Spark Plugs

[Flying Scotsman]

Hey,

Bit of an undecisive topic.... Spark Plugs..... Which ones?

Bosch Super
Bosch Yttrium Super Plus
Champion Platinum
Bosch Double Platinum
Bosch Platinum Iridium
Denso Iridium
Denso Iridium Tough
NGK Platinum
Ford Originals

See what I mean.....


Any Thoughts?....

 

[Anonymous]

I had Champion. I found the ends didn't fit in the HT leads very well. Now using NGK

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Oh, I should point out that these are Focus RS plugs going into the Puma engine for the turbo....

 

[YOG]

You forgot Denso Platinum :wink:
You'll get as many differing opinions with plugs, as with (What's the best petrol?)!

I've seen posts on here and Puma People, that Denso are no good for the Puma. No-one has said which type, if it is their personal experience, or, I suspect "I heard that".
My actual experience is with Denso Iridium ITV16. Fitted at 9,000 miles and just coming up to 32,000 miles, with no problems.

 

[quest63]

buy a set of al of them mix them all up in a box and pick 4 random ones (like car keys at a swingers party) (that I read about)

and I bet most people couldnt tell the difference.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Surely there has to be a difference between them...

 

[quest63]

You could say that about the performance exhaust industry which is no doubt worth many millions per year, but in my humble opinion even the better ones which might give some tiny bhp increase dont give any significant performance difference, its all smoke and mirrors, people pay hundreds for an exhaust that makes a noise they like and which looks good and choose to believe the car feels faster or more responsive or some such its often phychological if you ask me. Ive been there myself (back in the dinosuar days)

I think some of these fancy and expensive plugs and leads probably only come into their own in extreme performance situations and or may last longer.But I think for the majority of people a standard economy plug is just fine.

 

[ElDude at Allison Automotive]

Standard car - Stndard Plugs

cracking quality the standard ones are compared to the ngk ones.. :wink:

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Standard car - Stndard Plugs

cracking quality the standard ones are compared to the ngk ones.. :wink:

Not for standard engine....

 

[jonr]

Ive just put NGK`s in mine three weeks ago and it sometimes feels a bit flat.It used to take off with a touch of the gas pedal everytime?

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Ive just put NGK`s in mine three weeks ago and it sometimes feels a bit flat.It used to take off with a touch of the gas pedal everytime?

What did you have in previously?

I had NGK's in before with no dramas.. swapped to Denso iridium... changed some other things at the same time but now my engine doesnt want to play nicely anymore lol...

 

[jonr]

It had Ford service ones,also changed oil/filter air and fuel filters.Was expecting it run at least aas good as before.Maybe HT leads?

 

[PumaNoob]

For your turbo conversion, youll need a colder plug, or hot spots on the plug can cause pre-ignition. You should make your decision on the power you estimate you will be producing, turbo size, and EGT's. I found a good set of plugs for the puma turbo conversion are the standard ford focus RS mk1 plugs. Cheap in comparison to a lot of others, and a colder heat range then most puma supplied plugs. On the other hand, i also tried Bosch super 4's, which cover a lot of heat ranges, and they were great, better cold starting then the RS plugs. The only reason i swapped them out was because i was trouble shooting a different issue i was having that turned out to be MAF. I know a lot of people dont like them, but i found them great.

As said above, you will get loads of different opinions on plugs, the same as tyres, ect. Your application is quite unique, so youll just have to try a set and keep an eye on them, make sure they arent too cold that the carbon deposits arent burning off, but not too hot that you get pre ignition. And make sure you gap them more suited to your turbo set up rather then the NA set up.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

As always Erroll... you are a Font... Cheers Bud

 

[quest63]

Ive just put NGK`s in mine three weeks ago and it sometimes feels a bit flat.It used to take off with a touch of the gas pedal everytime?

What did you have in previously?

I had NGK's in before with no dramas.. swapped to Denso iridium... changed some other things at the same time but now my engine doesnt want to play nicely anymore lol...

Its definately a good idea to do one job at a time, I changed my radiator support panel a while ago and shortly after had idle speed problems.My feeling was that something I had done had caused the problem but initially I couldnt for the life of me figure out how, so went off on a tangent cleaning the ICV and MAF etc,when in fact I had disturbed the power steering sensor wires.

Now imagine if I had say for example changed my fuel filter,or dived in fixing the minor hose leak I had at the same time, the possible probs would multiply off in all directions.

Even changing the plugs first and running the car for a few days, and then changing the leads would narrow down any potential arising problems

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Very true and there definately is merit in what you say... but i'm over excited when i get new things for my car and on that particular occasion, i was hampered by time so alot had to be changed. Maybe i should be more reserved about changing so many parts at once.... just not the next time as the turbo is going on lol.

 

[PumaNoob]

I have to agree with quest there, if you change to many things at once and something goes wrong, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack.

I learned the hard way when I decided to change all my ABS sensors at once along with pick up rings, and all bearings, as well as rebuilding hubs suspension, and wishbones, & re wiring the engine bay. When it comes to the ABS light coming on, where the hell do you start??