One of the least thought about parts of your automobile is the humble spark plug. So small and inconsequential looking, most folks are happy to go along without giving their spark plugs a second thought—until they don’t work. Suddenly, this tiny part can bring your whole day to a halt. But, we can prevent the heartache and an expensive tow job by learning what do spark plugs do and more importantly, how spark plugs work.
What Does a Spark Plug Do?
Basically, a spark plug is an electrical gadget that fits into your engine’s cylinder head where it “sparks” to ignite the fuel. The plug is connected to the ignition coil that generates the high voltage needed to spark the fuel and create combustion. And, it’s this combustion that causes your engine to run. So, no spark plug means no combustion, which means no go.
How Spark Plugs Work
Before it ever gets to the spark plug for ignition, the fuel goes on a long path from the gas tank. The fuel pump moves it through the fuel lines to the fuel injectors. At this point, the cold air intake portion of the engine is sucking oxygen into the cylinders, too. The fuel and air is mixed into a highly combustible state and then injected into the cylinder where the spark plug sparks and explodes the whole deal. And, this is happening thousands of times each minute. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Fuel and air mix in the throttle body
- Mixture is injected into cylinder
- Spark plug receives charge from coil
- Spark plug ignites air/fuel mixture
- Process starts again
Choosing the Right Spark Plug for Your Ride
So, it’s easy to see how important spark plugs are. Luckily, they don’t cost a lot and are easily replaced. Of course, changing F150 sparks plugs is going to be much easier than changing Fiat 500 plugs, just because they’ll be easier to get to. When changing your plugs, it’s also a great time to consider performance plugs from brands like NGK and Pulstar spark plugs. And, if you really wanna get some spark, couple your performance plugs with a performance coil like a Mallory and some performance injectors like Venom injectors.