who makes a good spark plug?

[PhantomLover007]

Originally Posted by SSRacer

I run AC Delco Iridiums....that are made by NKG...

Ditto

[[ChaosweaveR]]

Originally Posted by PhantomLover007

Ditto

Fail on you and Sean.

It's N G K.

[PhantomLover007]

[[ChaosweaveR]]

It's all good. I've actually said NKG when trying to sell them to customers at my store by accident.

[AaronGTR]

Originally Posted by [ChaosweaveR]

Mags have tasted the Pulstar plugs and have seen WHP gains. I know Modified Mag did a test on them with a 350Z.

Yeah, I read that same article. Question is, how much do you trust a magazine article about a part they just happened to start advertising for in their magazine? I'd prefer to see some independent testing. And still the HP gain they got was minimal for the amount of money those plugs cost.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

Good point. But, I see plugs like this only when you have a built motor with boost or spray. It's like the MSD coils for the LA1. Unless you're boosting, there's no real increase.

[Malaclypse]

Boost or spray only means that its a good idea to run one or two heat ranges colder. Sticking with the standard plug design will provide the best and most consistent performance.

The only horsepower increase you'll measure from replacing a set of plugs will be from replacing worn out parts.

[IanGT99]

From what I've seen on here (or if I've just missed it altogether), there hasn't been much talk of the E3 Diamondfire plugs. Anyone have any real world experience with these things? HP/mileage gains? They seem to be decently priced for what they claim to do. I just haven't had the need to look into them yet.

[Malaclypse]

Originally Posted by IanGT99

From what I've seen on here (or if I've just missed it altogether), there hasn't been much talk of the E3 Diamondfire plugs. Anyone have any real world experience with these things? HP/mileage gains? They seem to be decently priced for what they claim to do. I just haven't had the need to look into them yet.

Just don't bother... use factory plugs.

My arguement for that blanket statement is this. If all of these gimmicks like the Tornado and all of these special plugs worked; Don't you think they'd be installed in the vehicle from the factory?

[blario]

Yeah, I haven't tried E3's yet but I have sold them to a few friends at the parts store I work at.

They both claimed a difference on the ol' butt dyno.

But then again, I have no idea what kind of shape their old plugs were in.

[IanGT99]

Originally Posted by Malaclypse

Just don't bother... use factory plugs.

My arguement for that blanket statement is this. If all of these gimmicks like the Tornado and all of these special plugs worked; Don't you think they'd be installed in the vehicle from the factory?

Not at all... they're more expensive to produce, so it would cost GM more money to put higher end plugs and parts in. Cost to benefit. If you get 25mpg with stock copper plugs that cost 72 cents and 27mpg with an E3 that costs four bucks a plug, a manufacturer is gonna go with the copper plug every time. I'm just looking to see if anyone has actually used the E3's. The tornado, the "horsepower chips" from Ebay, and clamp-on exhaust "turbos" have been proven to be gimmicks. The jury is still out on the E3's cuz I haven't heard of anyone that ACTUALLY tried them in a GA.

[Malaclypse]

Originally Posted by IanGT99

Not at all... they're more expensive to produce, so it would cost GM more money to put higher end plugs and parts in. Cost to benefit. If you get 25mpg with stock copper plugs that cost 72 cents and 27mpg with an E3 that costs four bucks a plug, a manufacturer is gonna go with the copper plug every time. I'm just looking to see if anyone has actually used the E3's. The tornado, the "horsepower chips" from Ebay, and clamp-on exhaust "turbos" have been proven to be gimmicks. The jury is still out on the E3's cuz I haven't heard of anyone that ACTUALLY tried them in a GA.

You're not taking into effect things like CAFE standards which can cost GM millions of dollars a year. Not to mention they'd get the parts near cost due to such a high volume, mark them up and add it to the base price of the vehicle. Noone would really notice an extra $200.

That and advertising is everything. If they can beat the competition by 2 mpg then they'd be happy to tell you so.

[realestdriver]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I had forgot about this thread. I found out a while back that ac delco platinums were stamped ngk and started buying ngk. This time around I went with ac delco rapid fire plugs, so far so good.

[AaronGTR]

Originally Posted by IanGT99

Not at all... they're more expensive to produce, so it would cost GM more money to put higher end plugs and parts in. Cost to benefit. If you get 25mpg with stock copper plugs that cost 72 cents and 27mpg with an E3 that costs four bucks a plug, a manufacturer is gonna go with the copper plug every time. I'm just looking to see if anyone has actually used the E3's. The tornado, the "horsepower chips" from Ebay, and clamp-on exhaust "turbos" have been proven to be gimmicks. The jury is still out on the E3's cuz I haven't heard of anyone that ACTUALLY tried them in a GA.

Originally Posted by Malaclypse

You're not taking into effect things like CAFE standards which can cost GM millions of dollars a year. Not to mention they'd get the parts near cost due to such a high volume, mark them up and add it to the base price of the vehicle. Noone would really notice an extra $200.

That and advertising is everything. If they can beat the competition by 2 mpg then they'd be happy to tell you so.

He's also greatly exaggerating the difference between the factory parts and an aftermarket plug. They didn't use copper plugs from the factory. Pretty much every plug has a copper core, but most factory plugs use platinum or iridium tips because straight copper doesn't have a long enough service life. There isn't going to be much difference between a factory iridium tip plug and these E3 whatevers...

And there's also the point that changing spark plugs is going to make diddly squat difference in gas mileage. Spark plugs do not affect air/fuel ratio or how much gas you burn. Your right foot does. As long as your plugs are making a spark, changing from one type to another is going to make NO DIFFERENCE in performance! The only reason to change plugs is if there is something wrong with your current ones that is causing a misfire, or if you've modified the engine to the point that you need to change the heat range of the plugs to prevent detonation.

[blondiez24gt]

I tried the E3 sparkplugs in my Z24. I changed them all, and put the plug wires on, and then I had a miss. I pulled a plug wire at a time until I found which one was bad. It was 1 in the back can't remeber which. I stuck one of the old plugs back in there, and drove down to get another E3 plug. Put it in, and then it started missing again. I was a bit confused. I pulled the wire on that plug, and it got worse. So I put it back on, and it was one in the front not firing right. So another trip to the parts store. Then again the same thing. For some reason those E3 plugs would not all work like there suppose too. Five of them with a cheap ac delco would work, but not all 6 together. I took them all back, and got acdelco iridiums. They worked perfectly. I'm not saying there a bad plug, but for some reason they wouldn't work in my 3.1. It had brand new coils, and taylor 8.2 thundervolt wires too. So I dunno why they all would not work at the same time.

[IanGT99]

^^^ Perfect. Real-world experience. That's what I was looking for. Guess it goes to show that the E3's, although a decent idea for a tip design, are not any better than a regular iridium or platinum tipped plug. Even if they did work well, it would be hard to justify the price difference.

[punski89]

so basically i just put the original plugs and wires back on my 05 GT? shes due fer some

[PhantomLover007]

1st off.

Yes. The OEM plugs and wires work great.

[IanGT99]

Yep. I just actually went back to the stock wire size. I had a set of 8mm Taylor SpiroPro wires for well over 5 years and 80,000 miles. They worked well, but one of the boots ended up getting rusty. I just got the stock 7mm size. Unless you have done some serious mods to your engine, upgraded plugs and wires are not necessary. You won't see any noticeable gains in power or mileage. The only gains you'll see are if your plugs and wires are REALLY old and the you swap them out for new ones. Kinda like when you get a fresh oil change and the engine runs smoother and stronger. Some will swear by NGK Iridium plugs on here. I think it's the best plug out there bar none, but it's a little overkill for a GA. A plain jane, single-tipped copper or platinum plug will work just fine.

[Laser57]

Originally Posted by IanGT99

Let me correct my original post... from reading many reports, the Autolite platinum plugs seem to not do so well in our cars. No one can really say why, but they seem to cause misfires. Stick with AC Delco, Bosch, or even Champion plugs.

I run the Autolite platimum plugs in my car and the they are great for the most part except when the motor is cold and especially when the motor is cold and between 5000-6000 RPM it hesitates really bad. When its warmed up all the way theres no problems. Next time I change them I will probally spend the extra money and get Champions.