[John Phoenix]

This is between me and a Youtuber called Carquestions. I commented to him because he specifically mentions in the video that he could Not find the gap size for his spark plugs in the owners manual.

John Phoenix
19 hours ago (edited)
I have a 2008 Smart Fortwo Passion Cabrio. In my manual it says on page 300 under Electrical System "Electrode gap 0.035 in (0.9 mm)" so that's what I'm using. My new plugs are Autolite Iridium XP, for $8.00 US dollars each. These are Not Pre Gaped so if you buy these make sure you have a spark gap tool and know how to use it. All 3 plugs were factory gaped way lower, you'll need to increase the gap to 0.035.


carquestions
7 hours ago
Autolite says they come pre-gapped at .032" so I wouldn't bother changing them


John Phoenix
4 hours ago

@carquestions My main point here was to let you know where the info is found in your manual. I think you are mistaken. The box on these states, quote, "Important: Check spark plug catalog for proper application, torque specs and gap setting. Set gap before installing" No where on the larger box that contains 4 plugs nor on the boxes of individual plugs does it say they are pre gaped. Also, why would you Not set the gap to the proper engine specs? To me, that sounds like asking for trouble.



carquestions
3 hours ago
@Divergent Droid The box might not state it but it states it on their website - also when making them they have to set them to some initial setting it stands to reason it wouldn't be random - and .003" won't make any difference at all and trying to move the ground electrode .003" on all 4 plugs is more of a risk than leaving them alone
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At this point I figured it best not to reply back to the guy because all my years of changing spark plugs in my own car taught me to always properly gap your plugs. I think they guy is giving very bad advice but I didn't want to start a fight with him. He ignores what the box does state. Of course every spark plug maker is going to gap them to something. I think he's both wrong about not gaping the plugs correctly (I see lots of folks say to gap at 0.036) and I think he's wrong about gaping the plug will be "more of a risk than leaving them alone". What do you guys think? Who's right? Thanks.

I also see a lot of folks telling people the 451 takes 3.3 quarts of motor oil. I just changed mine and at first it looks like that may be correct because the dipstick is "Full" but all the oil is not down in the system yet. After running for 5 minutes checking the oil again you see it is not full. Adding the other .4 quarts tops it up proper to the manual specs of 3.7 quarts and now it is truly full. (this includes pre-filling the filter as the filter instructions suggest)

 

[Miss Mercedes]

As a YouTube car advice channel, he should always recommend doing the correct thing. In this case, that's setting the correct plug gap. I'm not a mechanic (just a lowly car journalist lol) so I can't say if his advice of ignoring a .003" gap is good or not. But I can say that I've never damaged a plug on any of my cars while gapping them.

That said, it's not uncommon for smart owners to get info about their own cars wrong. Back in 2008 there was a debate about the 451's tank size. It was scientifically confirmed to be 10 gallons, but even today some folks in Facebook groups still say that it's 8.7 gallons total with only 7.4 usable gallons. I've also seen the 3.3 qt oil capacity thing, too. Nope, 451s hold 3.75 qt of the good stuff.

P.S. I'm looking into why the forum isn't letting you post without approval.

 

[smark]

· The spark plugs should be replaced every 3 years or 30,000 miles -- whichever comes first.
· The torque specification for the spark plug is 13 ft/lb.
· Be sure the spark plugs are gapped to smart specifications. The correct spark plug gap is 0.035 in.

The 451 smart fortwo takes 3.7 quarts of engine oil.

Fuel capacity is 8.7 US gallons.

 

[John Phoenix]

· The spark plugs should be replaced every 3 years or 30,000 miles -- whichever comes first.
· The torque specification for the spark plug is 13 ft/lb.
· Be sure the spark plugs are gapped to smart specifications. The correct spark plug gap is 0.035 in.

The 451 smart fortwo takes 3.7 quarts of engine oil.

Fuel capacity is 8.7 US gallons.

Lets back up because this thread is kinda about things people say that aren't exactly correct. I mentioned the spark gap and oil, Miss Mercedes mentioned the fuel capacity. About that 8.7 gallons.. The owners manual does also say the car has a 1.3 gallon reserve so is that not supposed to be included on the over all gallons.. that would make it 10 gallons IMO right? It might help for me to know Is that 1.3 reserve gallons part of the main tank or is it a separate tank.. and if so.. where is it? When you run the car out of gas.. I'm thinking it did also use up that 1.3 gallon reserve. Is this correct?

 

[jetfuel]

...as I see it...pubs from manufacturers are recommended and not mandatory...
...my 12 year old car is running on its second set of plugs set at .028 with close to 60K in the ticker...gap setting is also a recommendation...you have to know how to read plugs and adjust accordingly...does the car runs fine at half throttle but hesitates at w.o.t??...read plugs and if OK close the gap..
...the gas tank is as big as the amount of juice I can shove in there from .2 remaining...

jetfuel....3 year plugs................................sure

 

[Miss Mercedes]

Lets back up because this thread is kinda about things people say that aren't exactly correct. I mentioned the spark gap and oil, Miss Mercedes mentioned the fuel capacity. About that 8.7 gallons.. The owners manual does also say the car has a 1.3 gallon reserve so is that not supposed to be included on the over all gallons.. that would make it 10 gallons IMO right? It might help for me to know Is that 1.3 reserve gallons part of the main tank or is it a separate tank.. and if so.. where is it? When you run the car out of gas.. I'm thinking it did also use up that 1.3 gallon reserve. Is this correct?

The fuel tank is 8.7 gallons with a 1.3 gallon reserve, all in a big plastic tank. The bars on the fuel gauge only measure the 8.7. So when the fuel gauge says 0.0 gallons, you should have about 1.3 left. I say "should" only because the gauge isn't the most accurate thing out there. But yeah, the grand total is 10 gallons.

Back in 2009, SCoA member Littodevil removed his fuel tank and measured it:

But while you have that extra fuel there, you really don't want to drive too far past 0.0. The fuel pump sits in the reserve and it uses fuel to keep itself cool. Running it dry means running the pump dry, too. I once made it 35 miles past 0.0 and put 9.8 gallons into the tank at the fuel station. My pump was probably very unhappy. lol

 

[smark]

Lets back up because this thread is kinda about things people say that aren't exactly correct. I mentioned the spark gap and oil, Miss Mercedes mentioned the fuel capacity. About that 8.7 gallons.. The owners manual does also say the car has a 1.3 gallon reserve so is that not supposed to be included on the over all gallons.. that would make it 10 gallons IMO right? It might help for me to know Is that 1.3 reserve gallons part of the main tank or is it a separate tank.. and if so.. where is it? When you run the car out of gas.. I'm thinking it did also use up that 1.3 gallon reserve. Is this correct?

Those are the Accurate fuel, oil capacity, and spark plug specifications, from Smart USA. When ever, my car get down to the last notch on the fuel gauge. Which isn’t really accurate. It’s off to the gas station. I push that limit once. In the middle of Kansas, not a gas station in site. Finally filled up in remote Hayes Kansas. I guess I was running on reserve Fumes.

 

[beakyboy]

someone has too much time on their hands or their mask is too tight!