Bosch Platinum+4 Spark Plugs

[David1]

Im wondering what you guys think about the Bosch Platinum+4 Spark Plugs for a Honda. Now I normally would say no way.. NGK or DENSO.. Now When I first got my Honda Accord V6 years ago and changed the plugs at my surprise they had Bosch Platinum+4 Spark Plugs in them and they looked very good.. So good I almost put them back in but since I had the NGK Laser Platinum Plugs I just put the new NGKs in.. However I didn't know that NGK Laser Platinum spark plugs only last 60K miles.
Also at work when I look my car by way of WORLD PAC. World Pac list 3 brand plugs as OEM . First is list NGK Laser Platinum is Genuine part. Then it list DENSO Double Platinum as OEM / OES.
Then to my great surprise it list Bosch Platinum+4 Spark Plugs as OEM also. Part # 4419 i think.. Now I trust World Pac. I buy most of my parts via World Pac b/c I can such a good deal via World Pac most of the time. I just pay like 8% above cost.. Sometimes 10%. So I really don't feel like spending 56$ on spark Plugs.. I can get the Bosch Platinum+4 Spark Plugs for less the $18 for all 6... So what do you think?? Can it cause any harm????


Bosch Platinum+4 Spark Plugs deliver smoother acceleration, top fuel economy and ultimate engine performance. Bosch Platinum+4 Spark Plugs reach self-cleaning temperatures faster for quicker starts, smoother acceleration and increased fuel efficiency.
Key Features

Surface air gap technology
Platinum center electrode tip
Four yttrium-enhanced ground electrode tips
Surface Air Gap Design: The Platinum+4 delivers a powerful spark for efficient combustion
Re-gapped: Installation is fast because there's no need to gap

 

[Linctex]

Absolutely, completely, utter garbage.

I would run Bosch Platinum+4 Spark Plugs in......... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING

 

[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.

 

[qdeezie]

I tried these plugs years ago. While my vehicle ran just fine with those +4 plugs, it did not have the same MPG as it did with "regular" spark plugs. Ever since then, I have stuck with regular spark plugs.

For what it's worth, I do think that Bosch makes a good spark plug, but they aren't the best plug for every application.

Their OEM replacement spark plugs tend to work very well. I have a set of Bosch in my 2013 Elantra and it runs and starts up better than it ever did with the factory NGKs that were in it beforehand.

My opinion - Go with either OEM plugs or an aftermarket plug that is made to OEM specs.

 

[02SE]

I ran them for 70k in a vehicle with a waste spark ignition system, so they were firing twice as often. No issues, and they could have run longer. I just decided to check them, and since I already had new plugs to go in I changed them.

 

[Falcon_LS]

I have been running Platinum +4 plugs in two Ford 4.6L 2Vs (including one with Stage II cams), a Ford 4.0L SOHC V6, a GM LL8 4.2L L6, a GM LY7 3.6L V6, a Mitsubishi 6G72 3.0L V6 and a Jaguar 4.2L AJ V8. Zero issues. These are pretty good plugs, made in Germany.

 

[David1]

Originally Posted by qdeezie
I tried these plugs years ago. While my vehicle ran just fine with those +4 plugs, it did not have the same MPG as it did with "regular" spark plugs. Ever since then, I have stuck with regular spark plugs.

For what it's worth, I do think that Bosch makes a good spark plug, but they aren't the best plug for every application.

Their OEM replacement spark plugs tend to work very well. I have a set of Bosch in my 2013 Elantra and it runs and starts up better than it ever did with the factory NGKs that were in it beforehand.

My opinion - Go with either OEM plugs or an aftermarket plug that is made to OEM specs.


Very well said.. However ever World Pac.. Thats sorta like a log to look up auto-parts sorta like you would if you went to rockauto.
World Pac states Bosch Platinum+4 Spark Plugs as a OE Replacement Plug and even goes on to say to use Part #4419.

However You Tube video after You tube video even Eric Is The Car Guy says that the igntion is desigend to work with NGK Laser Platinums.

Like I said these plugs where in there when I bought the car so I used them before.... The only reason Im even considering em is b/c I can get all 6 plugs for around 18$ or less.

 

[David1]

Originally Posted by Linctex
Absolutely, completely, utter garbage.

I would run Bosch Platinum+4 Spark Plugs in......... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING



So you say not to run the botched +4s

yea on some of the Honda Forums I have seen them refereed to as Botched.. Also since the plugs are now made in CHINA.. I was told even if they say made in Germany they are still from CHINA... So that pretty much settles it for me.. Perhaps the ones I had 7 years ago were the real deal Bosch plugs.. However I have been reading in other forums not to use Bosch in a Honda or in anything b/c they are made in china now and the quality has gone way way down.

 

[k1xv]

Back when I started driving over 50 years ago, we had weak coil and breaker points ignitions trying to ignite heavily leaded gasoline, and uneven mixtures in cylinders due to poor carburetors and intake manifolds. The selection of a spark plug could make a real difference, and they seldom lasted more than 8000 miles or so.

Today's ignitions, unleaded fuels, fuel injection, and excellent spark plug materials make deviation from factory spec iridium plugs unnecessary and unlikely to provide any improvement. Stay with the factory specified plugs and you will get tens of thousands of miles of reliable excellent performance. Any ignition issues are more likely to come from other causes than a poorly designed spark plug.

 

[skyactiv]

You know whats funny? My wifes Audi and my VW were assembled in Germany and have a lot of Bosch parts on them, but they came with NGK spark plugs from the factory.

 

[ragtoplvr]

Originally Posted by Linctex
Absolutely, completely, utter garbage.

I would run Bosch Platinum+4 Spark Plugs in......... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING
Not always true, As an example, in BMW motorcycles of the 2001 to 2005 generation, the 4417 version gets us 1 to 2 more mpg. Many also have a lean surge, and this plug totally eliminates that. With this plug I pull the engine down to as low as 600 rpm leaving a stop light or in tight traffic and it never stalls, with the OE plug it will stall at anything less than 900. I have put on 100,000 miles so far using them and not going back. With 4 electrodes one is always aligned in the optimum position, they are fine wire so the spark is exposed. The OE NGK starts surging at less than 3000 miles, I have yet to wear out a Bosch. It has been so long since I put them in they are were in Germany, they have no wear.. If Bosch changed, a pox on them.

 

[Trav]

Lots of misinformation in this thread. Lets start with the ignition system was design to work best with brand X spark plug, bull dinkies! As long are the plug has the correct resistance the ignition system couldn't care less what on the firing end. File that stupidity along with 70's era radial tuned suspension and later Honda's suspension tuned for PAX only tires or dire consequences could occur until even they couldn't get them anymore then it was no problem they issues a TSB to use regular wheels and tires, what happened to the safety concerns of not using them? The usual Honda B.S.

Bosch plugs labeled made in Germany are not made in China, period. 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 or you tube heroes.
There is nothing wrong with +4 plugs, I prefer the fine wire OE because the heat range seems to be right on the money and show less erosion at the same miles. they are made in Germany not China.

 

[marine65]

I put a set of Bosch Platinum +2 plugs in my Sentra at 97K miles.
The car ran just fine.
Fast forward to 195K miles and the car still ran just fine.
But I decided with about 98K miles a plug change would be a good idea.
I got Champion Double Platinum plugs from Pep Boys for no other reason then they were just a bit over $2 each.
The car runs just fine on the Champions.
And the Bosch plugs looked pretty good and probably could have gone longer.

I think the poster Trav is right on.

 

[meep]

I like bosch plugs and have used them in several vehicles. My brother, oddly enough, actually experienced the internet-lore of a set of bosch plugs not working well in a honda. New bosch plugs and a tune up, ran poorly. Took to dealer. Dealer swapped plugs for NGK, car ran fine after. This is back when thy used distributor ignition. Having seen it, I give some creedance to the bosch-no-likey-honda thing. Outside of that, I like their plugs. We had an '84 vanagon that came new with bosch +2 plugs.

 

[partspro]

We had bosch +4's on an end cap when I worked for AAP. We had plenty of issues with them, mainly engine misses. None of the team members would try to sell them!! I don't know if our catalog was calling for the wrong plug, it's possible. After defecting so many, you just quit selling them.

 

[BrocLuno]

Originally Posted by Trav
Lots of misinformation in this thread. Lets start with the ignition system was design to work best with brand X spark plug, bull dinkies! As long are the plug has the correct resistance the ignition system couldn't care less what on the firing end. File that stupidity along with 70's era radial tuned suspension and later Honda's suspension tuned for PAX only tires or dire consequences could occur until even they couldn't get them anymore then it was no problem they issues a TSB to use regular wheels and tires, what happened to the safety concerns of not using them? The usual Honda B.S.

Bosch plugs labeled made in Germany are not made in China, period. 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 or you tube heroes.
There is nothing wrong with +4 plugs, I prefer the fine wire OE because the heat range seems to be right on the money and show less erosion at the same miles. they are made in Germany not China.


+1

It's all in the specs. They either match the requirements, or not. Do your homework ... Pre-fire coronal resistance is used in some ignitions to sense fuel/air mixture and alter timing accordingly (mostly Saab). If you miss the spec by more than a few percent, it'll run poorly. It ain't rocket science ...

Don't Porsche's come with Bosch plugs ??

 

[StevieC]

IMO Bosch plugs are only good in applications originally spec'ed with Bosch plugs. I would run whatever is the plug it had in it originally. There was a thread already on another Honda on here in the last 3-4 months with this same discussion.

 

[PimTac]

NGK all the way.

 

[UG_Passat]

Originally Posted by skyactiv
You know whats funny? My wifes Audi and my VW were assembled in Germany and have a lot of Bosch parts on them, but they came with NGK spark plugs from the factory.


That's because when NGK won the last contract VAG was soliciting for spark plugs.

my 08 Passat 2.0T came with Bosch plugs, but in 2010, NGK got the VAG contract, and replaced the Bosch plugs with NGK plugs.

My 08 Passat also had random Denso parts also.

on my current Tiguan, I ran the BKR7EIX, then Denso IK22, and now on order Denso VK22 (from the UK). If only Denso made the twin-tip in IK22 configuration.

I had the Bosch Platinum +4 back when I had a 88.5 Camry V6, since the rear bank was a PITA to get to, so longer lasting plugs was a good thing. Back in the day, Bosch also bragged about the Platinums were not merely just tipped, but the entire center electrode core was platinum alloy.

Also interesting, that Audi ran Bosch dual ground plugs before, BKR6EKUB

 

[JeffKeryk]

I would run the factory plug. While it seems as though any plug that fits the spec should perform equally, I have found that to be not true.
Funny story - on our 2006 TSX, the factory installed 2 NGK and 2 Denso plugs.