WHAT’S UP WITH OLD SPARKY By John Treible
Would you spend $50 to increase the performance of your MG, increase the mileage, have it start quicker and run smoother, be able to use a lower octane fuel and be able to lean it up a bit? Sounds too good to be true and my dad told me long ago that if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. But we’ll come back to this later.
Now we have all read some of the ridiculous ads about add-on gadgets that will turn an ordinary engine into a snarling beast that will also get 50MPG from peanut oil. Just open the JC Whitney Catalog.
I’m looking at an ad for the Tornado booster that fits inside your air filter and "creates a mini whirlwind of air to ensure best fuel atomization". This unit promises 29% increase in gas mileage and a 13 HP boost.
Then there is the FuelMaster magnetic fuel saver that "straps easily over the in-bound fuel line and delivers an abrupt magnetic field to break up these (clustered gasoline) molecules ensuing the most complete burn possible".
Right next to the FuelMaster is an ad for Dyno-Tab power booster tablets "a combustion catalyst that helps your engine burn more of the fuel you buy" with the claim of a 3.5% HP boost and an increase in fuel economy of 10.3%.
Although it’s not in the most recent Whitney catalog, I do recall seeing ads for spark plugs that "even fire in oil". Now picture your cylinders being full of oil – are you really worrying about the spark plugs sparking. No you have a lot more to worry about in regards to the condition of your engine.
A few years ago the hot concept that was being touted for power and mileage was something called water injection. That certainly worked out to be popular now didn’t it?
And of course there was always the secret carburetor that got 120MPG but was never brought to market because of a conspiracy between the auto makers and the oil companies.
If these ads could be believed, we might end up with a 300HP MG that gets 80MPG.
So much for the ridiculous. There are some items on the marketplace today that can boost performance and mileage and make our little cars run better. The Pertronix ignition module is in this category. Anyone who has not already installed one of these on his LBC should seriously consider doing so.
Another item is not so widely known and at first glance seems like it might fall into the Whitney ‘miracle’ enhancers. But I am going to tell you about my experience and you can judge for yourself. The item is a simple spark plug modification. It is patented and there is a lot of documentation to back up the claims, including dyno tests and real world testimonies. Steve Chivington introduced me to this product about a year ago. A local Clevelander by the name of Ron Palyu has developed and patented a spark plug tip design that improves engine performance, increases gas mileage and allows you to lean out your MG carburetors. My experience with MG is that you always have to run them on the rich side in order to get them to run well. This is evidenced by the fact that you don’t ever want to wipe the inside of an MG exhaust pipe with a white glove or even a dirty rag for that matter.
Ron charges $12 for a modified spark plug. Now I was very hesitant to spring $48 for a set of plugs for my MG but I figured ‘what the heck’ I’ve wasted that much more than that on tools that I don’t need. I called Ron and told him what kind of car I had. He said he could ship my plugs up in a couple of days or I could pick them up at his home (he works from his home). Since he only lives a couple of miles away, I decided to pick them up. Upon my arrival Ron got out this fat folder and proceeded to show me testimonials, technical reports and dyno tests on a number of vehicles ranging from antique cars to rail drag cars. I was certainly impressed by the documentation but how would they work in my MG?
This was in March and I was about to get my MG out of winter storage at my sister-in-laws garage. I drove the car home and it was running like crap. I checked everything out and adjusted the carbs and took it out for a short drive – still running like crap. Then I installed the new spark plugs from Ron. The engine immediately smoothed out and the misfires went south. I know, I know, maybe one of the original plugs was bad. Well, I had a set of new unmodified plugs so I put them in and the car ran like crap again. Reinstalled Ron’s plugs and everything returned to normal.
Now my son-in-law drag races a 1972 Cadillac and will spend thousands to cut his track time by tenths of a second. I talked him into a set or Ron’s plugs and his track time went down by 0.2 seconds. When your times are in the low 11’s in a 5000 pound car, 0.2 second is a major improvement and when it comes at a cost of less than $100 it is amazing.
In June, under the tutelage of Steve Chivington, we rebuilt an engine for Jessie B with a number of modifications from stock. The engine has been running flawlessly on Ron’s modified spark plugs and I have been able to run it quite lean and use medium grade fuel with no knocking. On the road trip to Parsippany this past June, our little car got almost 30MPG on the back road mountainous route to our destination. Since then I have purchased a set of Ron’s plugs for both my TR7 and VW Beetle. Both cars start much quicker than before and are running very strong.
When you have these spark plugs in your MG, the way you adjust the mixture is somewhat different than the usual adjustment. You start out the same and adjust the carbs the way you usually would using the normal techniques. First make sure the timing is set properly and balance the carbs (for dual carb setup). Then adjust the mixture as you normally would. Drive your car for a couple hundred miles. Then pull one of the plugs and look at it. If there is black soot on the plug, clean the soot off and then lean out the carb(s) about 1/8 turn. Repeat this process until you no longer have sooty plugs.
Let me conclude by stating that I have no financial interest in Ron’s company and do not receive any type of commission or renumeration from sale of these spark plugs. My only interest is in seeing that our little cars run as best as we can get then to run. I do believe that aside from a Pertronics Ignitor, these spark plugs are the best investment that you can make for your LBC for under $100.
For more information or to order you can contact Ron at:
Ron Palyu
TLR Innovations, Inc.
(216) 251.4418
34418 West 127th St.
Cleveland,Ohio 44111