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I just changed my spark plugs, and luckily I didn't have to gap the plugs. But what exactly is gapping? What is electrode? Are the two related? Also I still keep the old plugs. How do you measure the electrode? By looking at the old plugs?

 
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ok, if you dont know what gapping is, how do you know you didnt have to gap your new plugs? were they platinum plugs? if theyre platinum and youre n/a youre wasting your money. also, never gap a platinum plug. you will break the **** out of it. anyway, back to topic. gap is the distance between the 2 electrodes often measured in thousandths of an inch. electrodes are the 2 parts of a plug that go into the combustion chamber and the spark jumps between them. to measure an electrode, you must first know the gap of the plug when it was installed, which unless you are the one who installed it, you cant guarantee that is was gapped right when it was put in. when you pull the plug, measure the old plug gap and that will tell you how much the plug wore away. having the gap off on even one plug can cause a lopey idle. that answer your questions?

 
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Yeah the plugs that I use are indeed platinum. I use the bosch platinum 2. The label says no gapping required, so I didn't do anything extra. I have an 01 ex coupe. The gapping for it is .044". But I didn't really understand it till now. Thanx for clearing that up. The old plugs that I'm keeping now are the factory ones. So can I assume that when they were installed, the gapping was .044? To see how much the electrodes moved, all I need to do is measure the distance then compare it to .044? How the hell do you accurately measure that distance?

 
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Go to an autoparts store and ask for a sparkplug gapper. It will look like a little disc that could probably be used as a keychain and it will have the measurements you need around the edge. Almost every parts store that I have ever been to has a big bucket full of these things sitting on the parts counter or near the registers. This is only one style. Make sure it has the size you need:

http://www.tooldiscounter.com/ItemDi...le&kw=LIS67800

If you are feeling really fancy, head over to Sears and buy yourself some feeler gauges. They come in different size ranges so make sure you buy the set that is has the size you need included.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feeler_gauge

 
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to clear up your question about measuring the old plug gap, youre not measuring how far the electrode has moved. it wears away and thats what youre measuring. after they wear away so far, the weaker sparks from most factory ignition systems have a hard time making the jump between the widened gap. then you end up with misfires.

 
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did you remember to change ur v-tach fluid when you changed plugs?