spark plugs

[zrxkawboy]

Last fall, I bought a set of Autolites to put in the car. While installing them, I was disappointed when I noticed "Made in China" on the box.

Last week I picked up a Champion plug for the snow blower, and was happy to see "Made in USA" on the box. I know which brand of plug I'll be using now.

 

[John_K]

Originally Posted By: zrxkawboy
Last fall, I bought a set of Autolites to put in the car. While installing them, I was disappointed when I noticed "Made in China" on the box.

Last week I picked up a Champion plug for the snow blower, and was happy to see "Made in USA" on the box. I know which brand of plug I'll be using now.


Interesting, the plant my Dad made Champions at for 30 years is closed. I just figured it went overseas.

John

 

[Jimmy9190]

I saw that post a while back about Autolite being made in China. I was at Walmart yesterday and checked on the Autolite 3923 plugs I use in my truck and the package said "Designed in USA, Made in Mexico". I checked on a different Autolite plug and it said "Made in China".

I will very likely use NGK on my next tune-up. I understand NGK is made in West Virginia, but some NGK are from Japan. Either way, it's a better choice than China or Mexico. I have run a set of NGK plugs in my truck before, no problems at all with the plugs or their performance.

 

[Scienceman]

Good luck finding much of anything made in the U.S.

 

[zrxkawboy]

Yes, it is sad, how hard it is to find "Made in USA" anymore. Maybe not all Champion plugs are made here, I just noticed that this one was. I definitely take notice now, and will always buy American between two comparable products.

 

[mpvue]

I would suspect that plugs, since there are so many applications, are made all over the world. me, I'd prefer a made in Japan plug for my made in Japan car.
the truly sad part is, if a company had to offer the same plug but made in the USA, it would be quite a bit more expensive and people would complain about the price.

you can't have your cake and eat it, too.

 

[zrxkawboy]

Originally Posted By: mpvue
the truly sad part is, if a company had to offer the same plug but made in the USA, it would be quite a bit more expensive and people would complain about the price.


I see what you're saying, and agree in general. In this case, though, Autolite and Champion plugs are typically priced within 10-20 cents of each other.

 

[NHHEMI]

I would rather use a China made Autolite than a USA made Champion any day. Where something is assembled means nothing if the quality of the item is [censored] to start with. Champion has never made good plugs for anything but yard equipment(IMHO).

To the poster who mentioned it earlier you are correct. NGK makes a ton of plugs here in the US and it is in West Virginia.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
To the poster who mentioned it earlier you are correct. NGK makes a ton of plugs here in the US and it is in West Virginia.


Do you know if the NGK plug wire sets are made here in the USA too?

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: zrxkawboy
Yes, it is sad, how hard it is to find "Made in USA" anymore. Maybe not all Champion plugs are made here, I just noticed that this one was. I definitely take notice now, and will always buy American between two comparable products.


At least some of the Champion plugs are still made here, including the ones for about half of the Formula One teams' powerplants.

While I would generally agree with NHHEMI's opinions about Champion and NGK, I have decided to at least give Champion a chance.
I bought a set of their Iridium plugs on Pep Boys' rebate special. (Yup, made right in THIS here country!

)
I am only out 2.99 a plug, and the torturous task of replacing them, if they turn out to be ****.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
To the poster who mentioned it earlier you are correct. NGK makes a ton of plugs here in the US and it is in West Virginia.


Do you know if the NGK plug wire sets are made here in the USA too?


Sorry I do not. You could always e-mail and ask them if they make any of them here.

 

[j_mac]

I bought a set of Champions once. Once. When I installed them and torqued them down their ground straps peeled back and opened the gap up to over twice the specified gap. Every one of them did this. It was on a 5.0L Mustang of old. On the other 75 plug changes I did on these type of cars NONE of the other brands did such nonsense. Bosch and NGK primarily. Some Denso.

The metal the champions were made of looked like cheap zinc plated metal you might see in a cheap toy or something.

I learned a hard lesson about Autolite products a long time ago. I had a Chevelle back in the late 80's when I first started driving. Was having fouling issues with Autolites until I changed brands. A buddy of mine demonstrated the quality of their plug wire sets by showing me the fireworks under his hood at night time on his hot rod about the same time (1988-89.) He was using Autolite wires and they were about a month old.

Don't buy anything Champion or Autolite. Cheapness is a company policy. Was and still is.

Buy you some German made Bosch stuff if you want high quality components and quality control. The Japanese make great stuff too.

 

[dailydriver]

Bosch plugs have a rep for misfiring, and not working very well in LSx series engines (I don't know about other engines/marques).

NGKs (either copper core V Powers, or one of the Iridiums) are the usual go-to plug for these cars, and what will be installed if the Champions are ****.