Yes. I assume my issue is the extreme dry heat (100+) and California’s wonderful eco friendly flammable dogwater they call gasoline. I think a stronger ignition (MSD maybe) would benefit me far more than bending electrodes around to find some sweet spot. But again the issue is so far and few between I’m not putting in the effort to remedy unless I have coil failure or something...Here is some info I learned this morning. Believe it or not I did not have to go to Facebook to find it either.
So the stock plugs on the Forte GT are 18849-08080 (NGK 97080 - SILZKR8E8G) heat range 8
NGK.com: SILZKR8E8G NGK 97080 Iridium Spark Plug - Best Car Spark Plug Replacement
The suggested replacement is NGK 1422 - 1LKR8E6 (heat range 8)
NGK.com: SILZKR8E8G NGK 97080 Iridium Spark Plug - Best Car Spark Plug Replacement
Heat range 9 suggestion is NGK 97312 - 1LKR9Q7G (heat range 9)
NGK.com: ILKR9Q7G NGK 97312 Iridium Spark Plug - Best Car Spark Plug Replacement
Several people here are using the stock plugs stock gap (.31) with a Racechip with no issues on 87, 91 and 93 fuel
Several people are also using the heat range 9 and also have no issues.
Several people are using stock plugs or upgraded plugs with a closed up gap (.25-.28) and again no issues
I personally feel for under 250 hp the heat range 8 stock or NGK 1422 will do
If getting a more serious tune 250+ hp go with the NGK 97312 heat range 9
One person mentioned getting slight detonation with stock plugs and gap which might be remedied with a tighter gap.
Steve g - I keep my GTS on 7 always with stock plugs and premium fuel (California’s idea of premium) If it’s over 100 degrees outside I can get slight detonation under a really heavy load. Not worth re-gapping plugs over it.
Here is what I found interesting. The difference between the stock plug and the NGK 1422. The stock NGK plug uses a 1mm center electrode diameter and the NGK 1422 uses a .6mm center electrode diameter. The reason is that a smaller center electrode diameter requires less voltage to get a strong spark which should also means you should not need to reduce gap compared to the stock plug. So the NGK 1422 should have a stronger spark than stock based on this theory. The second change is the stock NKG plug has an extended projection center electrode which puts the spark closer to center of combustion chamber. The NGK 1422 has a standard projection center electrode which pulls the spark slightly closer to the edge of combustion chamber. You can read all day about this projection stuff. One interesting thing is that less projection slightly retards timing and also works better if the combustion chamber temps are high. There are several other things as well but that was interesting.
NGK.com: NGK Center Electrode Designs
I decided to order a set of the NGK 1422 to try for the fun of it. I will let you know in a couple weeks if I notice any differences. Like I said right now I have no issues with my stock plugs and stock gap but maybe these NGK 1422 will make it feel even better. Worth a shot for $50. I have not decided on gap yet but might try them at the stock .31 since the larger gap tends to provide better fuel economy assuming the gap is not too big for the spark under full throttle loads with increased boost.