Halo sparkplugs
 

I just got a set of these today. My next sparkplug test.
https://www.haloplug.com/howitworks.php Results to follow.

8 bucks a pop were they?
 

8 bucks a pop were they? Might be worth it for the 1.4% hp increase alone, haha. But increased mileage, real tests. Hell, they would easily pay for themselves.

Looks like it may be time
 

Looks like it may be time for some more mileage runs this weekend.:D I hope the stupid winds finally die down. They have been about 10-15 mph for what seems like a month now. You get great mileage from the tailwinds but the headwinds suck! I think you lose more from headwinds than you gain from tailwinds.

I would love to hear how the
 

I would love to hear how the runs go. If it turns out good I will have to get some.

Re: I would love to hear how the
 

Mehbe matt'll get the place to donate some to the site for "independent testing." ^_^

Excuse the ignorance...
 

Excuse the ignorance...

but the drawings make it look like the spark is a gas that is emitted for a period of time before it is released.

https://www.haloplug.com/images/q.jpghttps://www.haloplug.com/images/q2.jpg

A spark doesn't build up like they are saying. It just happens. Maybe some of the engineers on this forum can shed some light on what their claims are and if they hold water.

I'm not exactly certain I understand what the above pictures are actually supposed to be demonstrating.

The spark isn't instanteous,
 

The spark isn't instanteous, it moves throughout the cylinder as it ignites stuff. The idea in this case it that it gets out the faster, more directly, and blows the hells out of it more efficiently, rather than being roundabout and weak and all that.

Re: The spark isn't instanteous,
 

So how is this any different than the other spark plugs that claim to have a hotter burn and increased combustion? I'm really interested in seeing the results, but I'm not convinced yet. Everything I've seen so far makes me believe that a spark plug is a spark plug. Until I see evidence otherwise, I'm skeptical.

Well, as opposed to starting
 

Well, as opposed to starting the spark out on the side it shoots it down the middle, which'll create more of a burn surface are blah blah blah, so burns it quicker/better, who knows if it works.

Re: Halo sparkplugs
 

Just wondering what made you decide on these plugs in particular. Is there quite a bit of positive buzz out there?

RH77

I have to agree with Matt on
 

I have to agree with Matt on this one - intuition tells me this is just a gimmick, but I am interested in seeing results.

If this theory of more surface area on the electrodes yielding better spark is true, it surely has diminishing returns, for as you increase the surface area of the electrodes, you are essentially making it more difficult for the mixture to get to where the spark is going to occur at, and also with larger electrode surfaces, you're less likely to know exactly where the spark is going to occur.

As for my input on the drawings, perhaps they are showing with those 'islands' the isotherms [lines of constant heat, like in a topographical map] generated by the sparks, although by looking at the crudeness of the drawings, I doubt there was any serious testing invovled to determine this. The flame front does propagate from the spark plug region of the combustion chamber, but I highly doubt it must make a 90* turn to go around the ground strap on the plug - it probably just splits and meets back up on the other side.

Again, not trying to say they won't help, I'm just very skeptical.

Actually I'm a little
 

Actually I'm a little skeptical myself. But I figure it's worth a shot to see if they just might work. I'm going to top off the tank tonight so I can get some figures on the new plugs.

My thinking is if you want a
 

My thinking is if you want a stronger spark then get a stronger ignition coil.

When I had a MSD system I had a MSD blaster SS coil. I disabled my internal coil and used the msd coil. From 2000-4000rpm there was a difference in performance. The rest of the rpm was like on the original coil. I never checked the mpg when I had the msd system because the car was built for performance. I'm sure you'll get maybe 1-2mpg increase if you switch to a stronger coil.

The cars without distributors you can buy a device which will make your coil packs have increase voltage. But with more power to the spark plugs you got to upgrade the spark plug wiring. Upgrading the coil and not the wires will just deteriorate your wires and you won't see any increases in your mpg or performance.

On the '89 240SX I installed
 

On the '89 240SX I installed a Jacobs Omni Pack coil and Jacobs wires. The instructions say to open the gap to about .045 then open even farther in .005 increments until a miss is detected, then close by .005 increments until the miss disappears. After this process, I gained about a mile per gallon and low speed and idle was noticeably smoother. No doubt the extra spark energy (it has a 30 amp fuse) and the multistrike spark helped. The OEM gap I think was .035 and I ended up at .055. When I removed the Jacobs system to sell the car, to my suprise it still ran almost as well with the stock system and plugs gapped at .050. Didn't get a mileage read with this set-up, but it may be worth further investigating.
Speculating about why this is so, I'm inclined to beleive that spark gaps are like ignition timing, the factory plays it safe to cover degradation of components and poor engine tune tolerance. If the gap is increased to the limit of the current engine configuration there may be some gains possible, but degradation of the state of tune may have a greater more immediate effect.
An electronics tech/motorhead here at work thinks that the stock system might not be durable drawing the extra current needed to jump a large gap. Any EEs out there know what parts of the ignition system are the most likely candidates to fail while drawing greater current with an increased gap? Coil, ECU?
I'm experimenting with increased gap right now on my B2300, but since it has dual plug heads it's really hard to detect if one of the plugs is not firing. Lean burn tolerance is pretty good though, the EFIE is pretty well cranked, I'll take a voltage reading soon.

https://www.haloplug.com/faq.php
 

So I just read about these Halo plugs in the BetterMPG group - did they work at increasing MPG??? The idea is to change the flame front to ignite the fuel faster and better thus getting a more complete burn of the charge and more quicker to get the fuel producing power at the top of the power stroke. Sort of like indexing the plugs without indexing them by shooting the spark out straight from the tip . . . fire ring plugs used to do the same thing but these seem to focus the spark better.

Re: https://www.haloplug.com/faq.php
 

I think they are working; somewhat. The reason I say it that way is, as I was just mentioning to someone recently, that I started testing them during the winter months. I haven't really seen a big mileage increase but it doesn't seem like I have taken as big a mileage hit this year as I did last year. According to my gaslog, I'm averaging just shy of 40 mpg but last winter my mileage was closer to 36-37.

but were the temperatures
 

but were the temperatures the same last winter? it's been milder this winter, where i live anyway.

Re: but were the temperatures
 

You may have a point there. I'll have to see if I can dig up some figures for last year's temps. Unfortunately I'm not so good at keeping track weather conditions/temps. :-(

mileage
 

Well temperature really has a small effect - I just went around my usual Ocean Drive at noon time today 14-20 degrees outside and started cold but got 42.3mpg . . . a few days ago on the 45-50 degree day I got 44.0 and it was windy and raining wet roads daytime . . . so go figure . . .

i guess it depends on what
 

i guess it depends on what you consider "small". 42.3 to 44 is a 4% difference (from the lower figure).

personally, i'd call that pretty significant!

many of the individual mods we make to our cars don't return a 4% change.

Re: mileage
 

My Prius is much more sensitive to temperature. In 15-20F weather, I would be lucky to get 55MPG. In 45-50F weather I get 70MPG. About a 27% improvement.

The del Sol does not appear to be quite as sensitive. But I won't know for sure until I get the SuperMID.

What I mean by small
 

What I mean by small is all I have to do is goose it for one gear and the mileage for the trip drops a mpg or two for the 12 mile trip even a single red light will affect the result. But the variation on this test route is within a few mpg consistantly so it is nice to see things that we know affect mileage tend to still affect it the way they should.

I asked my brother about the Halo Plugs and he said they are aircraft plugs and thinks they are not that great - only thing that works best is the Champion Gold Platium plugs with their wider heat range and small electrode - everything else is a gimmick . . . of course he thinks it's a bad idea to be putting acetone in the gas too. I guess the only way to tell is to try them - bet they would work great in a Hemi head - indexing the plug is still the next best thing if only I knew where the valves are in this VVT-i motor . . .

i'm avoiding spending time
 

i'm avoiding spending time on mods that claim to promote more "complete" combustion based on info on https://fuelsaving.info

i believe this guy knows his stuff - he's a british auto engineer working in the industry with specific experience in engines.

nevertheless, before i read his site, i foolishly went out and bought a set of bosch platinum plugs. replaced an essentially new set of "regular" NGK plugs, and I now seriously doubt there's any difference between the 2 (other than perhaps service life).

Plugs
 

The Bosch plugs are very good but not quite as good as the Champion - they are the next level quality down and been know to break the insulator portion. But you did ok - the smaller center electrode allows for a higher e-field to build up and thus makes it easier for a spark to form - this is basic e-field theory in electricity. The pointier the electrode the easier the spark jumps - that is why vandegraph generators have big spherical balls so they hold the charge and don't spark as easily. The unburnt fuel is not the issue it is the miss when the fuel does not even ignite that you are going after or the late ignition that makes it studder - even my new xB has a little hesitation once in a while and I am thinking of checking the plugs and indexing them. Also Platinum is a catalyst and even a few molecules of it in the combustion chamber helps burn fuel better - now there is a stretch!

It's more about getting all that there is not getting more than is there - making sure you don't get misfires at full throttle and high or low RPM.

Re: i'm avoiding spending time
 

The fact that there is a maximum of 3% of un-burnt fuel isn't really giving you the full picture of what's going on. If 50% of your combustion was happening in the last 10% of crank rotation before the exhaust valve(s) open, this energy would be almost wasted. The benefit of multi-spark and better (at least advertised) flame propagation is the TIMING of the combustion. This is also why having a good swirl or tumble within the combustion chamber helps promote fuel economy (and power). You want a consistent "controlled" burn, which in theory, these types of plugs should help with.