I haven't tried them in a Ford but I've used the Splitfires in a couple of other vehicles.

I had a 94 blazer with the then new high output 4.3 that ran like *****. Of course the dealer said "high output motors always sound like that". I put the Splitfires in at about 3,000 miles. The thing smoothed out and mpg went from 15 to 17.5! Can't tell you the end of the story because the ex got the Blazer and I never saw it again.

I was so impressed I put them in my next car, a Honda Del Sol. They made no difference one way or another. That car was pretty much dead by 70,000 miles but I don't think it was the plugs fault.

Now that I'm having idle problems with the 4.6 I might try them again.


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2000 XL 4.6 5spd 2WD reg-cab long-box 3.55 LS 235/70/16 Chestnut (not 2-tone) Raven-Cap (and a '66 GTO with a '73 455, both combined cost less than a Lightning )

 

It sounds as if the plugs generally do not help performance/mpg, and may or may not be harmful to the engine. I can see saving the $$$ for the plugs, and buying a case of beer instead.

Once again my point is proven that a Texas aggie cannot help but put plaster their vehicles with aTm stickers and whatnot. Not that this is good or bad, nor did I attend a rival school, it is just an observation. I was stationed at Ft. Hood, and the aggies I normally would run into were of the fanatical corps variety, and maybe that explains it.

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'98 SC XLT 4.2
4x2 3.55 ls
Gibson 3" cat back
K&N filter (who doesn't?)
Cpt. chairs, and those oh so cool auto headlights.
Factory door steps to get my pants dirty

 

There's a member on this board who just had a hole in his #6 piston happen. Guess what plugs? I linked that post to this one too.

https://www.f150online.com/f150board...ML/004097.html

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2000 F150 XLT 4x4 Short Bed. Amazon Green, 5.4L, SuperCab, ORP, Tow Package, Sliding Rear Window, Electronic Shift, Keyless Entry, LT265-70-17 Tires, Clarion Pro Audio, Herculiner Bedliner, Air Silencer Removed.

1994 SVT Mustang Cobra. #1032 of 6009. Black coupe with black leather int., 3.73 rear, Bassani Exhaust, Aluminum D/S, Bridgestone RE-71 255-45-ZR17

My Home Page

 

as for the plat 4's, look at the plug.. they are shrouding the spark on FOUR sides. this cannot help things in the least. GO buy a good set of the old stand by plugs and you will be happier, because as was tated earlier you will have money for beer after you are done.

 

Superchips_Distributor

We've been using the Bosch +4's in every one of our vehicles for the last 3 years now, with no problems. The absolute smoothest idle we've ever seen from any spark plug, ever.
I do agree that the Splitfires do not have all the heat ranges covered as they should, <b>they do far too much "overlapping" of the heat ranges for my tastes. However, I've never seen a Splitfire plug actually damage an engine.

Nor have we seen any damage result from using the Bosch Platinum+4 spark plug, and we'll continue to use them in all our vehicles.

Superchips_Distributor, have you made any mods to the vehicles you've used these plugs in? I've just installed the Bosch +4 in my truck and I would hate to see the engine go sour. I've noticed nothing out of the ordinary yet and, the performance of my engine has seemed to improve some.

To all other users of the Bosch +4 plugs, I would like to hear about your results with this plug.


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'99 F150 XLT Super Cab, V6 4.2, auto trans
[Mods] K&N air filter, lead foot
[Other] Lund Trident bug shield, cheap-*** steering wheel cover
[Sound] Kenwood KDC-MP8017 (plays MP3 files)
[Wants] Air Raid, chip, performance exhaust

[This message has been edited by Dogbite (edited 04-21-2001).]

 

well id like to clear up some stuff i wrote in here earlier about these plugs, a lot of you maybe misunderstood me when i said hole in the piston, well let me clarify, this car was a stock v-6 firebird, that had plenty of clearance in the combustion chamber for these +4 plugs, the problem is that they are to hot of a plug and as mentioned earlier may cause pre-ignition. the hole in the piston was definetly caused by a condition that was way to hot for the oem equipment, be it the plugs themselves or preignition or whatever it wasnt pretty. The coil packs i have seen shot out was due to the plug firing through the head, if you have a severe misfire problem, This MAY be happening. we know this because we had tested it with Hi-Volt, and the light show produced was incredible(some may know what it is some may not) all in all, the +4 plugs are highly recomended to be left on the parts shelf when tuning up an oem engine. for our trucks, the autolites are the best plugs. our engines were designed to operate with these plugs.

 

Warranty Concerns:

I was under the impression (as told by my local ford dealer Warranties manager (I think that was his title)) that The warranty is only good if something goes bad that is oem or in the oem setting. I.E.: For everyone who has an Airraid, etc., if your Mass Airflow sensor goes bad due to water contact, it's your nickel (or few hundred dollars ) to fix it. For anything you do, the whole warranty will not be voided but the idea is, the warranty no longer covers what you altered. I guess they don't like to clean up our mess :-) I think that's why some people remove their chips/etc. when something goes wrong to take it in. "It just broke one day" can still be used!

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2000 4.2 Supercab XLT
What I've done: K&N filter, Magna flow custom exaust (From where cat's join, 3"in, two 2.5" out the rear), Michelin LTX M/S 265/75/16's, MTX Thunderform custom box with two 6000 series 8" subwoofers and Mtx 120 amp.
Plans: Lund hood deflector, superchip, Poweraid, Xenon sport Flares, (custom ram-air idea?)

 

Howdy!

Itmox,

LOL. Fanatical?! Funny! Yeah, something like that.

Have you ever heard:
From the outside looking in, you cannot understand it. From the inside looking out, you cannot explain it? Go there, you will!

Strangely enough, I used to live in Wheaton, Illinois. (Later moved to Aurora) What do you know?! Hmmm..


BJays Red 150,

That's why you keep the stock parts just in case something goes wrong. Stick 'em back in there and take it back to the dealership. (Along with a confused look and a "I dunno what happened, it just blew up!" look. LOL.

Have a nice day.

 

Are we still on this spark plug thing? Far as I can tell my Bosch +4 has not given me any problems. (knock on wood) What signs would my truck be giving if there was a problem like a hole in my piston?

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99' Ford F150 XL Sport
(Black) V-6 3.55 manual
Mods:
Airaid, Bosch +4 Plat.
Ravin Z-33 SI/DO
Color Keyed Carpet
AVS Headlight covers
AVS Bugdeflector II
AVS Ventshades
Lund Wiper Cowl
Lund Tinted Glass
Lund Soft Bed Cover
V-tech Taillight covers

 

Howdy!

Update! I bought my nephew a PowerWheels Jeep Wrangler AfterShock this past Christmas. The idle was rough so I put in Bosch's Platinum +4s. Now piston #4 has 2 holes. Should I take them out and have the dealer service it under the 1-Year-Bumper-to-Bumper warranty? LOL

Point: Do holes in pistons from some engines prove that there is a cause-effect relationship that Bosch Platinum +4s are the cause of piston damage? If I stepped on a crack and my mama's back broke, should I keep stepping on it whenever I'm in a bad mood?

The Wrangler Aftershock rocks by the way. It can carry up to 140lbs. I weigh a lot more than that but it still goes when I get on. LOL. Great off road with the fat tires too! Almost like the real thing..

Have a nice day.

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My ride:

Basics:
- '99 XLT F-150

Under hood and back:
- Ram air (Don't ask me how )
- AiRaid intake
- Flowmaster DF 50 Series
- 24x3.5" Stainless steel slashed tips (Yes! Solid polished SS, no cheesy chrome-plated)
...

Outside:
- Precision polished billet grille and plate holders
- American Racing 17x8s polished Pythons (Flushed front AND back)
- Goodyear.. something tires (Expensive is all I know. LOL. No Firestone firecrackers for me either)
- Rhino liner
- Ford nerf bars
- Ford bed rails
...

Inside:
- My girlfriend!
...

Fun stuff:
- Dual sirens Black Widow alarm system/keyless entry (Enough decibels to go deaf in a garage )
- Custom driving lights (Just a cool blue)
- 2 High-Watt lights behind grille (For people who cut me off )
- Dual horns (For people who, again, cut me off)
- Dual wheel locks (So I won't be driving home on bricks!)
- Spare wheel lock (So I won't have to use a brick as a spare )
...

Best of all:
- Texas A&M University aTm front plate! Gig'em Aggies!!

Stephlan

 

well the signs might vary, hopefully they wont damage your engine. youll probably notice a misfire at first, or a big loss in power like the truck is studdering. it will still run but pay attention to any roughness or loss of power