q5kacom
Pre-Flight
First annual with new to me 182 with a carbureted o-520 and 7 out of 12 spark plugs were replaced due to wear beyond spec (pre-buy last october did not find or mention this as a potential issue and they were looked at during pre-buy). I have worked on many auto/small/farm engines and know how those spark plugs work. I know airplane spark plugs are different but I don't know how they are different. How are these different than say an auto plug? What is being worn out on them (electrode, ground bar, something else)? Is there anything I can do to prevent excessive wear (run ROP instead of LOP, keep EGT below 1400, run at 65% power instead of more/less, etc). Just looking for knowledge to prevent future surprises and to keep a healthy engine/plane in as best of shape as I can. Thank you