Will it harm anything if the spark plugs are gapped wrong?

[ytown34]

What if they are gapped to close? Will the engine run hotter?

 

[seadoosnipe]

Run bad...

No, you won't harm your engine. It will not run hotter.

If the gap isn't set correctly, you might get a weaker spark, keeping you from burning off your fuel/air ratio. You might foul a plug but that's about all.

 

[ytown34]

Thank you, had them gapped close for the final run today, didn't run good....It did run good two days ago with plugs that were 10 running hours old. Going to winterize it tomorrow.

 

[boatmonkey82]

you know .. i will admit , i dont gap plugs like i should . but if i know i have a hot ignition system then i may run a large gap , if i think its on the weak side i may close it a bit ,most all ignitons systems these days have around 35-55,000 volts feeding them , its going to spark ! i have never had a engine run bad due to improperly gapped plugs , never ... i was talking to a old man the other day and he said his 2000 model dodge was running bad so he pulled the spark plugs ..... re gapped them .... and swears it runs alot better ! :rofl: .are you kidding me ! lol . now if your running a points set up then yes i can understand gapping they right way . but i have never seen points in a pwc ! lol in fact its getting rare that i see them at all thank God . and i dont think gapping is as imprtant as indexing but thats just my opinion . bottom line , run the factory plugs , if your having issues with running then look else where on the motor my friend