Thought I'd toss this one in the air, as I am just doing the old school thing and always buying the same ole Copper Plugs.
I know the more expensive and exotic types of plugs are better suited to the new engines that are incredibly difficult to change the plugs in. They last a long time and relieve the owner of having to change them .......well, sometimes while they own the car.
However in the simple 4 cylinders of our beloved 1st gens changing plugs isn't such a chore. I was, however wandering if any you have found any advantages to the more expensive plugs over the basic copper ones other than longevity?
The folks at the parts counter are only too eager to sell you a top dollar part. I get tickled at them when they try to hawk the top line brake pads/shoes....Of course they will last a lifetime - they will simple eat up your rotors and drums instead....LoL
Hope to learn some more just like I did with the coolant question!!
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I've run AC's in mine since 86 and they have never let me down. Same old old school ones that came with the car. Had a bad experience trying champions ( I think they were split fire or something like that) in a 95 Aerostar 4.0 I had back in 97. Ran like crap on the Champions so went back to the Ford plugs and problem solved. BTW..... Ugliest car I ever had, but it ran great and could haul anything in that extended body, plus it was all wheel drive.
I have always used either delco plugs or accel which are made by NGK. As a parts counter man I try to sell people what their car originally came with. The local tuning shops are always buying NGK plugs. They say its a good durable plug for nitrous applications.
Just the standard delco plugs only in the cav.I can vouch for ngk but soley for my mazda.I prefer nippendenso now called just denso but,hard to find the plain ones I used to buy for years.I keep it simple for the cav as it likes those plain plugs.
Ron I bet you didn't know NGK and Denso are the same. Denso accually owns NGK. Denso is normally a higher end plug where NGK is usually cheaper and more of an economy plug.
I always liked the Bosch Platinum plugs, seemed to get about 5-10% better mileage than the cheaper Champion ones.
Josh...
Couldnt be more incorrect. no they dont
NGK does not make Accels either..
Jason yes they do. The U-groove NGK is the same as the yellow Accel plugs and NGK is owned by Denso. Not only do I work for Advance Auto Parts I also work for Toyota which partially owns Denso. It's not uncommon to find NGK plugs mixed with Denso plugs on the same vehicle.
Josh,
I can assure you since I work at NGKs Us head quarters as a technical training administrator we do not make Denso plugs, or accels. We are OEM in some Toyotas however Denso has had most of the market on Toyota since Toyota owns Denso. There are 3 applications where the Denso and Toyota plugs were used on the same engine, however that had to do with a running production change where they switched cylinder head plants to ones we supplied to.
Also just to be clear our v power plugs are totally different than the accel u groove plugs. We actually have the vowed line/racing vowed patented.
I travel all over the country training counter people like yourself as we'll as ASE master installers...
If you have anything else you would like cleared up please let me know.
I run NGK in my Camaro and AC Delco on the Sunbird. Much easier to change on the Subnird...
Yep..
As stated below NGK does make a good amount of ac delcos.. Depends on what color thread they are..
I'm thinking - just like Oil Filters - that there probably are a limited number of Spark Plug Manufacturers distributing many plugs under different name brands. Some are probably even supplied to yet a second distributor that takes another markup for their Brand Name.
Seems like there is a large consensus in favor of the basic Copper Plugs for both 4 Cyl Engines and everyone smiles with AC/Delco.
Looks like a sensible choice for me too. I am always surprised to see what folks have to say , Thanks for the everyones input!!
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Iridium is the way to go with wasted spark systems.
On the inside my car looks like a fighter jet.
>>>NGK<<<< Run 'em in ALL of my rides !
They have the best performance and durability for the money.
~ Mike ~
Mike..
Thanks we appreciate that!
Rob
Actually double precious metal plugs are the only way to go with wasted spark
jason norwood wrote:Mike..
Thanks we appreciate that!
Rob
Actually double precious metal plugs are the only way to go with wasted spark
Pretty sure iriduim plugs are dual presious metal. They only come in platinum and iridium. Platinum is less of a conductor then copper. Iridium is one of the densest metals on earth.
On the inside my car looks like a fighter jet.
Anyone have any input regarding the Autolite Brand. It my understanding Autolite is an exclusive manufacturer of Spark Plugs - and hence put their R&D into that product only. Any experiences or horror stories?
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Rob,
Simply saying iridium plugs are dual precious plugs isn't true. There are 2 types of Iridium plugs
1. Single precious metal - iridium IX or similar... These only have iridium on the center electrode.. They are not designed for wasted spark systems but will work, service interval and performance will decrease as you have defeated the wasted spark.
2. Dual precious metal plugs - laser iridium or laser platinum or equivalent, these are dual precious metal plugs because they have either platinum or iridium on both ground or firing electrodes and are meant for wasted spark systems because of how those ignitions operate.
Also it's not about "conductivity" as all plugs use a copper core, this is for heat dissipation. Even iridium and platinum plugs have a copper core.. Read above comments.
Auto lite plugs are ok. Yes they are also a manufacturer and OEM supplier.. Mostly to ford "motor craft" but NGK and champion are also OEM in ford. They lost a lot of share with ford ever since the ford 3 valve disaster with the high thread plug.
Iridium and platinum are more efficient than std plugs as hey require less energy to jump the gap, that's why iridium and platinum are better for boost/nitrous applications.
An interesting thing about the high end plugs I have noticed. Since the high end plugs last so darn long when the time comes to change them they have all but seized up in the heads and are nearly impossible to remove. Seems like the longevity factor has caused it's own set of problems.....But it all boils down to the increasing complexity of the modern automotive engine.
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A friend who owns a garage that works on German vehicles and other high end cars and has a 68 hemi Cuda' drag car himself, had me put Bosch plugs in my 55 chevy which had a 400 SBC in it with tripower. The car ran terrible and gave all sorts of fits. After a bunch of trouble shooting, we put Autolite plugs in it and it made a world of difference. So with that bad experience, I stay away from Bosch plugs and either run the factory recommended AC's or use Autolites since the Autolites resolved the problem the Bosch Platinums created.
jason norwood wrote:Rob,
Simply saying iridium plugs are dual precious plugs isn't true. There are 2 types of Iridium plugs
1. Single precious metal - iridium IX or similar... These only have iridium on the center electrode.. They are not designed for wasted spark systems but will work, service interval and performance will decrease as you have defeated the wasted spark.
2. Dual precious metal plugs - laser iridium or laser platinum or equivalent, these are dual precious metal plugs because they have either platinum or iridium on both ground or firing electrodes and are meant for wasted spark systems because of how those ignitions operate.
Also it's not about "conductivity" as all plugs use a copper core, this is for heat dissipation. Even iridium and platinum plugs have a copper core.. Read above comments.
Auto lite plugs are ok. Yes they are also a manufacturer and OEM supplier.. Mostly to ford "motor craft" but NGK and champion are also OEM in ford. They lost a lot of share with ford ever since the ford 3 valve disaster with the high thread plug.
Iridium and platinum are more efficient than std plugs as hey require less energy to jump the gap, that's why iridium and platinum are better for boost/nitrous applications.
Sounds good. I only ever bought AC delco iridium form my buit v6s and my 2000 ld9. My other cars I always just bought the cheapest since they are stock.
On the inside my car looks like a fighter jet.
Funny thing When I worked for toyota and the tacomas came out with the v6, they would have ngk's in one side of the engine and Denso's in the other..lol far as plugs, only beni is longer life from the plug, far as the fancy splitfir and +4 crap, its crap. you don't need all that @!#$, A cheap copper plug will make the same spark as a platinum plug.
