2002yellowpro5
Member
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- 2002 pro 5 and 1969 chevelle malibu
hay its time for me to do my plus what do you recomend and what gap to run
Need New Plugs
- Thread starter 2002yellowpro5
- Start date
- :
- 2002 BJFW, 2007 BK3P, 1979 SA22C, 2005 BK3P
.045 is fine for a protege5
From all the posts I've read, Platinums and Iridiums are a waste of money.
I had Denso Iridiums. The only way you'll notice anything at all was near the car's top speed or nearly redlining the engine. But that may have all been in my head
Stick with NGK's. I'm happy with the NGK V-Grooves.
I had Denso Iridiums. The only way you'll notice anything at all was near the car's top speed or nearly redlining the engine. But that may have all been in my head
Stick with NGK's. I'm happy with the NGK V-Grooves.
Bosch Platinum plugs work for me
Ignore this, it's a common misconception, although for any product you'll always find people that either had problems or never had a problem. But I agree that anything other than the stock copper plugs is just wasted $ if your engine is running normal and you change them at 20K miles or less; otherwise a V-groove or other multi-path plug could help by offering the spark alternate routes and thereby possibly increasing the time until the next plug change is needed, or if your engine tends to foul. When you see cars with "100,000 mile spark plugs" they are platinum, iridium, etc. because it's a harder material and lasts longer; although by 60,000 miles they've lost a lot of metal and I personally wouldn't leave a plug in longer than that since they don't cost anything to change (at least relative to gas prices).
Here are my Bosch Platinum 2's after 14 months/28,657 miles of aggressive driving and autox. Completely normal. Changed them yesterday for stock plugs since my engine is stock and expensive plugs provide no benefits for most people. Just wanted to add some actual data for people to judge for themselves, otherwise it's all just subjective opinion. And BTW, even if you leave plugs in for extended periods, they should still be checked every 6 months or so as it gives you a good idea of your engines health.
Ignore this, it's a common misconception, although for any product you'll always find people that either had problems or never had a problem. But I agree that anything other than the stock copper plugs is just wasted $ if your engine is running normal and you change them at 20K miles or less; otherwise a V-groove or other multi-path plug could help by offering the spark alternate routes and thereby possibly increasing the time until the next plug change is needed, or if your engine tends to foul. When you see cars with "100,000 mile spark plugs" they are platinum, iridium, etc. because it's a harder material and lasts longer; although by 60,000 miles they've lost a lot of metal and I personally wouldn't leave a plug in longer than that since they don't cost anything to change (at least relative to gas prices).
Here are my Bosch Platinum 2's after 14 months/28,657 miles of aggressive driving and autox. Completely normal. Changed them yesterday for stock plugs since my engine is stock and expensive plugs provide no benefits for most people. Just wanted to add some actual data for people to judge for themselves, otherwise it's all just subjective opinion. And BTW, even if you leave plugs in for extended periods, they should still be checked every 6 months or so as it gives you a good idea of your engines health.
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SciFiMan said:
It would be tough for me to ignore, as I had to replace these plugs after 10K miles. The electrode was gone, and there was arcing off of the porcelin surrounding the electrode. They were toasted. Repaced with the OEM NGK's, and they work great. There are multiple accounts of people having problems with these plugs here on the forums. I will never use their plugs again, except for in a vw or something.
Mad Hatter
Member
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- 02 Axiom, 02 MP5
Just get the NGK replacements. I think they're BKR-5E's
Mad Hatter
Member
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- 02 Axiom, 02 MP5
Bijou-MP5 said:
With a spark plug gapper.
After having Bosch Platinums for 10K miles, my car was running like s***. I went in for the factory plugs, but they only had 3. I got the V-Power ones because they were NGK, less than 2 bucks each, and were close to factory. They work great, my car runs a lot better now.
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- 2008.5 Mazdaspeed 3
I read this thread after I just went out and bought some Bosch platinum 2 plugs that don't require gapping (haven't installed them yet). I went down to Schucks and told'em it's for P5 and they gave me the Bosch. So from what I've read so far these don't work well?
RedKatanax9 said:
I had those very plugs for 10K. They were terrible. I "googled" bosch plug problems, and found a lot on info. Seems they are designed for normal driving, but not for performance.
Go get some NGK's, you will be ok. Otherwise, check them in 10K miles. Most likely they will be toasted.
mogi said:
I agree. The double platnum bosche looked like they were dropped. I just took them back originally and exchanged them. If I only knew they were crap, I would have just gotten NGK's to begin with and save 10 bucks.
It is not that hard to gap plugs.
It depends. The Platinum 2's worked great for me (see my earlier post in this thread, I just added a photo for proof). I do autox and daily aggressive driving at about 2000 miles per month. But yes, it can't hurt to double check the gaping from the box. Unless you have a turbo mod, high boost, full track days, etc. you should be fine, and even then they may work great. I'd use them if i were you. But if it makes you nervous, it only takes 5 minutes of your time to check them every month. I'll put them in our minivan (V6) next time because the back 3 plugs are hell to get to so I need some extended life plugs. But for my stock LX, I just put in some $1.30 copper Autolite's yesterday because next month my car will get it's 60K service and I'll let the dealer put stock plugs in it then.
Remember plugs are almost free compared to gas prices, and if you have mods you may need a hotter or colder running plug. If you switch from stock to anything else, just check them occasionally and if they show abnormal wear, consult with a mechanic to get a better plug for that particular engine and point in time for your engines life. After any future engine mod you will need to keep an eye on the plugs. Plugs are very simple devices, and leaving out all the flashy marketing, just about any plug brand will work if you find the right type for your engine setup. Cheap copper plugs of course have a lower mileage life (10-20K before changing).
Remember plugs are almost free compared to gas prices, and if you have mods you may need a hotter or colder running plug. If you switch from stock to anything else, just check them occasionally and if they show abnormal wear, consult with a mechanic to get a better plug for that particular engine and point in time for your engines life. After any future engine mod you will need to keep an eye on the plugs. Plugs are very simple devices, and leaving out all the flashy marketing, just about any plug brand will work if you find the right type for your engine setup. Cheap copper plugs of course have a lower mileage life (10-20K before changing).
RedKatanax9 said:
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