How many people here gap their plugs before putting them in? I ask because I had a friend yesterday change his and he just installed them right out of the box without doing anything. How bad is it if you dont gap them properly and do what he did?

 

I gap them everytime. The tool is cheap and it only takes a few minutes so I don't see why not. I use NGK's and they are almost always .005 off out of the box. Honestly I don't think it makes that big of a difference if your engine is mostly stock. If you are running high compression or turbo you should make sure they are properly gapped though.

 

The NGKs I put in not too long ago had a gap that was WAY off from what HMA says to use.

 

Always gap. At least check the gap in store and notify the parts clerk if the gap is wrong. The NGKs I got from the Hyundai dealer were gapped properly out of the box.

 

+1 I lost count how many pregapped plugs I had to adjust before installation.

 

I buy pregapped, but I check them first. I've had better luck though, I've only ever had a couple that were wrong.

 

i spend about 10 minutes per plug gaping each for maximum output.

 

Only every time they're out!

 

only not gaped 1 set of plug in my life and thats because the plugs i bought weren't gap able with and tool i had.

Zex plugs.