Gas Milage Increase

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Also possible that replacing the plugs with another set of stock ones would net the same mileage increase.
 
I changed to bosch platinum in a 96 sunfire 2.2L engine. the engine was misfiring badly that the check engine light came on. I took them out put in the OEM plugs back to normal. I thought bosch platinum was good quality too, I have them in my 92 mits mirage. no problems there. maybe it depends on the engine? next time I will most likely go to another brand for my own car.
 
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I thought bosch platinum was good quality too,

Not that they are poor quality, just that the fine wire electrode can lead to problems. Most notably in "waste spark" ignition systems.

I prefer Autolite Platinum Pro, which is a conventional plug design, but with a platinum pad on each electrode. These last much longer than conventional plugs, but do not have the problems associated with the fine wire electrode.
 
In my limited experience (bout 30 years or so) european love bosh, gm go champion , ford go autolite or motorcraft and last but not least Japanese cars love ngk and nd. That is all i know....one thing for sure, didn't have much luck with bosch 4s in a ford.
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quote:

Originally posted by VaderSS:

quote:

I thought bosch platinum was good quality too,

Not that they are poor quality, just that the fine wire electrode can lead to problems. Most notably in "waste spark" ignition systems.

I prefer Autolite Platinum Pro, which is a conventional plug design, but with a platinum pad on each electrode. These last much longer than conventional plugs, but do not have the problems associated with the fine wire electrode.


I also heard that these little pads can come off.
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I don't know about you but I wouldn't want the slighest chance of this happening.
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Honestly, I'd not be worried about the pad coming off. It's miniscule. I've seen them come out with 80k on them though, still intact though worn. Almost every new car comes with a similar plug these days.

They are not good for use with nitrous though. The pads WILL get knocked off.

Just remembered that the first gen SHO had a unique platinum plug. Similar to the autolite platinum(NOT double platinum or platinum pro), but have a specfic plug for the front and rear, with the pad on the right side for the waste spark sytem to function correctly. They later switched to a double platinum to eliminate confusion.
 
Bosch platinum +4 = worst plugs ever? Really? At 30k, I replaced the oe (NGK IIR) plugs w/ Autolite coppers. At 60k I replaced the Autolites w/ Bosch platinum +4. That was 55k ago, and the car still runs just as good as the day it was new. FWIW, it's a 97 Impreza w/ the EJ22 motor.

Dave
 
the theory of platnum plugs is to extend plug life, not to provide more power.

for what its worth, i have used most every plug in the book, besides the obvious gimmicks like split fire, and i have found that more than the brand of plug you need, is determining the proper heat range for your application,

do you drive like an old lady? bump up the heat range by 1 or 2.
do you auto-x? lower the heat range by 1 or 2.
drive normal? use stock heat range.
have an oil burner? bump the heat range up a notch or 2(to promote plug life)
running aftermarket pefi and using a rich afr? bump that heat range up...
turbo? lower it.
nitrous? i duno about nitrous.


it all depends so much, that its almost like selecting an oil weight. you run the proper weight oil for your engine , by your stile of driving, the tempatures encountered, and manufactuer suggestions.
sparkplugs are the same way, take a baseline stock plug, and change its heatrange by what your engine demands.
 
I may know squat about oil but thats why I come here to learn from the pros but I have done a lot of research on Spark Plugs and Ing boxes. There is a very well written book by Dr. Christopher Jacobs of Jacobs Eletronis Inc that talks about the whole ingnition system. He does not quote his system is best in the book. He has a few things to say about Platumn Plugs, mostly they are a waste of money that can be spent in other areas. I have tried most plugs and if you were to give me a case of Split Fire plugs, I would use them, to hold open a door or as a step stool. Most platumns also. Fine wire and small electrod plugs glow red hot at 6000 RPM and can cause preingition. Buy them if YOU want to but good OEM are hard to beat. If your ing is in poor shape then platumns are a band-ade that will help some. An AC Delco Rapid fire plug and a multy spark discharge type Ing system has a huge spark pattern in a combustion chamber. I use AC Delcos or Champion Truck plugs in my Dodge cars and trucks. My 2 bits
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, DaveJ

[ December 20, 2003, 02:11 AM: Message edited by: DaveJ ]
 
With modern computer controlled engines, heat range has become much less of a concern. Using the OEM heat range will be perfect from "old lady" to mildly agressive street use(the kind that does not get you locked up...) and in-between. If you are racing often, the colder plugs are probably a good idea.

When switching brands, you may find that the heat ranges don't exactly corespond, and this is true of the Autolite, vs an AC plug. I ended up going one step colder with the Autolite, as I was getting some pinging with the recommended range.

As far as platinums not giveing more power, well I've never really seen any plug do that. If the cars I worked on were less of a royal biotch to swap plugs in, I'd probably be swapping standard plugs every 15k, the way I did when I had cars that the plugs were easy to get to, but where a standard plug has a change interval of 30k or 15k for an anal person like me, a stainless body platinum has a 100k or 50k change for me. In the case of my car, the OEM plug is a stainless bodied platinum, but Autolite has the same plug for 1/2 the price and it works as well as the OEM plug so why spend money on OEM? Or you could look at the fact that I had to experiment to find the right range, so going back with the same plug would have been easier...

As far as ignition systems, many fall for the bigger is better philosophy, and unless you are running a substantially modified engine, OEM will be hard to beat. An exception is the newer multi-spark ignition systems, that do show gains in economy and driveability as well as some slight power gains, especially at lower and midrange, but again, not really that cost effective.

I tend to upgrade wires when I replace them, but in my case, it's pretty hard to beat the OEM wire. You can get an equivalent wire for a lower price, or a slight upgrade for about the same price, but again, will you notice the difference on a stock or mildly modded engine? Probably not, at least if you are truthful with yourself.

I think people put way to much thought into ignition systems. OEM is usually PDG, and will be reliable to boot. Putting aftermarket coils and ignition systems in, tends to reduce reliability, although I have to say, its still a lot better than OEM from a couple of decades back. It's when you start getting deeper into the mod game that you NEED to look at the ignition again.
 
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I use AC's in my GM's and Autolites in my Fords, platinum if it calls for it. Lots of folks at my Ranger club report problems with the Bosch +4's also.
 
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