You may not know this, but spark plugs are one of the most important parts of your car. They’re responsible for igniting the fuel mixture in the cylinder, which creates a combustion reaction that produces power. You can’t drive without them! One of the simplest and cheapest things you can do for your car is changing spark plugs. The engine’s performance is dependent on how efficient they are. The more efficiently they work, the better off you’ll be with lower emissions and higher gas mileage. But what do you need to know more about changing spark plugs? Read on to learn all the benefits of changing spark plugs.
The main benefits of changing spark plugs are:
- Smoother engine
- Improved cold starting
- Better fuel economy
- Improved acceleration
- Improved ignition and starting characteristics
- Increases the efficiency and performance of the engine
The Role of Spark Plugs in a Car
Spark plugs are the bolts that create the ignition in your car. These bolts ignite fuel in the cylinder, which creates power for movement. Although they are tiny bolts, spark plugs play a huge role in the performance of your car. You will not be able to start your car if the spark plugs are spoilt.
After powering up the car, spark plugs ensure that the car is kept powered and in motion. This is achieved by ensuring smooth combustion of fuel in the cylinders of your car. This way, you get a balanced and smooth performance out of your engine.
Spark plugs also play an important role when starting up your vehicle in cold weather conditions or at night. It is not easy to start up vehicles in such conditions because they don’t have enough power for ignition. If you want to be able to use your car for years, it’s important that you change spark plugs every once in a while!
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Benefits of Changing Spark Plugs
1. Smoother engine
Modern cars rely on a combustion engine for power. However, to start a combustion engine in your car, you need an electric spark that is generated by spark plugs. When you turn the car key on, a small electricity jolt is sent across the gap between spark plugs and the engine. Immediately the spark is generated, the pistons and the power needed to move the vehicle if generated.
Spark plug ensures smoother engines by ensuring that there is a constant flow of electricity across the spark plug. The flow of this electricity impacts the engine by igniting the fuel and creating a combustion reaction. This way, you get improved acceleration and better power for your engine.
2. Improved cold starting
Many drivers have complained about their cars not being able to function properly in winter conditions. This might be because they haven’t changed their old or worn-out spark plugs yet with new ones. An important thing to note is that cold weather renders batteries less powerful. Moreover, they increase electric resistance in most electric circuits, including the ignition systems of cars.
When you have worn-out spark plugs, the battery may not provide enough energy to produce a spark powerful enough to get the engine started. Therefore, changing spark plugs is essential for cold weathers conditions. New spark plugs are properly gapped, thus, they require less energy to create the spark that will conveniently start the car even in cold weather.
3. Improved fuel economy
One of the most important benefits of changing spark plugs is an improved gas mileage. Worn-out spark plugs can reduce fuel efficiency by as much as 30%. With such a reduction in fuel efficiency, you will have to incur up to about 94 cents per gallon in modern prices. These statistics demonstrate why you need to change spark plugs.
When replaced at specific intervals, new spark plugs improve fuel economy. The savings you will make improved fuel economy will be more than enough for you to replace spark plugs frequently and save yourself some cash in the long run! For improved fuel economy of your car, it is recommended to change spark plugs every 30,000 miles.
4. Improved acceleration
Efficient spark plugs impacts horsepower. This is because spark plugs are responsible for igniting the air-fuel mixture in your cylinders. The more powerful the combustion, the better acceleration you will get from your engine.
New spark plugs improve horsepower by ensuring that there is a smooth flow of electricity between them and other components of an engine like the pistons.
The current flowing across these parts increases their efficiency, which in turn, leads to better acceleration. This way you get improved horsepower and a boost when accelerating your car!
5. Improved ignition and starting characteristics
Worn-out spark plugs do not produce sufficient sparks needed to start the engine. When the gap between spark plugs increases due to wearing out, their ability to produce sufficient sparks decreases.
Imagine getting late for an important meeting because of an engine stall. In most cases, when an engine fails to start quickly, there is an issue with the spark plugs. Failing spark plugs will also cause the battery to overwork in an attempt to generate enough energy. Consequently, this will lower your car’s battery life.
Therefore, changing spark plugs is beneficial for the overall ignition characteristics of your car. New spark plugs are clean, which ensures that there is no wear on the contact point between them and electrodes. In turn, this ensures stronger sparks that start your engine instantly.
6. Increases the efficiency and performance of the engine
Spark plugs enable the engines to convert fuel into usable mechanical power. When driving, spark plugs fire at a rate of about 25 times in one second. Missing a spark will be felt in the car’s engine as a stumble or glitch in its output.
When you change spark plugs, not only does it improve fuel economy but also enhances the overall running conditions of your car by ensuring that there is no loss or wastage in energy provided to an engine. The energy is normal in form of sparks produced by spark plugs.
Worn-out spark plugs cause misfires. Such misfires can damage an engine by causing it to work harder than necessary or even lead to further malfunctions! Spark plugs do not need replacement often but when they have worn out. Replacing spark plugs is a good investment as it ensures that the performance of your engine stays ahead.
Signs of worn-out spark plugs
Here are the symptoms you should look for to know if your spark plugs should be changed:
Trouble Starting
Worn-out spark plugs will not generate enough sparks to power up the car. Therefore, if your car engine is having a hard time starting, it’s the right time to change spark plugs.
Engine Misfires
Like trouble starting, you will feel a loss of power in your engine when miss-firing occurs. This happens because worn-out spark plugs do not generate enough sparks to fire up an air-fuel mixture!
Rough engine idle
A rough engine idling occurs due to an engine that is firing at the wrong time or at a slow rate. In most cases, this happens when spark plugs fail to produce enough power to ignite fuel in cylinders.
Decreased Fuel Economy
Fuel economy decreases when there’s less energy provided by spark plugs. A decreased fuel economy is felt as reduced acceleration and slower speed while driving your car!
Increased fuel consumption
Worn-out spark plugs burn more fuel than they need to. These spark plugs do not provide an efficient and clean enough flow of electricity between them and other components in a car’s engine like the pistons! As a result, a lot of fuel is burnt in a car’s engine that does not need to be!
Low acceleration
Low acceleration is one of the worst symptoms that you can experience while driving your car. In most cases, low acceleration is due to missing sparks caused by worn-out spark plugs!
Wrapping up
Spark plugs are important components of your car’s ignition system. There are many benefits of changing spark plugs. The most important of all is that these components improve your car’s fuel economy and performance. Changing spark plugs can help you save a lot on fuel costs! Therefore, it is high time you diagnose your car to identify any issue that means worn-out spark plugs and replace them.
