Spark Plugs

As Golden Lodge 2HL plugs are no longer available I thought I would start a new thread on the issues of spark plugs.

Although there are some old stock 2HL plugs it will become increasing difficult and I suspect expensive to obtain the Golden Lodge plugs. At some point in the near future we will all need to change the plugs in our cars.

Therefore I have decided to start using the equivalent NGK B7ES plugs.

However what I need to know is what gap should be set, can anyone help?

Out of the box the plugs are set at 30 thou but the old Nord engines with a standard points set up probably require a 25 thou gap can anyone confirm please.

As a matter of interest I have been using B7ES plugs set at 30 thou for a couple of weeks and this morning when I started the car it was only running on three cylinders, a quick clean of the plug and all was fine again. I suspect the 30 thou gap is the problem but before reducing the gap to 25 thou I would appreciate some advice.

Thanks.

I contacted the extremely helpful technical department at NKG and the gap for B7ES plugs should be .6mm.

There was a long thread on the owners club forum about plugs. NGK B7ES were one of the recommended types. Most people seem very happy with them.

I switched over from Golden Lodge to NGK's and they seem fine, though to be honest so were the Golden Lodge, though many would disagree.

I used to use Splitfire spark plugs in my 1983 Alfetta GTV 2.0 with excellent results.(before I sold it in 2002) .. I was one of those who had a dislike of Golden Lodge

Definitely was able to get a much smoother idle and in city driving the fouling problem of the 2HL went away when using the Splitfire plugs.

25 thou or 0.6 mm will be the correct gap for 'traditional' style plugs but from memeory the Splitfire ran with 40 thou or 1 mm gaps....

I used the 4 electrode Bosch plugs in my Alfetta GTV (now sold), I actually thought they were better than the Golden Lodge and they were OK for the 25,000 miles I did in the car. Cannot remember the grade but I could check my Lancia Fulvia Zagato as thats what I bought them for originally and thought I would give them a try in the Alfa, so I ended up buying a second set!

Originally Posted by doveralfa

I used the 4 electrode Bosch plugs in my Alfetta GTV (now sold), I actually thought they were better than the Golden Lodge and they were OK for the 25,000 miles I did in the car. Cannot remember the grade but I could check my Lancia Fulvia Zagato as thats what I bought them for originally and thought I would give them a try in the Alfa, so I ended up buying a second set!

One of the last truely nice Lancia...NICE

Yes but mines not standard so is not to everyones taste!
To be honest I prefer the Alfa Junior Zagato shape.
Its a 1300 with mods and supposedly produces 112bhp but does not handle as well as the Coupe though it has the HF wishbones.

Will check the plugs at the weekend and post the grade.

Mark

The Bosch 4 electrode plugs I used were super 4's grade W56.
Seemed fine in my late Alfetta GTV and the 1.3 Fulvia which used to have NGK BPR7ES fitted.

I've recently swapped from Golden Lodge to Bosch Super 4s and it's made a huge difference to ease of starting with no detriment to performance. Apparently the Bosch draw a much lower voltage at start up and are much less prone to fouling. Anyway, a big thumbs up from me...
The Bosch reference is 504 or WR 78X depending on parts lists!

Looking at mine (I found the box with the old plugs in!) the box is marked W56 with 0241242504 below on both the packet and the individual boxes, plugs are marked WR78 on the metal part and R6 on the insulator.
I'm sure it makes perfect sense if you are German but not as easy as N7Y or BP7ES for the rest of us!
May try some on my 75 but having bought a set of Golden Lodge for a couple of quid at the boot fair I feel duty bound to wear them out!

Very interesting about the Bosch plugs, I have just started using NGK B7ES but have noticed, on occasions that the engine misses on one cylinder (starting from cold) before eventually clearing.

Not sure if that is an indication that I should be using B6ES but I might try the Bosch plugs at the next change.

I am also very tempted to try the new electronic 123 distributor, its on my Christmas list.

I certainly wouldn't fit BP6ES plugs, far too hot, I would stick to BP7 or 8 unless you like vented pistons? I know that some Fulvia owners fitted BP6ES and said they were fine , and I also heard some others with serious piston damage after a flat out motorway run. 2hl's were too cool for a Fulvia engine (I tried them and they fouled up) so BP6 would be even worse in an Alfa.
Trouble is that Champion numbers go up with heat and NGK go down and this can cause confusion!
The Bosch grade above lasted for 25,000 mainly motorway and hard driven miles in my Alfetta and it always started and ran well.