Im sure this has been covered before.... but does anyone have an opinion on which brand of plug to use? I'm sure one has to be better than another........ platinum tip, stock, or V-groove....etc..

Has anyone had any noticable improvements with them as in starting etc..??
thanks

 

I USE HAVE ALWAYS USED AUTOLITE PLATINUMS IN MY FORDS THEY NEVER GAVE ME A PROBLEM. JUST TUNED MY 97 EXPO 4.6 A FEW MONTHS AGO AND CHANGED THE WIRES. WAS A BIT OF A JOB BUT IT RUNS GREAT. JUST BE SURE TO HAVE THE DIELECTRIC GREASE AND THE ANTISIEZE. I HAD A FOULD PLUG PRIOR TO THE TUNE UP, DUE TO WATER GETTING IN THE PLUG BOOT.

 

I just bought a set of Bosch Platium 4. They have 4 prongs. A couple of my mechanic friends recommended them. I haven't put them in yet. I forgot to get antiseeze thanks to the idiot at Pep Boys who pissed me off acting like I was some kind of fool for putting these plugs in something besides a Jap car. There is no such thing as good customer service anymore.

 

Ive heard those +4's suck and that some guys change them back out almost immediately. WHen i change mine ill probley just go back with the stock ones.

 

I changed to Autolie Platinums and I am now having a problem, it may be my wires, but it could be the plugs, too. The general consensus is instead of the platinums, just go regular or Denso Iridium. The platinum does not always work well with our engines is what Ford told me. I always swore by platinums (Autolites), but I guess they will come out now. No flames intended to anyone!

 

Wow, Pickup Man! I'm surprised a Ford person told you that considering they come with platinum plugs from the factory.

Anyway, you certainly want platinum or iridium becaue they will last 50-100k miles instead of 8-15k. Considering how long it takes (or how much places charge), you want a plug to perform well as long as possible.

I have heard mixed experiences on the Bosch +4 plugs and would avoid them for that reason. I think the problem is that you canno change the gap and some people get incorrectly gapped plugs out of the box. Four plrongs is unnecessary anyway. The Morotcraft (rebadged Autolights) double platinum is a very good plug for not too much money considering how long they last. I got some NGK Iridium for my truck which I changed at 59k miles. No complaints so far.

 

I've got the +4's and have had them in for two years and over 38k miles and they seem fine. No better or worse then the MC's that came out, other then the fact that the MC's gaps were way over spec. All eight MC plugs "looked" fine, but had gaps larger then .060 at 62k when I changed them.

The only thing I noticed after putting in the +4's was the difference in swapping out old plugs with new plugs. Would have been the same if I had just put in $.99 Champions! Not that the Champs would have lasted any length of time, but there you go.

You can't really go wrong with any plug. Just make sure it's the correct plug for your engine.

I have heard that there is a difference in parts numbers for the +4's depending on if the motor is a 4.6 or 5.4. Different heat range I'm sure.

Anyway, good luck with the plug change. Just take your time and it'll work out fine.

 

Thanks for the input...... I was just curious if there was any general train of thought on the subject.

Any performance guys out there have any opinions? I will probably change the plug wires also, but im sure there must be something better out there than OEM

 

I think those Denso Iridium's are considered the best plug you can get, however they are around $100 a set (which IMO is a complete waste of money.) I'll probably stick with the MC/Autolite Platinums that came with the truck. Mine have 97k miles on them and still work just fine as far as power and gas milages goes. If I can get as many troublefree miles out of the next set, I'd be more than happy to use what came in the truck stock.

 

I would have gone back stock, but alot of people seem to have a problem with them around 50,000 miles. I am having a miss fire or something with my truck. Nothing came up when I had a friend hook up his scan tool to it. Several people on this web site seem to think it is a plug wire or plug. I was under the impression the stock plugs were suppose to be good for 100,000 miles or at least more than 75,000. I still haven't put the +4's in yet. I have never heard any negative comments on them untill now. I guess I will go by the Ford place and check on a set of stock plugs and do some more research before I do anything. Thanks for the comments.

Anthony