getting ready to change the plugs on Saturday(as well as install my charge piping) and I was wondering if I should use anitseize? couldn't find much here so I checked the Solstice GXP forums and a lot of the guys say not to... but with an aluminum block, i've heard you should ALWAYS use antiseize... and then torque the plugs a few ft.-lbs more than recommended... for example, instead of the 15 ft-lbs that is recommended, like 17 ft-lbs...

any direction on this?

 

i always used anti seize on my LSJ

 

i dont use anti-seize, i torque them maybe a quarter turn. when you remove them just make sure the car is cold, you wont have any problems

 

yeah I know the procedure in installing them... have done it MANY times on other cars, just wondering this since I've never seen many people not recommend using antiseize on other platforms

I think I will just to be sure, it can't HURT, and realistically even if you don't use it, it's going to take like 100,000 miles to seize anyway, BUT better to be safe than sorry

 

i would never install new plugs without antiseize. ever.

 

I've never used anti-seize and I've never had a problem. The **** probably just gets hot, runs down the threads into your combustion chamber, then gets burned off anyway.

 

I wont install new plugs without it! You never know

 

I once had to take seized plugs out of my dads mazda.

NEVER AGAIN!


I will always run anti seize. Its 1 buck and trust me the effort and time it took to get those plugs out I will always spend a buck now!

 

ive never changed plugs on any vehicle without using Anti-seize

 

^ that is what i was thinking but here is what a Solstice GXP's service manual says

Here's the instructions from the 2007 GXP Service Manual page 9-315:

Installation Procedure
NOTICE - Do Not coat spark plug threads with anti-seize compound. If anti-seize compound is used and spark plugs are over-torqued, damage to the cylinder head threads may result.

1-Install spark plugs
Tighten the plugs to 20 N-m (15 lb ft)
Specification
The spark plug gap is 1.1 mm (0.45 in)

2-apply dielectric compound to spark plug boots and make sure no corrosion is present.

3-install the ignition coils
Tighten the bolts to 10 N-m (89 lb in).



but I'll do it the way I always have... I need to gap at .30 because of the extra boost, right? and yeah, if you ever have to try to get a seized plug out, you'll definitely know why it SHOULD be used, lol

 

I dont use it. and only torque to about 12-16ftlbs.

 

They sell a special Spark Plug Lubricant that you put on the threads and the top of the plug. It costs a few bucks I think it's some sort of a di-electric grease/anti-seize mixture and I beleive it's made by Permatex (same guys that make Thread Locker) I've heard good things about it and have always used it myself.

 

iv never had problems without it on plugs, but i did almost screw up a turbo when i didnt use any when i bolted that on.

 

Thats actually opposite of what you should be doing if you use anti-seize. When torquing with anti-size (lube) 15lb-ft of torque is actually HIGHER than 15 lb-ft of torque without lube - which is why the TSB above specifically recommends against it. So by torquing a few lbs beyond the recommended limit, you are very much overtorquing the plugs.

With cast-iron blocks I always used it, but with aluminum Ive never had an issue pulling the plugs - but then again I pull my plugs every few oil changes to check them. They are an early warning system for your engine!

 

That makes no sense at all....as it defy's the laws of physics. If you apply 15 ft-lbf to a spark, you are appying 15 ft-lbf to that spark plug - no matter what compound you put on the threads. There might be less frictional force between the spark plug and threads with the anti-seize lube - but this has nothing to do with how much torque your putting on the spark plug. Netwon's 2nd law.

 

By reducing the rotational friction with lube or antiseize you are applying more force to the threads for the same amount of indicated torque, increasing the chances of stripping the threads out. Nothing ever used on the plugs here.

 

I used it on the 1st few threads, tightened them to 15 ft.-lbs

 

Iam Broke is correct here. Let me elaborate. Gssc, since you brought up Newton's 2nd law of Thermodynamics, an object with a certain velocity maintains that velocity unless a force acts on it to cause an acceleration (that is, a change in the velocity). Newton's 1st law plays into effect here too - every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.

Yes - you are still applying the initial force of 15lb-ft of torque. However, reduce drag/friction (first law) and you change how far something can travel with the same amount of force. The same amount of force is expended either way, but with lubrication (anti-seize) allows the item to tighten further before reading 15lb-ft on the wrench due to lower drag.

Since the Winter Olympics are on, lets use that as an example, and because I watched the Simpsons last night, lets use curling (you know, big weight slid like a bowling ball down the ice). What would happen if the athlete slides the rock with the same force toward a sheet of glass - but once on the nice clean swept ice, and once on concrete. Which one goes further? Newtons law(s) still apply, but the glass is going to get shattered in one example and the stone is only going a few inches in the other. 15 lb/ft without lube is going to apply a certain amount of force to the threads, with lube it is going to allow the plug to move further due to lowered frictional losses of that energy. This dips a little bit into his 3rd law as well. The first law of thermodynamics plays a hand as well.

This is all really a moot point anyway, since as long as you aren't torquing your plugs down to the point where you need an impact wrench to get them off, its not going to be a problem. I was just pointing out that going a few lb-ft above the recommended setting when using a lubricant is a no-no since you can stretch the threads.

 

hell yes use antiseize..

the people who aren't will be posting about needing helicoils later

 

With how often most should replace those plugs and the fact that they are located on top of the head means less corrosive issues vs a standard OHV iron head motor. Mine had no antiseize from the factory and they came out very easily after 12K miles. If you wait 10 years before you change your plugs you might have an issue.

 

Well thank you for retyping exactly what I said in a long drawn out fashion.... I was simply stating that you cannot CREATE more TORQUE by simply applying a lubricant. Although I did clearly state that you can reduce the frictional forces - which you pointed out too. Energy cannot be created nor destroyed. Although I do agree with pretty much everything you said, I find it funny that you were saying im wrong...when I said exactly what you did.

 

The torque also goes into compressing/shearing the anti-seize which screws with a dry torque requirement.

Use anti-seize when you are going into the exhaust stream (O2 or any sort of other exhaust sensor or fitting) 100% of the time.

 

yes yes and yes, use it.
and if it means anything this comes from a Mechanical engineer with 30 years behind.

 

I always use a small amount of Champion anti-sieze (graphite based), and keep it away from the electrode and insulator.

My father is a ooooooooold timer in the aircraft mechanic world, and I've NEVER seen him put a set of plugs back into a Cessna, Piper or whatever he was working on without a little Champion anti sieze on there.

Steel.. in aluminum getting hot/cold/hot/cold/hot/cold... yah. One galled plug and its time sert city. Been there, done that.. no thanks.

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo.../antiseize.php

 

I used dielectric grease on the coils and a small bead of antiseize on the 1st few threads of the plugs, when you screw it in, it'll roll up the plug, no need to do the whole thing, you only need a little