at the electrode tip, where it can jump the gap and be directed into the engine’s cylinder. The resulting heat also helps to burn excess fuel and carbon deposits from the plug’s electrode.

Hot spark plugs feature a ceramic insulator designed with a smaller contact area surrounding the metal electrode to reduce heat transfer and keep the spark plug tip insulated. Cold spark plugs have a larger contact area and transfer more heat away from the spark plug tip. Because ceramic is such a poor conductor of heat, these spark plugs run cooler. Manufacturers specify a spark plug’s heat range using numbers but always ask before you buy as differing brands may use larger or smaller numbers to indicate a specific temperature range.

For many years, auto makers and mechanics recommended hot spark plugs for vehicles that primarily were driven slowly and for short distances, and cold spark plugs for automobiles driven on long distances and sustaining high speed highway use. Today, car and truck fuel/air mixtures and cylinder temperatures are electronically maintained within a much narrower range than before, primarily in an effort to minimize emissions. So, the practice has become a bit obsolete except when it comes to high performance race car engines, boat motors and truck engines. Because these engines generate crazy high heat, they often require colder spark plugs to keep the fuel/air mixture from igniting before the spark fires.

The best way to make sure you are using the right spark plug for your vehicle’s engine, based upon its primary use, is to check your vehicle owner’s manual. You also can find the right E3 spark plug for your car, truck, boat, power sports or lawn & garden equipment engine by checking our online interactive catalog.