Bosch Platinum+4 Spark Plugs

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Originally Posted by rubberchicken
I have run Bosch Plat+4 plugs in my boats , my Z-28 and Suburban for many years: they work fine. Not sure why Linctex does not like them.


I put them in my girlfriend's Subrau Legacy Outback in the late 90's and they caused us nothing but problems.
Car only had 50,000 miles on it.
Wouldn't start when it was cold.
Her gas mileage went way down, also.

Never again. New NGK's made everything right again.
 
Originally Posted by Trav
Then another poster yelling he wouldn't use them in anything but gives no reason, just parroting internet garbage posted by people who wouldn't know the business end of a screwdriver if it poked them in the eye .


I just gave my reason, so you can quit attacking me now.

I have had my Airframe and Powerplant license since 1989 - 30 years next year.

Today, I'm a quality inspector in the final assembly area where $100 million F-35 jets are built at Lockheed Martin in Fort worth.
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I think I know which end is the business end of a screwdriver, thank you very much.

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Both eyes still intact, too.
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.

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Most of the problems with plugs can be attributed to the wrong heat range. The new OE fine wire is great for having correct heat range.
 
Use what was OEM. Years ago when I was working on my PhD in JC taking continuing ed classes to keep up on auto tech for work, One of the Toyota techs talked about vehicles brought in for poor running after a tune up by the owner and he said they figured out that the Bosch plugs were the problem and the cure was Oem types.
 
You didn't give any reason just big dark letters all in caps. Personally I couldn't give a rat rear what qualification you have or what tools you can use, that statement was B.S.
what I said about a screwdriver in the eye was not aimed at you I said..

Originally Posted by trav
internet garbage posted by people who wouldn't know the business end of a screwdriver if it poked them in the eye or you tube heroes.
 
I'm sure the +4's will probably work fine... BUT you really don't need them. Go with a good set of standard NGK or denso platinum or iridium plugs, properly gapped, and you're good to go.

My big issue with any plug that adds an extra electrode is that the electrode takes up space where the flame front needs to be.. +4's do this even more so. They are getting in the way of the "normal" shape of the burn, and potentially in the way of the fuel/air mix.
 
Bosch can make a good plug - the OE Finewire series as Trav mentioned I won't hesitate to use if NGK or Denso isn't available. Bosch Supers were the de facto plug for many a Benz or VW back in the 1980s-1990s and there was also a Bosch Silver/Silber for some VAG applications in the 1990s. Bosch did make a different plug with bigger center electrodes for Mercedes and those are still made in Germany.

I won't touch their Platinum +2/4 series. Bosch is also making plugs in India and Russia - a set of Super Plus plugs for a VW I saw a friend install were Russian.
 
Another "Internet thing" Yes-they had some bad plugs years ago-just like Fram had some bad filters years ago. On the Internet things never go away and are perpetuated by posters like " Linctex"
 
If Bosch Platinum +4 are soooo stinkin' great..... how come ABSOLUTELY NONE OF THEM are ever installed by any OEM, anywhere on this earth?

Shouldn't they be standard equipment in McLarens, Shelbys, Corvettes, Bugatti Veyrons, Mercedes SLR, etc etc etc etc...?

NO ONE installs them in "high end" cars .... because they are garbage.

Prove me wrong.
 
For a transverse V6, use iridium
smile.gif
 
I put them in my old 98 chevy metro and fuel economy dropped over 10%. Went from 57-58 mpg to 50-51 mpg. Car ran fine with no noticeable improvement in performance or any reason I would want lower mpg. Ran some fusion in my current mercury sable as the place I bought them from highly recommended the new fusions an upgraded +4 at the time. Again fuel economy suffered with no noticeable change in performance. Both vehicles ran fine with the plugs in them but why do I want to lose mpg and not gain something for it. Eventually the sable was idling very poor so changed to motorcraft plugs and engine smoothed out. The fusions plugs had about 45,000 miles on them. Can't say they looked bad but had an x pattern in the white ceramic showing all 4 electrodes were firing. My limited experience says not to use them. Might work great in some other cars but I will not pay more for less.
 
Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
For a transverse V6, use iridium
smile.gif



Iridiums with standard ground electrode, you still need to change them often. I barely get 20,000 miles out of a NGK BKR7EIX, and NGK does not make a Laser iridium equivalent.

Iridiums with platinum tipped ground electrode, or iridium tipped ground electrode, that is what I would use. Honda and Toyota uses iridiums with platinum tipped ground electrodes.
 
Originally Posted by Linctex
If Bosch Platinum +4 are soooo stinkin' great..... how come ABSOLUTELY NONE OF THEM are ever installed by any OEM, anywhere on this earth?

Shouldn't they be standard equipment in McLarens, Shelbys, Corvettes, Bugatti Veyrons, Mercedes SLR, etc etc etc etc...?

NO ONE installs them in "high end" cars .... because they are garbage.

Prove me wrong.

Bosch Platinum +2 and +4 are made for the aftermarket market, not the OEM supplier market.

On super high end cars, longevity of the spark plugs is not a concern. It's maximizing the power/torque. They are not going to use an alloy that has worse conductivity than the standard nickel alloy, they may be tipped with iridium alloy, to get a more concentrated spark. Plus, if you can afford those cars, then you can afford the maintenance.

With your logic, everyone should be using Akebono brake pads, since Akebono is the supplier to McLaren.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Linctex
If Bosch Platinum +4 are soooo stinkin' great..... how come ABSOLUTELY NONE OF THEM are ever installed by any OEM, anywhere on this earth?

Shouldn't they be standard equipment in McLarens, Shelbys, Corvettes, Bugatti Veyrons, Mercedes SLR, etc etc etc etc...?

NO ONE installs them in "high end" cars .... because they are garbage.

Prove me wrong.

As Trav said, the +2 and +4 Bosch are aftermarket designs.

PLENTY of cars come from the factory with 2, 3, and 4 prong plugs in nickel, yttrium, platinum, and iridium.
 
Originally Posted by Linctex
Originally Posted by Trav
Then another poster yelling he wouldn't use them in anything but gives no reason, just parroting internet garbage posted by people who wouldn't know the business end of a screwdriver if it poked them in the eye .


I just gave my reason, so you can quit attacking me now.

I have had my Airframe and Powerplant license since 1989 - 30 years next year.

Today, I'm a quality inspector in the final assembly area where $100 million F-35 jets are built at Lockheed Martin in Fort worth.
.


.
.
I think I know which end is the business end of a screwdriver, thank you very much.

.
.
.
Both eyes still intact, too.
.
.
.

.



A whole lot of GM Arlington employees went to Lockheed. I know several of them who worked for me and they are excellent....unfortunately you got a lot of bad seeds too and I am relieved lol
 
I tried the Bosch +4 back in the late 90's. Didn't impress me. I tried again last year with the newer +4 Fusion in my 06 Sierra Denali 6.0L. Did not work out well as there were random misfires I could see on the Tech2. The truck ran fine, but since I could see misfires on the scan tool - I yanked the plugs out before 5000 miles. Put in Autolite Iridium XP's and the misfires were ZERO. I used to run Bosch standard platinums in my Buick GN but once I started running past 16-18psi of boost, they were not up to the task. I now run regular copper Autolites or AC Delco plugs in that car. The 2008 CTS I have with the 3.6DI was OEM equipped with Bosch plugs....46k miles I got a misfire in 2 cylinders. Changed plugs out with Autolite double platinums and they ran perfect up to 100k miles where I changed them again just as PM. They went further than the original Bosch plugs. My parents had the same model CTS and around 55k miles they had a misfire as well. I changed their plugs also to Autolites and no issue since. So - I am not a fan of Bosch spark plugs based on my personal experiences.
 
Originally Posted by Linctex
If Bosch Platinum +4 are soooo stinkin' great..... how come ABSOLUTELY NONE OF THEM are ever installed by any OEM, anywhere on this earth?

Shouldn't they be standard equipment in McLarens, Shelbys, Corvettes, Bugatti Veyrons, Mercedes SLR, etc etc etc etc...?

NO ONE installs them in "high end" cars .... because they are garbage.

Prove me wrong.

The Bosch NON-OE Platinum +2/+4 and Ir Fusion are aftermarket designs with a nearly closed-tip design and standard ground electrodes. The OE designs from Bosch, Denso and NGK(as well as Autolite and Champion for the sake of this convo) use a small Pt/Ir disk that's laser welded or "fused" onto a NiCu center electrode, and in many cases, the ground electrode will also have a laser-welded or pressed on Pt disk so both firing ends are precious metal.

"Performance" plugs like NGK IXs and Denso Iridium Power only have an Ir disk on the center electrode.

The new OEM hotness is adding on one or two more ground electrodes to help burn off carbon from DI-induced fouling, Denso and NGK supply those plugs to Toyota - but the two additional grounds aren't Pt-tipped. Someone here made a thread about it:
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4685931/Plugs_from_the_2GR-FSE
 
Originally Posted by Linctex
Originally Posted by Trav
Then another poster yelling he wouldn't use them in anything but gives no reason, just parroting internet garbage posted by people who wouldn't know the business end of a screwdriver if it poked them in the eye .


I just gave my reason, so you can quit attacking me now.

I have had my Airframe and Powerplant license since 1989 - 30 years next year.

Today, I'm a quality inspector in the final assembly area where $100 million F-35 jets are built at Lockheed Martin in Fort worth.

I think I know which end is the business end of a screwdriver, thank you very much.

Both eyes still intact, too.



Maybe your eyes are closed since you're probably not seeing quality issues with the F-35 program.

It's like TSA bragging they caught something, but further details showed they missed something just as important also.
 
Last edited:
I've used Bosch Super 4's in my European 1985 Ford Escort for more than 15 years with great results.I first used them when i had trouble obtaining the factory Motorcraft plugs,and i've never looked back.
 
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