Autolite Single Platinum HORROR story

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i always go to the dealer for my plugs-

In fact on my Honda the plugs for my civic del sol were $3.25. cheaper than my local wal mart and work/fit flawless. (40 mpgs ! )
 
Yeah, an online Toyota dealer is cheaper than most places for Denso plugs, but not cheaper than Rock Auto. But a couple of online dealers were offering free shipping and that made it cheaper for me.

Originally Posted By: needsducktape
i always go to the dealer for my plugs-

In fact on my Honda the plugs for my civic del sol were $3.25. cheaper than my local wal mart and work/fit flawless. (40 mpgs ! )
 
Originally Posted By: Quest
I've used virtually anything under the sun RE: spark plugs, including single platinum autolites, double plat, champions, NGKs, Bosch, ND, etc.

This is the first time I heard such bizarre claim.


You'll have to show us some proofs, details, spark plug numbers, engine types, etc. OP. Casually coming on to BITOG and rant isn't gonna instantly give you credibility, you know.

BTW: welcome.

Q.


LOL my guess is the OP has joined several forums just to rant about installing the wrong plugs...

Originally Posted By: Eddie
I have found that if you replace with origional OEM plugs, you will have no problems.


Gawwley, imagine that... Shezam...
 
I've never had good luck with autolites(rough idle in 10k), even my chainsaw runs NGK plugs.

What year? The 1ZZ corolla/prizm specs a strange dual ground strap copper plug you can only get from NGK and Denso(in both copper and double plat from NGK) last I checked. Any single strap plug is incorrect. The correct plug isn't expensive and works great. Looks like this.

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Originally Posted By: DCcarnut
Spent lots of $$$ and many hours of time mis-diagnosing misfiring error codes on Toyota Corolla after installing Autolite single platinum.

The Corolla, like other Toyota and some Fords, among others, use one coil for two cylinders, along with a "lost spark" on the cylinder that is not TDC. Apparently this quickly polarizes the plugs so they no longer work.

When I moved one of the Autolites to a Mazda engine, I also got a misfire code which shows that the plug was permanently screwed up.

In my opinion, Autolite single platinum plugs are JUNK. Recommend avoiding them.


So, you moved a plug from a car that it likely doesn't suit, to another car which the plug also likely doesn't suit, and you're surprised that it throws a misfire code?

I find it interesting that people immediate blame the product/company what something goes wrong, rather than considering all factors. In many cases - and in all likelihood this one - it comes down to user error or incorrect application (which in itself often comes down to user error).
On top of that, blab to everyone who will listen about how a certain brand/product has failed them without anything concrete to substantiate their claim.

I use Autolite plugs in my Magna without issue (Iridium XP in my case).
 
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I have to put in my $0.02 as I'm on both sides of this argument.

Had a '94 Thunderbird SuperCoupe. Replaced the factory plugs with Champions that were correct according to their XRef chart. Car ran fine but idled poorly. Replaced the new Champions with new Motorcraft plugs and the car now idled perfectly. Brand new plug(s) bad? Installation error? Maybe...

Fast-forward to earlier this year. Ex-wife's car had a strange driveability issue. On throttle tip-in, car would "sneeze" for lack of a better word...just a single hiccup like someone turned off the key for a fraction of a second, then turned it right back on. Tried a new crank position sensor as that was one of the codes that would occasionally show up. Tried a lot of things. Finally doing some routine maintenance and noticed the plugs were about due again. Replaced the Autolite copper plugs with NGKs that were recommended by a respected tuner/vendor on mercurymarauder.net and voila!...car is like new again. I've driven plenty of cars with misfire issues from old worn plugs, but none of them behaved like this one, so plugs weren't even on the long list. Car would accelerate fine, just had this periodic sneeze. The Autolites I removed looked like they had plenty of life in them still, but you can't argue with success. I never expected it to be the plugs and maybe it wasn't...maybe I disturbed something else while changing them, but that was 2 months ago and she says the car is still fine.
 
I think we have a one topic wonder boy on our hand. I do not think OP is coming back here ever again. You guys do have some way of welcoming new member.
 
I call these "drive by postings", which is fairly common on the internet nowadays, and also give that drive-by poster very little credibility...

Q.
 
Originally Posted By: Quest
I call these "drive by postings", which is fairly common on the internet nowadays, and also give that drive-by poster very little credibility...

Q.


A think a LOT of these "drive by posts" are created by marketing agencies. Probably one that works for NGK perhaps? LOL
 
NGK and Denso don't have to resort to drive by posts..
the OP was probably just having a bad day & had to rant.

His 08 Corolla is spec'd for a double platnum plug.
NGK's laser platnum or laser iridium would have given him a very good result.
 
Stick with what OEM recommends and you wont have problems. I dont see whats so complicated about that
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The 2 most important facts in this thread:

1.) use the correct plug for the application (copper, single or 2x plat, iridium etc)
2.) Autolite plugs are fine when using the correct part number


I have also used lots of different plugs and I personally have found the Autolite Platinum, Double Platinum and Iridium XP plugs to be a great plug priced right. I won't pay $10+ a plug for an OEM Delco or an NGK iridium when the $6 Autolite does the same job. Thier Platinum plugs are even more reasonably priced. AC Delco doesn't even make their plugs so you are paying more for a rebadged plug anyhow.
 
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You're not using the right plug. Autolite makes more than one kind of platinum plug. One type (AP) has platinum on the center electrode. Another (APP) or "double" platinum, has it on both electrodes. Waste spark systems fire the plug off-cycle in reverse, which purportedly will build a reverse deposit over time. It should never stop the plug from firing. If your plugs are actually misfiring, either you've got a defective one, you cracked one during install, you have bad wires, or some other issue. There is no such thing as "polarizing" plugs. Spark plugs do not care which way electricity flows, and contain no mechanism that would be affected by a reverse flow. The only plugs really affected by this were early Bosch platinums with the recessed center electrode, they could sometimes be fouled over time, but it would take many thousands of miles of use for any effect to even be noticeable. Bosch has changed their design anyway. As others have stated, you can run pretty much any brand plug in any car, as long as it's the correct style and heat range. These stories about this or that plug "not working" in this or that car are hogwash.
 
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Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
I would say that all single platinum plugs are junk. I don't care what engine you put them in or who makes them.


And the tests you have seen conducted to come to this conclusion are....?
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Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
I would say that all single platinum plugs are junk. I don't care what engine you put them in or who makes them.


I can give you an engineering reason for why single platinum plugs are just fine for a traditional distributor ignition system. Can you give me ONE engineering reason why 'they're all junk'?
 
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