Giving the plugs some TLC

[jakobnev]

Since i drive with the engine off so much, my plugs tend to turn into solid lumps of carbon over time:



This (when it gets bad enough) makes the engine run badly, so i made a little kit consisting of some metal brushes and a prod:



In a minute or so you can make a plug good as "new":



Happy (well running) motoring!

[gone-ot]

...and, remember to "sharpen" the 'edge' of the ground electrode when you check/reset the spark-plug gap. Electrons are "emitted/jump from" sharp edges much easier than from rounded edges.

[RobertISaar]

i've actually gone so far as to use a cutoff wheel to make the ground strap a triangle.... of course, this is with cheap copper plugs, but i don't think i noticed a difference.

[Frank Lee]

Perhaps you'd get better results with hotter plugs...

[razor02097]

How often do you have to clean your plugs?