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Fine Wire plugs

I have been using fine wire plugs for quite a few years. The biggest advantage is that they don't foul (no lead fouling whatsoever) and they last forever (probably 1500+ hours vs 400 hours for massives). They are really maintenance-free. I doubt there is any performance difference.

At $170 each ($1,360/8) the price is very steep. But if you do the math they cost about the same a massives/hour. If you fly a lot it is probably worth it because of the maintenance issues.

I was lucky that a friend sold his homebuilt with only 25 hours on the plugs. He gave them to me and installed massives for the sale.
 
Thank you for your response, very helpful. We are starting the research into engine overhaul/ replacement and someone suggested that we install our fine wire plugs into a new engine. Our fine wire plugs have about 350hrs on them. I was concerned about putting 350 hr plugs in a newly overhauled or remanufactured engine.
 
I switch over to these also and have been very happy about it.

Bob
 
I ran massive plugs for the first few years I had my plane and would struggle to get smooth running LOP. After 300 hours and needing new plugs I switched to Tempest fine wires. As stated above no maintenance and fouling is a big benefit. But for me running LOP is way easier. No running rough when I go LOP it just drops RPM.
 
I started with just the lower plugs first, which seemed to be where I would get fouling. Then moved to all of them.

Bob
 
I put 4 in the lower plug holes. I had a constant problem with lead fouling. The mag checks were horrible. After I put fine wire plugs in the lower plug holes, the problems went away.

The only problem with the fine wires is that rarely the little wire falls off and plug is rendered inoperative. I like the idea of having one traditional and one fine wire.

Try your engine with 4 fine wires in the lower holes. I will bet that works so well you'll wait to get 4 more.
 
I was thinking about those fine wire for fouling issues I was having, but ultimately decided on the Tempest UREM37BY. It has the massive electrode but it is extended and not buried in the sparkplug housing like traditional ones. For 12 of them it ran me about $350 from Aircraft Spruce. Clearly a fraction of the cost of the fine wire ones. I have 120 hours on them so far and not one issue with fouling. There simply is no place for the lead balls to get stuck. Reviews are great on them which is one reason and price of course I went with them. No complaints at all.
 
My understanding of this is that the thin wire plugs are less prone to oil fouling, which occurs on the bottom plugs. As engines build up time, with wear, this is more likely to occur. I had this happen with a high-time engine & putting in the thins solved the problem.
 
For a person like me, that fly less than 100 hrs per year, it would not justify the cost.
Since I am a believer of flying on lean mixture all the time, I never had fowling of my spark plugs. My engine just turned 2023 Hrs original with a top changing piston rings, and one exhaust valve, every thing is original and going strong.
 
www.avweb.com

Spark Plugs

Spark plugs. Those pricey little fire-starters screwed into each cylinder can tell you much about the health of your engine and perhaps about your operating
www.avweb.com www.avweb.com

Toward the end of that link, you will find this:
A while back, RAM Aircraft did a study with fine-wire plugs in remanufactured engines in their aircraft, primarily Cessna twins with TCM TSIO-520 550 series engines. They found a measurable improvement in fuel consumption compared to massive plugs. The improvement required an increase in plug gap beyond the recommended limit to maximize savings, but even at the maximum recommended approved gap, some savings in fuel was made.RAM felt the savings were more than enough to offset the higher price of fine-wire plugs over the engine life. It’s also recommended to use only the single-electrode version, as they scavenge more efficiently.
Click to expand...
 
I've been using fine wire plugs for a long time. In addition to the benefits others have mentioned, they almost never need gap adjustment. I had to gap the massives every 100 hours or so, and it can be a PIA to do.

Whether something is "worth it" is a value judgement each of us makes according to our values. They've definitely been worth it to me in my O-200 Cessna 150.

Roy
 
According to Aircraft Spruce,, Champion has lowered its prices to match Tempest. -- $39.95 for massive electrode models and $168.75 for Fine wire models. Now, if I only believed they were as good as Tempest plugs...
 
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