platinum plugs [Merged 6-7]

[ALASKATALON WHI]

whats wrong with running platinum plugs?

 

[doug]

Originally posted by Ðawg
thing is, you take a stock 1G and a stock 2G and two comperable ddrivers, and the 1G is going to own. Bigger turbo, better manifold... just an all around better built car.

That, and the 1Gs are lighter. Even though the stock 1G A/T turbo is a 13G, it's probably still bigger than a T-25, I don't know.

 

[chris26969]

Yea im working on my launching , i put some bosch Plats in just to see how they run. It runs pretty much the way it should run. I havnt really seen any degradation, but NGK are on the way for my car, including a new BOV and gauge soon.

 

[GAdriver]

I bought the bosch platinum plugs are they any good?

 

[fertez_turbo]

I bought them about a year and a half ago for my Trans Am, I didn't notice one bit of difference between them or any old plugs. I was really pissed, seeing how I had to buy 8 of them at like 6 bucks a piece. I think they are really over-rated. I run NGK's in my Talon, I'm happy with them.
-dale

 

[clownface]

i use the bosch platinum plugs and they are way better then the NGK R's???? or sumthing that were in the car, i only paid $2.99 a peice at adanced auto

i plan on getting sum iridium plugs to replace the ones i have now

 

[Boostin16gGSX]

not many people know this....but platinums really arent that good of plugs.....just compare an NGK to a platinum and notice how the platinum spark area is so small....if any dirt was to get on there.....that can cause misfires

 

[N8Dogg]

Alls I know is that I bought the Bosch Platinum + 4 plugs, and I noticed a difference. Low end torque raised, and gas milage is nice. The spard on the +4's always fire the best spark possible.

 

[Defiant]

When they first came out, the platinum plugs had more than a few instances of losing the side electrode in turbo DSMs. I don't know if, what, or how this problem may have been addressed, nor if it's been fixed.
There were also supicions that the small center electrode was subject to "blowing out" the spark under boost.

 

[heavyD]

I use NGK iridium IX plugs plugs and like will never go back. I know alot of guys will say "stick with the NGK BPR6EKN plugs" but my car ran noticeabley better with the iridiums.

 

[black97GSX]

With just an intake and cat back exhaust on my car the platinum plugs were fine but after i swapped in the 1G motor and did internal work and bigger turbo and also full system work i switched to iridium plugs and they worked MUCH better. Would never go back, def love these plugs.

 

[RamenPride]

the general consensus is that platinum plugs don't work very well in turbocharged engines (in the 4G63T anyway...). i don't know about iridium plugs. crappy idle and hesitation have often been solved by ditching the platinums and using plain old NGK BPR6ES's (or 7's)

 

[84fiero4speed]

My car (not the turbo, but a 4g63) went through a set of Bosch Platinum+4 plugs in less than 4000 miles. I was having problems with misfires and had to replace the plugs and wires. Went with NGK V Power plugs and NGK wires and they work great. I wouldn't go back to the Bosch plugs, especially since they cost $24 for a set. The NGK plugs cost $6 a set and run way better.

 

[DSMeclipse4G63]

Originally posted by Boostin16gGSX
not many people know this....but platinums really arent that good of plugs.....just compare an NGK to a platinum and notice how the platinum spark area is so small....if any dirt was to get on there.....that can cause misfires

You do know that the ngks we get stock are platinum right?? I used bosch dual tips and they caused all sorts of problems like intermitten lack of power and such look here for the reviews:
http://www.dsmreviews.com/dsmreviews.php3?category=13002
Andrew

 

[RamenPride]

Originally posted by DSMeclipse4G63
You do know that the ngks we get stock are platinum right??

you mean the NGK BPR6EKN? it's a regular copper plug with two ground electrodes.

 

[DSMeclipse4G63]

Originally posted by RamenPride
you mean the NGK BPR6EKN? it's a regular copper plug with two ground electrodes.

My mistake...if they are in fact something other than platinum then they sold me platinum for the other price.
Andrew

 

[RamenPride]

Originally posted by DSMeclipse4G63
My mistake...if they are in fact something other than platinum then they sold me platinum for the other price.
Andrew

chances are you paid less for platinum plugs, since the stock 2G plugs are quite expensive (for what they are)

 

[Redlining101]

I was wondering what the pros and cons of copper spark plugs to platinum spark plugs were?

 

[Pure92TSi]

Platinum plugs will melt in you engine and copper's won't. This is why you shouldn't use the platinum plugs. NGK BPR7ES that's what you want.

 

[Lzybum06]

Not trying to hijack the thread at all, just add another question. What about the new Uridium spark plugs? The guy at O'Riellys told me they have shown no bad effects with nitrous either. They could be another option to look at for spark plugs. Oh by the way they are made by NGK or atleast the ones I was told about.

 

[alex]

All things being equal, a more powerful spark will create higher cylinder pressure which will create more power. The power of a spark is determined by its voltage (more voltage = more powerful spark).

Aside from variables such as cylinder pressure and A/F ratio, the amount of voltage required to jump across the gap of a given type of spark plug is determined by the plug gap. A smaller plug gap requires less voltage to jump across the gap and a larger plug gap requires more voltage to jump across the gap.

There is a way to reduce the amount of voltage required to jump across the gap of a plug. By increasing the number of sharp edges that the spark can jump from and to (as in SplitFire and Torquemaster plugs) or by using an electrode material that is a more efficient conductor than the standard steel material (like platinum) you can decrease the amount of voltage required to "jump the gap". The only problem is that these "specialty" plugs will produce a less powerful spark than a standard plug will at the same gap. This means that, as long as your ignition system can provide enough voltage to jump the gap on the spark plug all of the time, with these "specialty" plugs installed in your car your engine will produce less power than it will with standard spark plugs. The only way you can regain the power lost with these "specialty" plugs is to open their gap out farther (a wider gap requires more voltage to jump the gap).

I've seen a number of cases where people have installed SplitFire, Torquemaster or platinum plugs in their car in the place of standard spark plugs and have complained of reduced power. In all of these cases the specialty plugs were installed using the plug gap specified for the car's original standard plugs (with the exception of the Torquemaster, whose gap is not adjustable). The reduced spark power due to the reduced voltage requirement of these plugs was the culprit.

Nissan DID address this problem by specifying a larger plug gap when using platinum plugs (0.039" to 0.044") instead of standard plugs (0.032" to 0.035"). In this case, the platinums will produce roughly the same spark energy as the standard plugs while providing an extended service interval (50K to 60K miles for platinums versus 20K to 30K miles for standards).

Dan Thompson

Platinum should be gapped at 0.039in to 0.044in and Copper at 0.031in and 0.035in.

As you can see, Copper is overall better!

 

[Redlining101]

Cool. Copper it is. NGK BPR7ES it is. Thanks for the info fellas. As for Uridium..... no idea....

 

[MrBoxx]

BPR7ES's are mostly for higher boosting cars. Stock BPR6ES's are good for the majority of people with basic bolt-on modifications.

Platinum does indeed suck in our cars. My car felt totally different when I bought some Bosch platinum plugs that were on sale. There was a definite power loss and the engine would miss frequently. I changed back to NGK copper plugs and the problems went away.

Uridium=Iridium, btw.

 

[xveganxcowboyx]

Platinum does indeed suck in our cars. My car felt totally different when I bought some Bosch platinum plugs that were on sale. There was a definite power loss and the engine would miss frequently. I changed back to NGK copper plugs and the problems went away.

I've had the exact same experience. I have to say, I love learning that $1.50 spark plugs work much better!

 

[talonTSIDriver]

I also do not like the platinum plugs. Use the NGK's. My check engine light came on because of a random misfire when I was using some Bosch platinums. Put some NGK's and cleared the engine codes, never had a problem since and engine seems to run smoother under boost unlike the Bosch which seemed to stutter under high boost.

 

[eclipse_turbo97]

How these plugs work for only about 15 pounds of boost? I was going to get the NGK's, but they were out and I had to wait until they were ordered.