More on spark plugs

[bchannell]

As many of you may have seen from the post below, I bought a service pack of Champion plugs for my JD 425 and some other tractors my neighbors have that use the same plug. Well, they weren't something I'd put in one of my engines, so they went back.
see thread here;
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/foru...e-champion-plugs-for-me-look#Post5161677

Well, after some searching, and checking advise, I found many, many recommendations to use japanese plugs in japanese engines, and american plugs in US engines, ie NGK in Kawasaki and Champion in B&S. There were all kinds of horror stories that brand X plug caused my engine to sputter, stall and blow up!
So, being one who likes to check out things for myself and my underlying belief that for the vast majority of applications, "plugs is plugs", I blasphemed and put Autolite Iridium plugs in my Kawasaki water cooled engine. Guess what, no difference whatsoever, ran fine, started fine, stopped fine, had great power, mowed like a champ. I would have never known the difference had I not done the switch myself. I mow about 5 acres of rough ground every week, and have done two mowings now with the Autolite plugs, before that NGK for several mowings.

What have you all found about plugs for small to medium tractors?

 

[JayhawkRoy]

I own and maintain three garden tractors, two John Deere (both Kawasaki engines) and one Sears (Kohler) engine. The engines don't seem to care. I have run Champion, Autolite and NGK with no difference in perceived performance. Your experience with the service pack reinforced the concept of buying local vs off ebay.

I am a bit more particular in what goes into my vehicles.

 

[Kamele0N]

I dont see a point to put some "super-duper" sparkplug in an low revving....low compression OPE...

High revolving 2strokes (like husqvarna 550xp or similar)...yes definitely....

 

[Lubener]

I have always and will continue to use Champions in all my small and larger engines. From farm tractors, 18-24 HP riders, chainsaws, weed trimmers and mowers. Two or four cycle applications, I never had any trouble with them.

 

[Cujet]

The only spark plugs I ever have trouble with are the "madeinchina" brand. Pronounced as one word: meh din chin eh.

 

[AC1DD]

Years ago, no many decades ago there might have been some truth to that however today any well known brand name plug that is specified for an application will almost certainly work well.

 

[Olas]

Any Tom, **** or Harry can produce a plug with a certain thread, reach, gap and heat range.
Brand (in my mind) means nothing.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted by AC1DD
Years ago, no many decades ago there might have been some truth to that however today any well known brand name plug that is specified for an application will almost certainly work well.


OP had some possibly counterfeit ones in a previous thread. The ground prongs were all over the place. If the external machining was that bad, what about the stuff we couldn't see?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Having done hundreds of tuneups professionally over the years. I've used Autolite nickle plugs to good effect in Mitsubishi 4 cylinder engines. Other than surface rust over time on the plug nuts, the engine ran well.. I've used Champion nickel plugs to good effect in Subaru and Hyundai. Guess what - the new cars came across the pond with Champions. Substituting NGK ran poorly. - VERY poorly.

Subtle fabrication, design and material variations can make a big difference on many engines.

I find the newer Ir finewire plugs to be a godsend to improved ignition performance.

 

[benjy]

as long as they ignite they are quite similar. that said plugs costing several times a standard old plug using exotic metals are just for less wear + longer life. lots of advertising bull but exotic metals conduct poorly but being a part of your warranty they are used for longer life + many of todays congested engine bays make changing them a real pain!

 

[bchannell]

I agree with most all of what's been said. I dunno about the Champiions I just bought and returned on Ebay. I've bought a ton of stuff on there and, happily, almost never been ripped off. I tend to think those were genuine, because I just went to AutoZone and Oreillys and looked over some Champion plugs with my pals who work their and they didn't look much better than what i showed in the photos. It's hard to get a good photo to show how bad they really were. Almost every single one of them had insulators that were setting in the metal shell crooked, some grossly croocked, and as stated above, the ground electrodes were all over the place, crooked, different lengths, just aweful.
Looking over Autolite and NGK plugs, there was a vast difference, clearly quality control was much, much better on these.
I also agree with what was said above, if this is what you CAN see, what about the stuff you can't !!!
The funny part is the previous tractor I had used a different Champion plug and they looked fine. I even had a couple of new ones left over and they look great. I dunno, did quality go south in just the last few years?

 

[Eddie]

I replace with the same spark plugs that came with the new engine, unless there is compelling evidence that the OEM plugs are proven to be a poor choice. Ed

 

[nthach]

I throw in NGK, Denso or Champion in all the OPE I touch. I caught my dad installing an E3 plug in a Stihl trimmer that wasn't starting, I scolded him on that. The Stihl isn't starting still, I think coil but that thing will get the right plug to replace the OEM Bosch.

One plug I've been happy with is the Autolite Iridium XP for small engines. I have one in the Echo trimmer I'm reviving. In a POS Weed Eater hedge trimmer, it does help with it being able to start.

 

[bchannell]

I have, right now, the Autolite XP258 in my water cooled Kawasaki JD 425 tractor, and it is running like a champ

 

[super20dan]

I have run a lawnservice for 30 years and have used all kinds of spark plugs in small engines. the best are ngk and worst champion. you can use e3 with great success on older worn 2cycle engines. they really help . e3 has a higher than normal failure rate tho using an e3 in a newer engine gains nothing.