REL37B plugs &
Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 9:46 am
Folks...
I was researching whether there are any less expensive plugs out there.
I ran across the following excerpt in an old EAA chapter article. I
emailed the guy to follow up on his original article.
Ted
-----------------
A quick look at the Aircraft Spruce catalog showed that the price of new
REJ38 and REL37B plugs that fit the 14mm holes in the cylinder heads had
jumped from about $17.00 a plug to almost $30.00. Serious sticker shock!
I wasn't quite ready to shell out $120.00 for new plugs. So, I bought
four new Bosch W8AC automotive plugs from my friends Steve and Linda
Bennett at Great Plains Aircraft Supply for a total of $8.00. Several
years ago, I had purchased Steve's spark plug adapters that slip over
the Bosch plugs and allow the use of the standard Slick shielded
ignition wires that are on the airplane. I had used them for a while,
but didn't like the spark noise in the radio, and had switched back
aircraft plugs. I thought that I could tolerate the RF noise after
converting back to the Bosch plugs, but it still bugged me that it was
there, as it noticeably degraded my Comm reception. I needed to come to
a solution. After doing a bit of reading, and poking around on the
Internet, I came to the conclusion that maybe resistor-type spark plugs
might do the trick. I found that the Champion 327 (RL87YC) plug is a
direct replacement for the W8AC and it has a resistor. Today, I went to
my friendly NAPA store and bought four of them for $7.53. I then went
out to the airport and installed them. (It was foggy and rainy, so it
was a good day to do maintenance.) And guess what? They work.
-----Original Message-----
From: FredKeip@aol.com [mailto:FredKeip@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 9:57 PM
To: tedwaltman@i1ci.com
Subject: Re: Follow up on your EAA article on REL37B plugs
Ted,
I'm still using the Champion RL87YC plugs in my Sonerai IIL. The engine
is an 1807cc VW conversion, and those plugs are the recommended Champion
plugs for the VW engine. As far as problems go, I really haven't had
any significant ones. I still get a little bit of spark noise, and I
have to keep an eye on the gaps because the plugs are not really set up
for the .016" gap required for the Slick magneto. You have to pinch the
outer electrode down a bit to get that gap, so as wear occurs, that gap
opens more quickly than if the gap was at .028".
The adapters that I use are supplied by Great Plains Aircraft Supply
(www.gpasc.com). They are machined from billet aluminum and are
configured to accept the standard 5/8" threaded end on the Slick
ignition harness. I'd strongly recommend them along with the Champion
plugs. At around $2.00 a plug, you can install a new set every year at
the annual inspection for less than the cost of one REL37B. I guess the
only question I would have about using the RL87YC plug in the M14P would
be if the heat range is correct. If not, you could check to see if
Champion makes the plug in other ranges.
I hope this helps.
Fred
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I was researching whether there are any less expensive plugs out there.
I ran across the following excerpt in an old EAA chapter article. I
emailed the guy to follow up on his original article.
Ted
-----------------
A quick look at the Aircraft Spruce catalog showed that the price of new
REJ38 and REL37B plugs that fit the 14mm holes in the cylinder heads had
jumped from about $17.00 a plug to almost $30.00. Serious sticker shock!
I wasn't quite ready to shell out $120.00 for new plugs. So, I bought
four new Bosch W8AC automotive plugs from my friends Steve and Linda
Bennett at Great Plains Aircraft Supply for a total of $8.00. Several
years ago, I had purchased Steve's spark plug adapters that slip over
the Bosch plugs and allow the use of the standard Slick shielded
ignition wires that are on the airplane. I had used them for a while,
but didn't like the spark noise in the radio, and had switched back
aircraft plugs. I thought that I could tolerate the RF noise after
converting back to the Bosch plugs, but it still bugged me that it was
there, as it noticeably degraded my Comm reception. I needed to come to
a solution. After doing a bit of reading, and poking around on the
Internet, I came to the conclusion that maybe resistor-type spark plugs
might do the trick. I found that the Champion 327 (RL87YC) plug is a
direct replacement for the W8AC and it has a resistor. Today, I went to
my friendly NAPA store and bought four of them for $7.53. I then went
out to the airport and installed them. (It was foggy and rainy, so it
was a good day to do maintenance.) And guess what? They work.
-----Original Message-----
From: FredKeip@aol.com [mailto:FredKeip@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 9:57 PM
To: tedwaltman@i1ci.com
Subject: Re: Follow up on your EAA article on REL37B plugs
Ted,
I'm still using the Champion RL87YC plugs in my Sonerai IIL. The engine
is an 1807cc VW conversion, and those plugs are the recommended Champion
plugs for the VW engine. As far as problems go, I really haven't had
any significant ones. I still get a little bit of spark noise, and I
have to keep an eye on the gaps because the plugs are not really set up
for the .016" gap required for the Slick magneto. You have to pinch the
outer electrode down a bit to get that gap, so as wear occurs, that gap
opens more quickly than if the gap was at .028".
The adapters that I use are supplied by Great Plains Aircraft Supply
(www.gpasc.com). They are machined from billet aluminum and are
configured to accept the standard 5/8" threaded end on the Slick
ignition harness. I'd strongly recommend them along with the Champion
plugs. At around $2.00 a plug, you can install a new set every year at
the annual inspection for less than the cost of one REL37B. I guess the
only question I would have about using the RL87YC plug in the M14P would
be if the heat range is correct. If not, you could check to see if
Champion makes the plug in other ranges.
I hope this helps.
Fred
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