What kind of vehicles are surface gap plugs used for?
These are plugs developed for racing, and there are many people who use these plugs in the All-Japan Road Race Championship JSB1000 class and in drag racing. Because the ground electrode is gone, there are the following advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages
[1]
When the engine is tuned so that the compression ratio is increased, these can avoid interference with the piston.
[2]
Because there are no excess projections into the combustion chamber, the combustion efficiency at high revolutions is improved.
[3]
Difficulties due to the ground electrode can be prevented.
Disadvantages
[1]
The ignitability becomes worse, and thus feeling and response at low and mid-revolutions deteriorates.
[2]
The engine characteristics become peaky; because of this, in the popular ST600 class, where conditions are severe, there are many people who use plugs with ground electrodes.