What glow plug do I need to buy?

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twatenratten

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Hi, I've just read this somewhere on the net.

"For engines with a nitro percentage below 10% a HOT plug will do OK when the outside temp is 15/20 degrees Celsius.

For engines with a nitro percentage between 10 and 25% a MEDIUM or COLD plug will do OK when the outside temp is 15/20 degrees Celsius.

For engines with a nitro percentage above 25% (for fools only) a COLD plug will do OK when the outside temp is 15/20 degrees Celsius."


I'm trying to buy a glow plug for a ThunderTiger Tomahawk, what nitro percentage engine does this have? The dead plug that came with the car was N4, is this right?

Thanks,
Matt:)
 
Any car fuel with 20-30% nitro should be fine with that engine.
I would run a medium or hot plug, but I need to know what size engine it is.
 
For big blocks I use medium plugs during warm weather and hot plugs when its cool or cold out. On small blocks I run hot plugs except in the dead of summer I may use medium depending on the engine. I do this regardless of whether I'm running 20% or 30% nitro although I'm mostly a basher and mostly an electric guy so my choices seem to work well for me but honestly I never really read up on exactly when to use what plug so someone else here may tell me I have it all wrong. Seems to work pretty well for me but if someone has further input for me on a better way to choose a plug then I'm all ears :)
 
Regarding weather, the general rule is a warmer plug in warmer weather and a cooler plug in cooler weather. A medium plug will run fine in most regular engines from 30°f to 120°f. Hotter plugs idle better and cooler plugs give more top end.....keep in mind I'm being very general here.
Most small blocks run a medium/hot or hot plug.
Most big blocks will run a medium plug.
High end racing engines are generally the only thing cold plugs are intended for.
The heat range of a plug has no significant effect on engine temps.
 
I thought the harder it was for your engine to retain its own heat for the next detonation the hotter the plug you wanted to use in it. Is this not true? Thats what someone told me a long time ago and its pretty much what I've been going by ever since and I have had what seems to me like good success for the most part doing it that way. Do I need to be re-taught on this topic?
 
Your engine doesn't provide the heat for ignition, it's the glow plug. The hotter the plug, the thicker the coil. There's also a catalytic reaction taking place with platinum and the fuel.
 

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