Best Practices to Make Plugs Last Longer

[BTR]

2005 RXT 4-TEC SC IC 215HP. Original owner. Everything is OEM. Properly maintained. No mods. NGK DCPR8E plugs. My plugs “go bad” regularly. There’s no pattern that points to a particular cylinder having a problem. Which plug goes bad is random across all cylinders.

Given the above, I’m trying to figure out the “best practices” for making plugs last longer. What are your thoughts on the following?

• .030 gap vs. .028 gap.
• Short idle warm-up (30 seconds) vs. long idle warm-up (2 minutes) before touching the throttle.
• 93 octane gas vs. 89 octane gas.

Please advise. Many thanks.

 

[finstr]

Have you tried, or can you even buy fuel anywhere without the ethanol added? Do you put any additives in the fuel?
Is the engine using/burning any oil? (Blow-by creates excess oil vapor pressure and is vented into the intake hose and gets burned in the cylinders)

 

[BTR]

@finstr,

Yes, no-ethanol 91 octane fuel is available here, but I've never tried it.
Yes, over the winter time, when my skis are stored in the garage, I put STA-BIL in the gas.
No, the engine does not burn/use any oil.

What are you recommendations for plug gap, and warm-up time?

 

[skiasylum]

I have always used non ethanol premium, change plugs once a year in the fall and never a fouled plug in a 2011 wake. Plugs have been pre gapped for years, I don’t even check them anymore. Warm up time not a factor for me.

 

[BTR]

@skiasylum - When you say "premium," what octane are you buying? Thanks.

 

[skiasylum]

Pretty sure it’s 91, cabin, and I think it’s more of an ethanol issue than an octane issue. Ethanol is no bueno for spark plugs. Can cause all sorts of issues.