Electronic Ignition & Spark Plugs

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

When a Holden points ignition system is upgraded to an electronic system do the spark plugs need to be upgraded too?

I fitted a new Bosch clone electronic Ignition to my early HQ 202 cubic inch red motor. The electronic ignition distributor came with a new genuine Bosch coil and new spark leads. Plus a not more than postage stamp sized instruction page. It was a pretty comprehensive kit. However, the instructions did not mention anything about spark plugs or spark gaps.

I took one of the old spark plugs out and I went to an auto-parts store where I bought a new set of the same plugs.

Should I have bought a different specification set of plugs, and if so what ones?

Also, what size gap setting should there be for the electronic system?

Kind Regards
Lionel

[bee utey]

Holden HEI distributors were designed to run plug gaps of up to 0.060" (1.5mm) so they could run extra lean mixtures. However it is quite unnecessary for a normally tuned engine to run these gaps. Anything around 0.032" to 0.040" (0.8 to 1.0mm) is adequate for full performance. Larger gaps tended to burn out the leads after a couple of years of normal service.