The spark plug can be described as the small giant of the powertrain. It is the pacemaker at the heart of every petrol engine and has to perform in the most extreme conditions, doing an ever more demanding job.

To obtain top performance NGK must employ some very specific materials in the manufacturing of their spark plugs, particularly in terms of conductors and insulators of electricity, to contain well in excess of 30,000 V. This must be combined with materials with high mechanical strength and a great ability to withstand extreme temperature. Under such extreme conditions, the force of shock from combustion vibrations can reach 50G or 50 times the force of gravity and the humble spark plug must withstand this.

Demands and conditions may have changed, but the fundamental job of the plug remains. It is the intense heat energy released by the spark as it jumps the electrode gap, that initiates the combustion process. The precision engineering of a plug means that plugs themselves will rarely cause problems. If the plug is the correct one specified for the application, is within its recommended service life and it has been installed correctly, it is highly unlikely that the plug is the root cause of any problem with an engine. The plug produces no heat or deposits; it’s the combustion process that does that and the poor old plug has to suffer all that is thrown at it.

When cars get older all the equipment on board starts to tire, for instance weak coils often wreak havoc and renewing the plugs can temporarily take some of the load off these components, leading to a misdiagnosis of the true fault.

So whether you simply sell or actually install these little marvels of technology, spare them a little more thought and consider the toughness of the job they do.

For more information about NGK Spark Plugs please visit www.ngkntk.co.uk.