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Spark plug advice?

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k5blazinredneck

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I've decided to go ahead and replace the plugs put and wires on my blazer before i it back on the road. Is there a certain brand that i should buy? i know it wont make a noticeable difference in horsepower, but what is the best to maybe improve fuel economy and horsepower and get the most mileage out of?
 
My experience is that the snake-tongued platinum expensive ones are snake oil and only serve to line the pockets of the guys selling them to you.

I did have one engine a long time ago that leak lots of oil into one cylinder, and the (then crazy money) $6 "Splitfire" plug was the only one that would burn through the oil and not foul after a week. That, however, was a messed up motor :D

I would stick with the stock replacement style. I can't remember if I got AC Delco or Autolite last time I did mine, but I got the stock heat range, gapped them to spec, and they're happy as can be.

-- A
 
You are not supposed to run platinum/iridium plugs in a motor that didn't have them from the factory. It'll do more harm than good. Best bet is get a good set of wires/cap/rotor and just grab some regular Delco or NGK plugs. Then replace the plugs every couple years/20k miles depending on how you drive it. The regular plugs are only about $2 a piece (last time I bought them) and the truck will run as good as possible with them. Platinums can be almost $20 each and can make the truck run worse or even cause detonation.:waytogo:
 
ac delco the stock number CR43TS or you can run the ac delco CR45TS the 43 are the stock replacement the 45 are for a little hotter burning the heat range is a little higher. you wont feel any difference and the fuel mileage will suck either way. but either one you run you will be fine.
 
The iridium plug doing damage is myth that needs to die. They are just really expensive spark plugs, thats it. Go with AC Delco and you will be happy because they are not expensive.
 
454k30 said:
The iridium plug doing damage is myth that needs to die. They are just really expensive spark plugs, thats it. Go with AC Delco and you will be happy because they are not expensive.
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Fair enough. Either way, it'll damage your wallet for no good reason:whistle:
 
Delco or autolite plugs are best. Do not use champion plugs. They are just crap in anything but a lawnmower these days. I ran them in two different vehicles in the last few years and they burnt out and got carbon fouled in the first couple months. Put autolites in and no problems in two years.
 
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AC Delco in the recommended variety. I have a MSD 6A box and blaster coil, so I run one heat range cooler, but still Delco.
 
I use NGK in everything now. I had a few sets of AC Delco in a row where a couple of plugs were busted, so I switched to NGK in everything. I can't remember what number they are, but NGK does their heat ranges backwards. The higher the number, the cooler the plug.

I ran Champions in both our Jeeps when we had them and they did fine. I put 80k on the set in my Cherokee and they were still kicking when I sold it.
 
Actually doing damage is pretty much a myth, unless the tip breaks off and falls in the cylinder..........

But, if the ignition system was not designed for Platinums, they will almost always cause misfires and generally crappy running.

Back when they were first coming out and were all the rage, I was on the Automotive forum on CServe.
It got to the point that when a new user would log on and say they had just changed their plugs and now had a misfire, we did not even ask.

We would just tell them to pull out the platnums and put in regular plugs. Had about a 90% success rate on that guess.
Made several people get a little freaked out wanting to know how we knew they had put in platinums.........

Both the voltage and spark wattage is higher for them, and a lot of standard coils will not create a spark hot enough or of sufficient duration to fire the cylinder properly.

Even some high voltage coils will not get the job done, because they produce too short a spark with them.
 
Fordum said:
Actually doing damage is pretty much a myth, unless the tip breaks off and falls in the cylinder..........

But, if the ignition system was not designed for Platinums, they will almost always cause misfires and generally crappy running.

Back when they were first coming out and were all the rage, I was on the Automotive forum on CServe.
It got to the point that when a new user would log on and say they had just changed their plugs and now had a misfire, we did not even ask.

We would just tell them to pull out the platnums and put in regular plugs. Had about a 90% success rate on that guess.
Made several people get a little freaked out wanting to know how we knew they had put in platinums.........

Both the voltage and spark wattage is higher for them, and a lot of standard coils will not create a spark hot enough or of sufficient duration to fire the cylinder properly.

Even some high voltage coils will not get the job done, because they produce too short a spark with them.
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So I've always heard not to use platinum/iriduim spark plugs, and I'm not questioning that, but what would have to be done to make an engine capable of taking advantage of them? Most new cars use them, there is obviously an advantage to using them in the right engine. But what about a newer engine makes them better? Is it just the computer control and more voltage going to the plug? Does it have to do with combustion chamber shape?

For that matter, what is it about these plugs that makes them better in the right engine than a plain ol' copper plug? I know a lot of newer cars run wider gaps, do these materials help make that possible?

I'm not actually thinking about doing anything or wanting to run them, I'm just curious.
 
I'm really impressed that the group on here has not fallen into that "wild sparkplug" pit! I'm a service mgr. at a local marina and a few years back the factory rep came around with a display setup that would show the arc pattern of various plugs. Long story short the factory plugs worked out the best. The multi-tip plugs would only arc to closest tip every time, electricity is lazy and will take the shortest path to ground every time!
 
I dunno, been running AC Delco platinums in my burb for a few years, never had any issues with the way it ran, at least until the newest injector pulse signal problem.

I ran those crappy Bosch platinums in my '88 TPI Camaro once, they came out within two months wore out and misfiring. They are the ones with the enclosed tips.

Ones I'm running now are called ACDelco professional platinums I believe.
 
Working at a parts store I saw plenty of Bosch Platinum +4 problems. One set leaking compression between the porcelain insulator and threaded body. Another time a guy put 16 in his new Ram Hemi and it wouldn't pull itself out of the parking lot.
 
regular old cheap ac delcos:waytogo:


and champions suck major a$$. I had 3 sets in a row that at least 2 of them the ceramic spun in the metal base letting FIRE come out and fry the boots. that was 19 years ago but I havent tried them again to notice if they got better
 
Ac Delco copper plugs. No need for anything more fancy (platinum, iridium, multiple elctrodes, etc), and Delco is the best brand out there. Should run you around $2 a plug, pay anything more and it's a waste of money.
 
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