PIREP: Tempest Fine Wire Plugs

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Jean
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Re: PIREP: Tempest Fine Wire Plugs

Post by Jean »

SlowFlight wrote:Whether you run with massives or fine wires, he suggests staying far away from Champions.
Dammit! I just bought a pair of Champion REM38E for spare. :tap:
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Chris B
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Re: PIREP: Tempest Fine Wire Plugs

Post by Chris B »

I'm completely sold on the Tempest fine wire plugs. The engine starts better (hot & cold), runs smoother, and leans much better. My most recent oil change only had one tiny carbon deposit in the oil filter screen.

For real-world before/after data, I just repeated a 500 nm trip between San Jose & Portland after having installed the Tempest fine wire plugs a few months ago. Average TAS and altitude were within 0.5 kts & 180 ft, respectively, and the load was *exactly* the same (same people, same fuel). The fine wires enable me to lean more effectively, and as a result fuel consumption dropped 0.38 g/hr. On the most recent trip I averaged 138 kts TAS at 7.39 gph & 9400 MSL. We were about 200 lbs under gross at departure.

For details, check flights 3689 & 4407. The ground paths are not exactly the same, and the direction was reversed, but for a TAS comparison presumably neither of these matter. :D
The vertical profile is also different, but in both cases I was constrained by cloud cover over Oregon. IMO, if anything, the most recent trip was less efficient because of significant turbulence & dodging clouds over Oregon, starting about 2 hrs after departure; the first trip also benefited from ~90 minutes at 13500 MSL, but even at that altitude the fuel flow is obviously higher than with the fine wire plugs. So in my experience, the fine wire plugs pay for themselves just in lower gas costs. Add the other benefits, and I think the story is pretty compelling.

FWIW, the elevator-style 360-degree descent into HIO (flight 4407) was the result of the broken cloud layer finally clearing right over the airport. In this case the METAR was only the airspace in the immediate vicinity of the airport! It never did clear up in the rest of the Portland area. This trip really spurred me to get moving on an IFR rating ASAP...

Chris
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Re: PIREP: Tempest Fine Wire Plugs

Post by Gasser »

I noticed the same thing. I could suddenly pull 40+ degrees LOP where before I could only get around peek or just under and then it would run rough.
Very nice efficiency. I see around the low 130s at that fuel flow at 6-7k feet. Up high I might see a lot better.
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Re: PIREP: Tempest Fine Wire Plugs

Post by rwtucker »

I think I mentioned this elsewhere but I had the same experience with LOP. I couldn't run smoothly LOP until I went to eight tempest fine-wires.
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Re: PIREP: Tempest Fine Wire Plugs

Post by Moonshine »

Same here, even on a completely different engine
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Re: PIREP: Tempest Fine Wire Plugs

Post by gsontheimer »

Any one considering the change to all weather plugs at the same time? URHM 38S XL plus a 3/4" harness like Slick Harness M2508R?
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Re: PIREP: Tempest Fine Wire Plugs

Post by Moonshine »

I did at the same time as I changed the plugs. Why not.
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Re: PIREP: Tempest Fine Wire Plugs

Post by gsontheimer »

Is this approved? The IO-360-M1A is not listed as approved for URHM38S in Lycoming Service Information SI1042.
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Re: PIREP: Tempest Fine Wire Plugs

Post by gsontheimer »

Anyone with an answer? An interpretation of the Lycoming SI1042? Lycoming has still not answered my eMail.
SI1042Z (Approved Spark Plugs ).pdf
(289.41 KiB) Downloaded 162 times
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Re: PIREP: Tempest Fine Wire Plugs

Post by BlackMammoth »

Tempest fine wires made a dramatic improvement on our aircraft:

- Easier starting at lower RPM (smaller amount of throttle required, can start @ 1k rpm cold)
- Smooth idle, even down to the throttle stop.
- No fouling since we installed them 300+ hours ago
- Much smoother LOP operation - BIG DIFFERENCE.
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