Verify Spark Plug Gap 1.6L Esteem

sblrog · 08-20-2009, 05:28 PM

Hi,

Can someone verify that it's .039-.043"? I've seen .028-.031" somewhere.

Thanks

sblrog · 08-20-2009, 08:24 PM

I think I found the answer (.028"-.031). Jim_Naisium posted it here: http://www.suzuki-forums.com/suzuki-...97-baleno.html. I had to find it via Google cuz the search engine on this forum nixes the word "spark" since it occurs too often.

sblrog · 08-20-2009, 08:36 PM

My confusion, though, is that I have a FSM that says 0.039-.043 with a torque of 20 ft-lb for the NGK BKR6E11 on the G13/G16 engine. But the NGK website says .028-.031. Is the 1.6L engine on the 2000 Esteem the same as the G16?

sblrog · 08-20-2009, 08:40 PM

Actually, the NGK website just says .032" for all their plugs, for the 2000 SUZUKI Esteem / L4 / 1.6

sblrog · 08-21-2009, 12:40 AM

Okay, I put the new plugs (NGK Platinum) in at .029" The old plugs (Bosch Platinum) had a gap of .046-.047"! I'm guessing they couldn't have worn THAT much. Does anyone know what kind of plugs come installed from the factory?

There seems to be a bit less power with the new plugs. Could be imagining it.

jim_naisium · 08-21-2009, 11:13 AM

Yes the spark plug gap for the 1.6 liter for the Esteem should be 0.028 to 0.031 inches or 7.0 to 8.0mm, mine had NGK spark plugs in it when I bought it.

They should not have been gapped to 0.046, not sure why they would have ended up that way unless someone mis-gapped them.
.

sblrog · 08-21-2009, 02:37 PM

Thanks Jim_N.

Two of the plugs I took out (the ones with the coil over them) had dimples eroded into the ground electrode. Yeah, probably the previous owner over-gapped them.

I think I'll re-gap to the wider end of the range since NGK, Bosch, Denso & Champion all say that the OE gap is .032.

sblrog · 08-25-2009, 05:14 PM

Hi Jim_N & others,

What seemed to be a simple issue not actually be. I re-gapped to .031". Then over the next few days, I noticed that my fuel economy had dropped dramatically. This led me to believe that perhaps I had NOT imagined the loss in power. So I did some more research.

I have attached the drawings from two FSMs (one published in 1995, and the other in 2000). The 1995 shows 4 spark wires (distributor) and a gap of .028-.031. The 2000 shows 2 coils & 2 wires (no distributor) and a gap of .039-.043. I suspect the distributor configuration requires the smaller gap, and the non-distributor configuration requires the other gap. And this is what causes the confusion (incidentally, your website says .036).

You mention on your website that some 1999's have a distributor while some (yours) don't. I suspect this is also true of 2000's because all the spark plug manufacturers list .032 for the 2000. Yet, if you look up the 2001, the manufacturers list .044. So I've concluded that it doesn't actually depend on the year, but rather the coil/distributor configuration a person may have.

Please comment as I don't want to be propagating wrong information. Incidentally, could someone with a 2001 or older FSM (Lumpy Larry?) look up the gap for us?