Excellent info. I changed my 3-cyl. Geo Metro to Bosch Platinum +4 and over 10,000 miles of checking mileage got 14 percent better mileage. Also, while going up a steep hill I passed a car. This was the only time in my eight-year ownership that I passed another vehicle. My son started driving it after my 10,000 miles with the car and it didn’t get such good mileage with the accelerator getting floored. Then he wrecked it during a gas crisis of 2008 and it proved cheaper to get a Porsche than another Metro.
Martini is a wino try this, has amazing results guaranteed, for about a quarter millisecond before its cracks to shit and you have to flush your engine. Lol
Good video, I've been planning my VW Mk7.5 Golf R build and have put very little thought in to the spark plugs. I'm aiming to double the stock 306BHP (currently running 380), and have heard of some guys running their Golf R's at 550BHP using Audi RS6 plugs. I haven't given it a lot of thought, but now will certainly be doing some detailed research.
Outstanding video!! After more than 20 years of turning wrenches it's amazing how little some "technicians" know about plugs. My hats off to y'all!! Great info
It does make a difference. I just changed the older platinum Bosch plugs that had burned down to the porcelain with platinum Autolite plugs on my 1964 Ford Pickup. I changed out the old points with the aftermarket Igniter. It used to be a 3 on the tree and now it has 4 on the floor. I changed out the original differential from a 410 ratio to a 373 ratio. I also put in a set of headers on the 292 engine with duel pipes. I got the headers from LMC. I also replaced the original 2 barrel with a 4 barrel Holly. She flies like the wind.
Platinum and Iridium plugs don't have those materials in the cores, only on the positive electrode and sometimes on the ground electrode. The core is almost always a copper-nickel alloy.
Cars Simplified it took me a half year to finally realize Hyundai Accent do prefer copper based sparkplugs. Really took me a long time to figure put what really wrong with irdium plugs. Now i have new suv, i am forever sticking to factory specs set out by the books. No more aftermarket plugs and belts. I learned a lot from NGK irdium plugs and contentional crapbelts.
Nothing wrong with iridium, we use dozen each month is everything from 80hp to 1000hp. Truth be told it takes almost 20% less energy to "light" and iridium plug vs a copper plug. Plenty of tech papers on this nowadays to prove our dyno results aswell.
Trent-Catherine Hewitson please notice youre focusing on the spark plug itself, i was referring to the electrical and emission system, while it does work wonder, it creates more problem down thhe road. It is killing the factory ignition coils and wire.
Those metals are there to make the plug last longer (say, 100K miles) instead of the 25,000 mile plugs of yesteryear. As such, do NOT take a platinum or iridium plug and 'wire brush' it to clean it thinking it will make the plug last longer. It won't, and damages the plug.
Running one or two steps colder is not just for boosted engines if you're planning on running high RPMs all the time like on a track naturally aspirated could use those types of spark plugs because I saw an old video from 1969 to 1970 Mopar talking about super tuning going into various steps to maximize horsepower without getting into the block and heads
It is also helpful to understand that boost = increased effective compression ratio. Therefore some people may use lower static compression in order to run more boost. But that means if they change to a colder plug to allow the higher boost but are running around town or doing a lot of idling, they could end up fouling those plugs and getting misfires, etc. Don't be afraid to swap out different kinds of plugs, depending upon the type of driving you are doing, with a heavily modified car.
This was really helpful. I've struggled with detonation and pre-ignition on my vintage Alfa, which taught me a lot of plugs, fuel octane, fuel-air mixture, and compression ratio.
get your distributor checked = often 90% of the problem - re bush vac advance checked and dwell ! angel all so important a recurve with weber carby check for exchange reconditioned unit = good luck !
my Jetta is about to hit 40K miles in just a little over two years. I am planning a full PM tune this spring. I learned something from this video ! Thanks for making great videos ! Also shout out to HumbleMechanic for the VW love !
Gears and Gasoline for sure, AfR gauge, O2 sensors, and a computer to adjust the ratios will be more accurate. But if you were out at the track and did not have your laptop with you, reading the plugs could help you know what went wrong or why you were not getting the power you thought you should have.
Spark plugs and changing the heat range all falls under maintenance/tune up for me. I was taught to read the plugs and change the range as needed. I have a wide band in my nova, data log it, I still pull the plugs and read them. People are getting lazy today. Instead of learning something and trying to retain that knowledge they think they are always gonna be able to have google answer it for them.
I have experimented with spark plugs a bit, with varying success rates. The most outstanding modification was with a set from an old kerosene fueled engine (very hot range) I removed the grounding electrode, turned out the body of the plug sufficient to receive a steel washer. The gap between the washer and center electrode was 1 millimeter. I fitted these plugs to a lpg fueled vehicle. On starting up it was running very rich on idle, so I had to screw the gas valve way in. The revs were 100 rpm higher than before. On the road it was likewise too rich. After adjusting the mixture accordingly the power was at least 30% up. The plugs were acting as a pre-combustion chamber, resulting in the fuel in the cylinders being ignited by a jet of flame. Within 10 miles the electrodes fused. But I proved something that, if worked on could revolutionize engine performance.
In the late 60's I bought a new AMC Rambler American, 199 cubic inch straight 6, 3 speed on the steering column. Drove it a lot. loved it, and found it exceptionally quick for a small engine. But I sometimes noticed what seemed like pre-detonation on hard acceleration ,and the 1st time I changed plugs the electrodes were "rounded" and looked burned. I talked to a friend of my father who was a mechanic, showed him the plugs, and he said to go one step colder on the plugs. I did, it ran better, my mileage was up about 2 mpg, and when I pulled the plugs 10,000 miles later they looked like maybe 1500 miles, the gap on all 6 had increased less than .001, so I put them back in for another 10,000 miles.They still looked good but I changed them anyway. Over the years it was always at least 20,000 miles. One time I got gas and, not paying attention, put premium in rather than regular. Got another 1+ mpg and seemed to perform better. Over time I tweeked the timing, put in a floor shift, kept using cold plugs and premium gas. Now, I was young and dumb and liked to drive fast. I got a job 121 miles away, they paid for my room and a per diem, but I liked to be home on weekends (social). I consistently made that trip in less than 85 minutes, and that's through 7 small towns where I never ran more than 5 mph over the limit. But the most fun part was drag racing. (On empty, open county roads.) I was beaten 1 time by a 6 cylinder, an XKE Jag. And 3 GTO's, a 396 Chevelle, and several 289 Mustangs could not keep up with me for the first 800 or so feet. I drove that car more than 300,000 miles over 23 years and still miss it today.
Awesome video guys! The only thing id like to point out is that you don't read afr from a spark plug that is just pulled out of an engine. They will almost always be lean/hot/white because an engine idles or cruises at 14.7:1 AFR which creates the most heat in turn creating the most power (to a certain point but that's a whole other debate). The proper way to read a spark plug is to go wide open then shut the engine off while still wide open (typically after about 5-10 seconds of WOT) that way you will get a proper reading from the spark plug (you can also tell detonation and timing from plugs this way). Just thought i'd point that out to anyone who actually wants to read plugs (I prefer a wideband O2 myself) anyway great video and keep up the good work! Also I love your gridlife and track videos, as a time attack driver it's nice to see some media coverage for the sport!
The masses are not connoisseurs, this is true in every walk of life sadly. Hence, more people's attention is drawn to things like Kardashians and "lil pump" as opposed to genuine artists or experts in interesting fields.
Thank you for the accurate information! I've always ran copper with 50% larger gap on my MK3 Supra's I had before. Changed them every 15k miles. I quickly noticed smother top end and better low end torque vs the double platinum stock plugs, ran slightly higher boost and upgraded intake and exhaust (stock manifold and turbo). The Supra was old and was DD in Chicagos salty winter's. But I always make sure the grounds where clean and even upgraded them with new cables. Coil packs where tested and where very healthy well within spec.
After installing a set of enriched uranium spark plugs my Tacoma has gained considerable HP, MPG, and Torque. Another nice feature to these plugs is that they keep the engine warm through the night.
subframe is in the way on some models ..its not that hard from the top ...move the airflow/maf sensor &airbox on one side& battery on the other side ..then its alot easier ..ive had 4 Subaru (gt legacy & forrestor )
Rick I did it in my wife’s 2002 Impreza RS, and was a pain. Now she’s got a 2013 Subaru XV, and need to do it soon. I’m not looking forward to it... What’s the difficulty level on this car?
Did the spark plugs in my 02 Wrx Bugeye in like an hour. Maybe an hour and a half. Super eazy... Don't get what all the fuss is about 🤣 People must not have the correct tools or any mechanical knowledge. 🤦♂️
Spot on! Iridium and Platinum tipped plugs are for longer life in lower performance engines. The fine tips have a narrower temp range and can over heat and drop off in higher power engines. Always use plain copper core and change frequently in high performance engines or risk a tip failure which could write your engine off!! Seen it so many times!!
1:17 "It's kind of a necessity to keep it running" referring to the importance of spark plugs. Drop the "kind of". It's not kind of a necessity. It's an absolute necessity.
Cool video guys, just to add worth mentioning that if you move away from OEM plugs check the reach and sealing (come or washer). Seen a few times long reach plugs put in because "it will get closer to the fuel' costly mistake 👍
I thought you were going to talk about piston wash, and what plug to use depending on the pattern of the wash. Then I remembered, that's on 2-strokes. All in all, great video and tips. Thanks.
@@demarcodraper4266 Discounting the first few words of his statement and substituting the word fires in place of the word, "first," that is exactly how a waste spark system works.
@@VashthStampeede kinda but you are completely negating why it's called waste spark. It is true the that both spark plugs function as part of a completed circuit but that would not be possible if you didn't have a difference in pressures in the companion cylinders. The block functions as the ground to the compression cylinder and the wasted spark but the denser chamber gets the spark because it is the path of least resistance.
@@demarcodraper4266 In a waste spark system, both plugs are fired at exactly the same time. The plug that fires near the end of the exhaust stroke is wasted, thus the name waste spark. However, the plug that fires into the compression stroke does the work and is not wasted. You do not need two sparking plugs to complete the circuit as a bad coil can often fire only one plug and cause a misfire in the companion cylinder. As you stated, the engine block is ground. Electrons are negatively charged. So, the engine block is full of electrons looking for a place to go. A positive charge means the absence of electrons and is very attractive to the electrons at ground. Voltage is only the difference in potential between positive and negative. But in an ignition system with such high voltage, lack of electrons, even a positively charged surface with a difference in potential can effectively complete a circuit. This is often called a floating ground. I'm getting tired and starting to ramble. Please forgive me. Back to the path of least resistance, it's the cylinder with no compression. And, the spark finds the compressed mixture and lights it too. It takes 80 volts to jump a 0.001 gap at sea level, one atmosphere. Multiply by the size of the gap and the compression ratio and you will find the kv necessary to ionize the gap under pressure and create the spark. Twenty-five to thirty-five percent of that is used to maintain the spark once initiated.
@@VashthStampeede I believe you are right sir. Resistance creates a higher intesity spark but a short duration so it makes sense that more spark energy would be used jumping the gap in the denser combustion chamber.
Got a 33 skyline, factory gap is 1.1mm or 0.8mm, ran more boost and started misfiring, thought it was coils, turns out it was the sparks, tuner recommended to regap it to 0.65mm great vid
A thing you can also do is, indexing and side gapping your spark plugs so they deliver a bigger spark pointing the correct direction -the exhaust valve.
Bad idea to use the same plugs for everything, especially on some cars. Engines with twin coil wasted spark will wear the ground electrode in months... also how can you even "accidentally have the threads come out with the plug"?? The threads and stuff are made directly in the head cast. I've only ever heard of cross threading when *putting new plugs in*
My plugs are $2.50 a piece LTZR5A-13... It's a step colder plug for my setup. .. gapped at 0.028".... they work great I really lucked out considering the cost of a lot of other plugs people are running...
I always use advance auto. I have been since 2000. Never had one problem with them. As far as gap in thw plugs I always use a feeler guage. They are mire accurate in my opinion
I'm sure somebody already said this but plugs with multiple ground are sometimes used to help with cold start. Example of this being Suzuki GSF400 Bandit that has CR8EK and what's more interesting after they tweaked cylinder head after few years it calls for CR9EK.
awesome video ... I have in my 99 astra MK4 1.4 16v twin ground electrodes {I think NGK} and they are very good , never adjusted the gap , car is working very nice and reached 200 km/h on 5th gear around 5600-6000 RPM ;] ... but You have right saying to go with OEM spark plugs ;]
iridium's are indeed more money, but not having to change them as often makes them worth it plus in the cars, i've changed over the idle always cleans up and generally just smoother. great video as always guys!
Tyler Hartman - +1, price aside I don't see any reason to go back to "normal". Run Iridium in 2 cars, the other 2 are diesel. :-) 1 bike, 1 moped and 2 outboards. Once more price is the only negative issue.
What you see sticking out the end of the insulator is not the core that is referred to as being made of copper. The copper core is up inside the spark plug shell. Copper is used for its heat conductivity. There is usually a resistor made of carbon located in the upper part of the spark plug as well. This negates the electrical conductivity of the copper core. The tip and ground electrode is usually a nickel alloy for its resistance to erosion. the platinum plug has a platinum tip welded onto the center electrode. Most are fine-wire tips, but not all brands go this way. Double platinum has the platinum tip and also a platinum button welded to the ground electrode. This design is better at preventing widening of the plug gap during extended use. Iridium is even better at erosion prevention and can go up to 100,000 miles in everyday use, as long as the engine is in good condition. As noted in the video, heat range is the optimum temperature at which the spark plug will clean itself. Running a "hotter" spark plug will not increase the performance of the engine and sometimes will damage it. Too cold of a plug will collect deposits and create a mis-fire.
Because the money is good. They are engineered to need service at the dealer (or at least a mechanic). so the shadetree mechanic doesnt want to hassle with it.
I need to try this with my old 93 Mazda Navajo. When I lean into the throttle sometimes it pings,going up hills mostly. I've tried better gas,down shifting to D. I've added octane booster,that helped..kinda. The funny part is it only does it during the winter. In the spring and summer it doesn't do it. Sounds like a shaky can of nuts under the hood. It's kind of an annoying problem. I know pinging is not good for the engine so I have to back off the throttle until it stops pinging. I was told that it probably does it because when the engine was built,they didn't add alcohol to the fuel. I've put alcohol free fuel in and it pretty much doesn't do it. Problem is, that gas station is 30 miles away from where I live. No gas stations near me sell alcohol free fuel.
Good video, thanks for sharing. I was going to mention that the ground electrode often shadows, or covers a lot of the spark, but several of the plugs you showed have the ground electrode trimmed back even with the center electrode. I used to file the ground electrode back with plugs where the ground stuck past about 1/8". Also, don't use a spark plug you have dropped on the ground. You don't know what internal damage you just caused.
Glow plugs will set you back way more than spark plugs! I remember paying for one glow plug, and thinking I could have done a complete tune up on the same money!!
Working with racing snowmobiles, changing plugs and jets were the best way to get better performance. Two strokes are way different than four stroke. We were all about HP back then. Running an engine to the edge of total detonation was the ticket. The engines were short lived, but racing is all about speed anyways.
Just to add you also have to think about firing position when moving from the oem plug. Also plugs with multiple electrodes still only fire on one at a time not on all 4 at the same time
I bought an old 1975 Step Van. it runs on propane.. it wasn't running nice so after a while I changed the spark plug wires as they looked crappy and it ran a fair bit better but not great so I changed the spark plugs and it ran so different it was amazing.. it was old Van so it was 'miles' on the dashboard... when I filled the propane tank I made notes of milage and before it was 60 miles used 60 litres of propane.. that about 4-1/2 miles per gallon (imperial gallon size) now after I changed the spark plugs it's about 90 miles for 60 litres of propane.. it sounds better, runs faster and more powerful going up hills and stuff and it's about 50% more miles per litre..
it doesn't take much to meet the criteria of US auto manufacturers. Often, especially in the case of Chrysler, they'll go with the same manufacturer (Federal Mogul) for a broad range of components (air filter, oil filter, bearings, fuel system components...) rather than just a single item because they get a better deal that way. Sometimes it works out, other times, not so much: www.reuters.com/article/us-federal-mogul-recall/federal-mogul-recalls-parts-in-some-chrysler-vehicles-idUSTRE6BR2V920101228
Um, not sure if that applies to every manufacturer. Volvos hate having any other parts of the ignition system that isn’t oem. If you try to upgrade even when going for big power, the car really doesn’t like anything without a factory plugs, coils and even cables.
jeffel80 right, that's why bmw's are made of mostly plastic and leak like crazy, how nissans have weak and terrible automatic transmission and defective fuel injectors and so on, but ThEy MeEt ThEIr CrIteRia.
If you dyno test all your mods, try NGK Ruthenium HX (PSPE if boosted) Copper/Nickel plugs will give you the most HP/dollar and Ruthenium will outperform Iridium and platinum. I would like to see some dyno comparisons.
The reasons they use platinum and iridium plugs is because precious metals don't loose electrons as easy helps prevent the core from wearing away and gives you a plug that can go 80-120 thousand miles. The best reason for using the factory plug is so your firing direction isn't messed up after market cheaper plug's don't always end firing the same direction in the engine. That is usually what causes poor idle or misfire with new plugs.
Platinum and Iridium have less electrical resistance then copper. The Temperature coefficient is almost identical between copper and platinum. With a 0.00012 difference in coefficient. The bonuses is that platinum can allow for a similar spark, with less material, allowing for better initial ignition. Platinum being harder will last longer, Iridium being harder than platinum will last longer and can be thinner than platinum. Better initial ignition means better expansion of gases within the time frames given. This provides more power and wastes less gas. This means better gas mileages too!
Gold and Copper actually. What I said was that there was a small difference between the metals. Silver actually becomes poor over time because of its' high reactivity with other elements, causing it to oxidize, those oxidants have high electrical resistance, wherein heat complicates this further. Which is why they still use them for a non conductive thermal conductive material. Like Thermal Paste. platinum and Iridium actually have a extremely high conductivity that is similar to copper. Which the resistance difference was stated. Copper has to have a large surface area as it will erode quickly with the spark. This decreases the surface area of the spark. However. When it comes to the actual spark, it's conducted through air, which is the actual resistance. Wherein the distance between the gap is where primary resistance occurs. To decrease on actual resistances, you should have good copper core spark plug wires, and excellent engine ground. The platinum or iridium cores will provide less resistance than a long or poor gauge wire sets. The actual iridium and platinum, at least in many of the instances of use, are actually bound to other cores, like copper. This means that just the tip, where the spark is actually generated, is protected from erosion. I would have been more skeptical if they made the wire out of these precious materials.
all my cars an bikes have them i run 275s in my corvairs only thing that will last in my kw100 dirt bike my 56 chevy has to have them ,,ngks now they are junk
ngks wont run in it ..an its a ke100..... i run autolites or ac deloco in all my 16 cars an even in my honda rebel ngks are junk to me they foul to easy
Lol i hope you realize that all tuners recommend NGK plugs right? Some tuners wont even touch your car without switching it to NGK plug's. I think you may need to research a little bit my friend. You have have issue with the greatest spark plugs in the world for a reason, As in maybe you dont gap or install them correctly idk, But clearly something is wrong if you can use a junk plug like AutoLite, And not use a top quality plug like NGK.
I have a c6 z06 and follow the crowd using cheap NGK Japanese made over ACDelco iridium factory plug. When I switch to ngk I notice it didn’t have the kick it normally had and months later when it was time to replace plugs I bought oem iridium ACDelco plugs and runs like a champ
Awesome video. One thing I never see in these though is what materials work best for certain fuel types. i.e. Ethanol, Meth Injection, Race Gas, etc etc.
Double platinium is specifically for engines which use 1 coil pack per 2 cylinders, the spark jumps opposite ways on each of the plugs, so then just having single platinum on the tip doesn't stop the electrode from wearing down on half of the plugs. Cars with individual coil packs or a distributor don't need dual platinum.
Wow! Really happy to see someone doing their homework BEFORE putting out a video! I grew up working on cars n trucks then went to college to work on aircraft... I think I kinda know what I'm doing. Lol. You are now very knowledgeable when it comes to spark plugs! Great work! Keep it up man! Don't EVER be afraid to admit you don't know something... its FAR worse to fake it and give bad info. Sub'd
Great video brother iv been having a problem with detonation on my car after a performance exhaust and intake I guess the stock exhaust was very restrictive,, thanks for the great insight.. (I went with a colder plug as it retains less heat and my car is running great again )
I only use Bosch Premium Platinum spark plugs for my vehicle. They do not make any more power. But they last much longer. I have had my vehicle since 1996 and have only changed the sparkplugs twice on this vehicle. I have a 2001 Ford Ranger that I have maintained since new for the original owner. The original Champion plugs had to be changed every year and a half. Both vehicles have around 400,000 miles on them.
Copper core are often placed as manufacturer's recommendations when the plug is easy to access. Years ago, at every second service interval, replacement of spark plugs was recommended, and possibly still is today. In that process, it allows inspection and diagnosis for other faults not caused by spark plugs. If they are hard to access, where the life expectancy of the plug needs to be greater, platinum (with its catalytic properties) or iridium is preferred at greater expense...
I had used the expensive Bosch Platinum+4 and had the ceramic shatter in the winter cold. The ceramic apparently got too hot to handle the cold air intake, so I returned them for an exchange and they cracked again. Never seen that happen before or afterwards with any other type of spark plugs. BTW Advanced Auto Parts were the ones that sold me the plugs and then the ignorant manager took my receipt to prevent me from getting the sparks plugs replaced a third time.
Excellent info. I changed my 3-cyl. Geo Metro to Bosch Platinum +4 and over 10,000 miles of checking mileage got 14 percent better mileage. Also, while going up a steep hill I passed a car. This was the only time in my eight-year ownership that I passed another vehicle. My son started driving it after my 10,000 miles with the car and it didn’t get such good mileage with the accelerator getting floored. Then he wrecked it during a gas crisis of 2008 and it proved cheaper to get a Porsche than another Metro.
When I want colder spark plugs, I stick them in the freezer before I install them.
Martini is a wino try this, has amazing results guaranteed, for about a quarter millisecond before its cracks to shit and you have to flush your engine. Lol
Good video, I've been planning my VW Mk7.5 Golf R build and have put very little thought in to the spark plugs. I'm aiming to double the stock 306BHP (currently running 380), and have heard of some guys running their Golf R's at 550BHP using Audi RS6 plugs. I haven't given it a lot of thought, but now will certainly be doing some detailed research.
Im a well rounded mechanic but i never dug into the books about sparks plug details. I learned so much. Thanks guys!
When you change plugs on a Subaru, the best tool to use is small hands.
You arent kidding. I cant even get to three of the plugs on my Subaru.
Lmao mine is to easy ej22 sohc
Damn, so It wouldn't be a problem for me to own a subaru :D I love em subies, but just I'm scared from the boxer engine.
The number of issues my mrs has resolved in hard to work spaces in the engine is crazy 😂
Outstanding video!! After more than 20 years of turning wrenches it's amazing how little some "technicians" know about plugs. My hats off to y'all!! Great info
spark plugs ? whys he getting und-------- oh .. subaru lol
My exact reaction
I had the same thought
It can be done both over and unde. I do over.
It does make a difference. I just changed the older platinum Bosch plugs that had burned down to the porcelain with platinum Autolite plugs on my 1964 Ford Pickup. I changed out the old points with the aftermarket Igniter. It used to be a 3 on the tree and now it has 4 on the floor. I changed out the original differential from a 410 ratio to a 373 ratio. I also put in a set of headers on the 292 engine with duel pipes. I got the headers from LMC. I also replaced the original 2 barrel with a 4 barrel Holly. She flies like the wind.
Platinum and Iridium plugs don't have those materials in the cores, only on the positive electrode and sometimes on the ground electrode. The core is almost always a copper-nickel alloy.
Cars Simplified it took me a half year to finally realize Hyundai Accent do prefer copper based sparkplugs. Really took me a long time to figure put what really wrong with irdium plugs.
Now i have new suv, i am forever sticking to factory specs set out by the books. No more aftermarket plugs and belts. I learned a lot from NGK irdium plugs and contentional crapbelts.
Nothing wrong with iridium, we use dozen each month is everything from 80hp to 1000hp. Truth be told it takes almost 20% less energy to "light" and iridium plug vs a copper plug. Plenty of tech papers on this nowadays to prove our dyno results aswell.
Trent-Catherine Hewitson please notice youre focusing on the spark plug itself, i was referring to the electrical and emission system, while it does work wonder, it creates more problem down thhe road. It is killing the factory ignition coils and wire.
Those metals are there to make the plug last longer (say, 100K miles) instead of the 25,000 mile plugs of yesteryear. As such, do NOT take a platinum or iridium plug and 'wire brush' it to clean it thinking it will make the plug last longer. It won't, and damages the plug.
The only benefit of running iridium plugs is the lifespan.
I love you guy’s honesty. I don’t know much about spark plugs beyond the basics that any car enthusiast knows.
Great video dudes! Thanks for having me on and hanging out at Humble Mechanic HQ!
Oh and what about indexing? (1of 3) HAHAHAH
You tipped them off! deals off!
Gears and Gasoline okay first round is on me. 😜
Running one or two steps colder is not just for boosted engines if you're planning on running high RPMs all the time like on a track naturally aspirated could use those types of spark plugs because I saw an old video from 1969 to 1970 Mopar talking about super tuning going into various steps to maximize horsepower without getting into the block and heads
HumbleMechanic w
That effect on the sweeping shot of the gap was insane. I ran it back a bunch of times to watch it. Really dope. Keep up the awesome quality
It is also helpful to understand that boost = increased effective compression ratio. Therefore some people may use lower static compression in order to run more boost. But that means if they change to a colder plug to allow the higher boost but are running around town or doing a lot of idling, they could end up fouling those plugs and getting misfires, etc. Don't be afraid to swap out different kinds of plugs, depending upon the type of driving you are doing, with a heavily modified car.
I love the ngk vpower plug I have always used in all of my imports they always worth the $$ I havnt had any problems so far with them
This was really helpful. I've struggled with detonation and pre-ignition on my vintage Alfa, which taught me a lot of plugs, fuel octane, fuel-air mixture, and compression ratio.
Alfas sure teach us a lot
Tryin2fly09 can't find one that runs
Rusted POS go figure.
try a TVR
get your distributor checked = often 90% of the problem - re bush vac advance checked and dwell ! angel all so important a recurve with weber carby check for exchange reconditioned unit = good luck !
my Jetta is about to hit 40K miles in just a little over two years. I am planning a full PM tune this spring. I learned something from this video ! Thanks for making great videos ! Also shout out to HumbleMechanic for the VW love !
Reading spark plugs is a lost art. This will help bring it back, old hot rodders used to tune their cars by reading the plugs.
Nice work on the video.
+boofighter I think there's more accurate ways to read how cars are running, but spark plugs is definitely an option.
Gears and Gasoline for sure, AfR gauge, O2 sensors, and a computer to adjust the ratios will be more accurate.
But if you were out at the track and did not have your laptop with you, reading the plugs could help you know what went wrong or why you were not getting the power you thought you should have.
Spark plugs and changing the heat range all falls under maintenance/tune up for me. I was taught to read the plugs and change the range as needed.
I have a wide band in my nova, data log it, I still pull the plugs and read them. People are getting lazy today. Instead of learning something and trying to retain that knowledge they think they are always gonna be able to have google answer it for them.
Gear and gas the subject here are spark plugs and to read a plug is NOT an "option".
I have experimented with spark plugs a bit, with varying success rates. The most outstanding modification was with a set from an old kerosene fueled engine (very hot range) I removed the grounding electrode, turned out the body of the plug sufficient to receive a steel washer. The gap between the washer and center electrode was 1 millimeter. I fitted these plugs to a lpg fueled vehicle. On starting up it was running very rich on idle, so I had to screw the gas valve way in. The revs were 100 rpm higher than before. On the road it was likewise too rich. After adjusting the mixture accordingly the power was at least 30% up. The plugs were acting as a pre-combustion chamber, resulting in the fuel in the cylinders being ignited by a jet of flame. Within 10 miles the electrodes fused. But I proved something that, if worked on could revolutionize engine performance.
I remember doing the same research for my car several years ago, this was a nice refresher
Thanks for continuing with these wonderfully produced videos, and not doing vlogs like..... everyone else.
Thanks man for sharing, I like it.
Most underrated channel ever
Ford galaxie Fan club! Hence why I must subscribe
nearly 600k subs, underated?
In the late 60's I bought a new AMC Rambler American, 199 cubic inch straight 6, 3 speed on the steering column. Drove it a lot. loved it, and found it exceptionally quick for a small engine. But I sometimes noticed what seemed like pre-detonation on hard acceleration ,and the 1st time I changed plugs the electrodes were "rounded" and looked burned. I talked to a friend of my father who was a mechanic, showed him the plugs, and he said to go one step colder on the plugs. I did, it ran better, my mileage was up about 2 mpg, and when I pulled the plugs 10,000 miles later they looked like maybe 1500 miles, the gap on all 6 had increased less than .001, so I put them back in for another 10,000 miles.They still looked good but I changed them anyway. Over the years it was always at least 20,000 miles. One time I got gas and, not paying attention, put premium in rather than regular. Got another 1+ mpg and seemed to perform better. Over time I tweeked the timing, put in a floor shift, kept using cold plugs and premium gas. Now, I was young and dumb and liked to drive fast. I got a job 121 miles away, they paid for my room and a per diem, but I liked to be home on weekends (social). I consistently made that trip in less than 85 minutes, and that's through 7 small towns where I never ran more than 5 mph over the limit. But the most fun part was drag racing. (On empty, open county roads.) I was beaten 1 time by a 6 cylinder, an XKE Jag. And 3 GTO's, a 396 Chevelle, and several 289 Mustangs could not keep up with me for the first 800 or so feet. I drove that car more than 300,000 miles over 23 years and still miss it today.
Awesome video guys! The only thing id like to point out is that you don't read afr from a spark plug that is just pulled out of an engine. They will almost always be lean/hot/white because an engine idles or cruises at 14.7:1 AFR which creates the most heat in turn creating the most power (to a certain point but that's a whole other debate). The proper way to read a spark plug is to go wide open then shut the engine off while still wide open (typically after about 5-10 seconds of WOT) that way you will get a proper reading from the spark plug (you can also tell detonation and timing from plugs this way). Just thought i'd point that out to anyone who actually wants to read plugs (I prefer a wideband O2 myself) anyway great video and keep up the good work! Also I love your gridlife and track videos, as a time attack driver it's nice to see some media coverage for the sport!
Worth mentioning: the length of the threaded part is really important too, too long might touch the piston, too short, might not ignite the mixture
Marton, what you're referring to is called the plug reach.
I don't know how you guys don't have 7 billion subs u make insane videos which are high quality and really enjoyable to watch
What?
Do you think my little pony tweens are into cars or something?
The rest are from the You Tube deleted !!
The masses are not connoisseurs, this is true in every walk of life sadly. Hence, more people's attention is drawn to things like Kardashians and "lil pump" as opposed to genuine artists or experts in interesting fields.
Thank you for the accurate information! I've always ran copper with 50% larger gap on my MK3 Supra's I had before. Changed them every 15k miles. I quickly noticed smother top end and better low end torque vs the double platinum stock plugs, ran slightly higher boost and upgraded intake and exhaust (stock manifold and turbo).
The Supra was old and was DD in Chicagos salty winter's. But I always make sure the grounds where clean and even upgraded them with new cables. Coil packs where tested and where very healthy well within spec.
You're firing on all cylinders in the making of this video😎
Great job!
After installing a set of enriched uranium spark plugs my Tacoma has gained considerable HP, MPG, and Torque. Another nice feature to these plugs is that they keep the engine warm through the night.
The real question is; can you really remove subaru spark plugs from underneath the car? 😉
I tried. Two hours to check one plug and find out it was okay. And that was the easy one to get to.
subframe is in the way on some models ..its not that hard from the top ...move the airflow/maf sensor &airbox on one side& battery on the other side ..then its alot easier ..ive had 4 Subaru (gt legacy & forrestor )
Rick I did it in my wife’s 2002 Impreza RS, and was a pain.
Now she’s got a 2013 Subaru XV, and need to do it soon. I’m not looking forward to it...
What’s the difficulty level on this car?
Removing Subaru plugs is a pain in the tucas because you have the coils to remove first ! Not fun
Did the spark plugs in my 02 Wrx Bugeye in like an hour. Maybe an hour and a half. Super eazy... Don't get what all the fuss is about 🤣 People must not have the correct tools or any mechanical knowledge. 🤦♂️
Spot on! Iridium and Platinum tipped plugs are for longer life in lower performance engines. The fine tips have a narrower temp range and can over heat and drop off in higher power engines. Always use plain copper core and change frequently in high performance engines or risk a tip failure which could write your engine off!! Seen it so many times!!
1:17
"It's kind of a necessity to keep it running" referring to the importance of spark plugs.
Drop the "kind of". It's not kind of a necessity. It's an absolute necessity.
Diesel?
Cool video guys, just to add worth mentioning that if you move away from OEM plugs check the reach and sealing (come or washer). Seen a few times long reach plugs put in because "it will get closer to the fuel' costly mistake 👍
It's been really encouraging to see the progress on this channel. Keep it going, guys! Great content!
damn that shrink effect with the spark plug in the zoomed shot was just cooool :)
I run NGK in almost everything I have owned, also I check, clean and/or replace with each oil change.
@Mad Adam new beta generation doesn't / people before millennials
I thought you were going to talk about piston wash, and what plug to use depending on the pattern of the wash. Then I remembered, that's on 2-strokes. All in all, great video and tips. Thanks.
...and remember, if you ever drop a plug onto the hard ground from height (>1.5m?), toss it.
I'm actually looking for some spark plugs right now. There are so many options and different types. Thank you!
Double Platinum plugs are for running coil packs that run two plugs for coil because one plug first neg and one plug fires pos
That is not how waste spark works sir...
@@demarcodraper4266 Discounting the first few words of his statement and substituting the word fires in place of the word, "first," that is exactly how a waste spark system works.
@@VashthStampeede kinda but you are completely negating why it's called waste spark. It is true the that both spark plugs function as part of a completed circuit but that would not be possible if you didn't have a difference in pressures in the companion cylinders. The block functions as the ground to the compression cylinder and the wasted spark but the denser chamber gets the spark because it is the path of least resistance.
@@demarcodraper4266 In a waste spark system, both plugs are fired at exactly the same time. The plug that fires near the end of the exhaust stroke is wasted, thus the name waste spark. However, the plug that fires into the compression stroke does the work and is not wasted. You do not need two sparking plugs to complete the circuit as a bad coil can often fire only one plug and cause a misfire in the companion cylinder. As you stated, the engine block is ground. Electrons are negatively charged. So, the engine block is full of electrons looking for a place to go. A positive charge means the absence of electrons and is very attractive to the electrons at ground. Voltage is only the difference in potential between positive and negative. But in an ignition system with such high voltage, lack of electrons, even a positively charged surface with a difference in potential can effectively complete a circuit. This is often called a floating ground. I'm getting tired and starting to ramble. Please forgive me. Back to the path of least resistance, it's the cylinder with no compression. And, the spark finds the compressed mixture and lights it too. It takes 80 volts to jump a 0.001 gap at sea level, one atmosphere. Multiply by the size of the gap and the compression ratio and you will find the kv necessary to ionize the gap under pressure and create the spark. Twenty-five to thirty-five percent of that is used to maintain the spark once initiated.
@@VashthStampeede I believe you are right sir. Resistance creates a higher intesity spark but a short duration so it makes sense that more spark energy would be used jumping the gap in the denser combustion chamber.
Got a 33 skyline, factory gap is 1.1mm or 0.8mm, ran more boost and started misfiring, thought it was coils, turns out it was the sparks, tuner recommended to regap it to 0.65mm great vid
My dad's dog's cousin did a spark plug delete on his Civic, he said he got a 20 HP increase and a 3kg weight reduction
[ Insert Name Here ] what in god name
What Spark Plugs work best in a ‘96 Ford 7.3L PowerStroke diesel? The ones in it now need replacing, I’m tempted to try E3 ???
A thing you can also do is, indexing and side gapping your spark plugs so they deliver a bigger spark pointing the correct direction -the exhaust valve.
Never used auto light only (ngk)
I always get antsy waiting for legacy videos but then I remember the quality y’all have and I realize that I’m fine waiting
+Will Lombardi aww thanks! Most of what you have to wait for on the legacy build videos is for me to actually have time to work on it lol
I've found , through experience, the Autolite sparkplugs are garbage.
zhbvenkhoReload they sure are. Walmart brand garbage
Garbage?1000%garbage ...everytime u go to the store their try to sell u that aulite shit brand
Get either NGK OR DENSO IRIDUIM PLUGS
Same with Champion.
Bad idea to use the same plugs for everything, especially on some cars. Engines with twin coil wasted spark will wear the ground electrode in months... also how can you even "accidentally have the threads come out with the plug"?? The threads and stuff are made directly in the head cast. I've only ever heard of cross threading when *putting new plugs in*
My plugs are $2.50 a piece LTZR5A-13... It's a step colder plug for my setup. .. gapped at 0.028".... they work great I really lucked out considering the cost of a lot of other plugs people are running...
About that "sparkplugs wont broke your engine" a too hot sparkplug can make holes in the piston among other issues.
Spot on. They can stay hot enough to cause pre-ignition and misfires
I always use advance auto. I have been since 2000. Never had one problem with them. As far as gap in thw plugs I always use a feeler guage. They are mire accurate in my opinion
But can your car do thiiis?
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spaget
Ignas V 😂😂😂 la whyyyyy
Who touched my SPAGET!!
Legend 😂
PPPPEEEEEEEEEWWWWDDDDSSSSS
I'm sure somebody already said this but plugs with multiple ground are sometimes used to help with cold start. Example of this being Suzuki GSF400 Bandit that has CR8EK and what's more interesting after they tweaked cylinder head after few years it calls for CR9EK.
You missed a very important aspect - resistor or non resistor plugs!
I run no resistor plugs on my chev and dodge. Work a lot better for my application
So awesome to see you guys grow and an get sponsors! Been here since 20k and haven’t seen you guys made a bad video!
great video man, it covers good information, educative and clear. you earned a sub :)
awesome video ... I have in my 99 astra MK4 1.4 16v twin ground electrodes {I think NGK} and they are very good , never adjusted the gap , car is working very nice and reached 200 km/h on 5th gear around 5600-6000 RPM ;] ... but You have right saying to go with OEM spark plugs ;]
What am I doing watching this video? I drive a diesel car. LOL
You KNOW you want to swap out to a petrol engine
iridium's are indeed more money, but not having to change them as often makes them worth it plus in the cars, i've changed over the idle always cleans up and generally just smoother.
great video as always guys!
Tyler Hartman - +1, price aside I don't see any reason to go back to "normal".
Run Iridium in 2 cars, the other 2 are diesel. :-)
1 bike, 1 moped and 2 outboards.
Once more price is the only negative issue.
Can you do one on "what is two step"? Please?
Tryin2fly09 oh no we got a car elitist here
+Tryin2fly09 you're a """car enthusiast"""
guess you've never heard of keybangs then
I personally used NGK Iridium IX performance plugs and they work really well.
Did the ngk iridium ix plugs make any difference in aggressive throttle response compared to the factory spark plugs that was previously in your car?
what about resistors and none resistors plugs?
Non...none is nothing...
What you see sticking out the end of the insulator is not the core that is referred to as being made of copper. The copper core is up inside the spark plug shell. Copper is used for its heat conductivity. There is usually a resistor made of carbon located in the upper part of the spark plug as well. This negates the electrical conductivity of the copper core. The tip and ground electrode is usually a nickel alloy for its resistance to erosion. the platinum plug has a platinum tip welded onto the center electrode. Most are fine-wire tips, but not all brands go this way. Double platinum has the platinum tip and also a platinum button welded to the ground electrode. This design is better at preventing widening of the plug gap during extended use. Iridium is even better at erosion prevention and can go up to 100,000 miles in everyday use, as long as the engine is in good condition. As noted in the video, heat range is the optimum temperature at which the spark plug will clean itself. Running a "hotter" spark plug will not increase the performance of the engine and sometimes will damage it. Too cold of a plug will collect deposits and create a mis-fire.
Why would you ever want to work on Volkswagens for 15 years?
Job Security?
They pay specialists like the man in the video very well.
I miss working on only Volkswagens
I work on Chrysler/Fiat products now and my money is waaayyy down
Because the money is good. They are engineered to need service at the dealer (or at least a mechanic). so the shadetree mechanic doesnt want to hassle with it.
to cheat vehicle inspection test?
I need to try this with my old 93 Mazda Navajo. When I lean into the throttle sometimes it pings,going up hills mostly. I've tried better gas,down shifting to D. I've added octane booster,that helped..kinda. The funny part is it only does it during the winter. In the spring and summer it doesn't do it. Sounds like a shaky can of nuts under the hood. It's kind of an annoying problem. I know pinging is not good for the engine so I have to back off the throttle until it stops pinging. I was told that it probably does it because when the engine was built,they didn't add alcohol to the fuel. I've put alcohol free fuel in and it pretty much doesn't do it. Problem is, that gas station is 30 miles away from where I live. No gas stations near me sell alcohol free fuel.
Can we get another just drive video, :O pls
Good video, though if I was going to nit pick you missed silver spark plugs (silver also has better electrical and thermal conductivity than copper)
Now I am a sparkplug expert
Very interesting, this has made me want to study spark plugs now to learn more about the heat ratings and gap choices etc.
WTF! Yea that beard is in his way lol
Good video, thanks for sharing. I was going to mention that the ground electrode often shadows, or covers a lot of the spark, but several of the plugs you showed have the ground electrode trimmed back even with the center electrode. I used to file the ground electrode back with plugs where the ground stuck past about 1/8". Also, don't use a spark plug you have dropped on the ground. You don't know what internal damage you just caused.
ngk plugs in american engines will run to hot thus taking the temper out of the piston return springs
you guys are gonna be viral from the quality of this video I can tell
Any diesel owners here??
Glow plugs will set you back way more than spark plugs! I remember paying for one glow plug, and thinking I could have done a complete tune up on the same money!!
Great video. Been trying to explain to a friend why I chose grade 6, which is 2 steps colder for my highly tuned wrx. This explains it perfectly !
@Flapping Flight Or, you could just see how high they bounce. Hotter plugs bounce higher.
alright lets see how you fill 9 minutes with spark plugs
And non-sensical drumbeats in the background. GARBAGE!
Probably the best video about spark plugs I've seen... and I've seen many. Great job!
When It comes to fixing a car. a $13 spark plug is cheap
Mad Adam that’s it ? My spark plugs are 20 a piece
Working with racing snowmobiles, changing plugs and jets were the best way to get better performance. Two strokes are way different than four stroke. We were all about HP back then. Running an engine to the edge of total detonation was the ticket. The engines were short lived, but racing is all about speed anyways.
Think $14 for a plug is expensive? They're over $100 each for many airplane engines, and you have two per cylinder to replace.
Pix2GoStudios well we dont own airplanes we own cars. So yeah $15 its expensive for plugs
4 cyl vs 8cyl
FYI this video is about CARS.
Just to add you also have to think about firing position when moving from the oem plug. Also plugs with multiple electrodes still only fire on one at a time not on all 4 at the same time
NGK enough said the rest just hype ..
I bought an old 1975 Step Van. it runs on propane.. it wasn't running nice so after a while I changed the spark plug wires as they looked crappy and it ran a fair bit better but not great so I changed the spark plugs and it ran so different it was amazing.. it was old Van so it was 'miles' on the dashboard... when I filled the propane tank I made notes of milage and before it was 60 miles used 60 litres of propane.. that about 4-1/2 miles per gallon (imperial gallon size) now after I changed the spark plugs it's about 90 miles for 60 litres of propane.. it sounds better, runs faster and more powerful going up hills and stuff and it's about 50% more miles per litre..
Sorry, but manufacturers spend their time looking for the cheapest components to do the job, not the best.
it doesn't take much to meet the criteria of US auto manufacturers. Often, especially in the case of Chrysler, they'll go with the same manufacturer (Federal Mogul) for a broad range of components (air filter, oil filter, bearings, fuel system components...) rather than just a single item because they get a better deal that way. Sometimes it works out, other times, not so much: www.reuters.com/article/us-federal-mogul-recall/federal-mogul-recalls-parts-in-some-chrysler-vehicles-idUSTRE6BR2V920101228
Um, not sure if that applies to every manufacturer. Volvos hate having any other parts of the ignition system that isn’t oem. If you try to upgrade even when going for big power, the car really doesn’t like anything without a factory plugs, coils and even cables.
@Dutch Power😸
jeffel80 right, that's why bmw's are made of mostly plastic and leak like crazy, how nissans have weak and terrible automatic transmission and defective fuel injectors and so on, but ThEy MeEt ThEIr CrIteRia.
@@rex_s80 most European and Asian car manufacturers are like that
If you dyno test all your mods, try NGK Ruthenium HX (PSPE if boosted) Copper/Nickel plugs will give you the most HP/dollar and Ruthenium will outperform Iridium and platinum. I would like to see some dyno comparisons.
Whoever disliked this has no soul
33 ppl .... :(
It's an entire video about spark plugs. You can't be surprised by dislikes.
slick_ej6 😂 no they are in too electric cars😂
well, using weird units of measurement might be the reason
+slick_ej6 - I dislike cause I have no money! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
The reasons they use platinum and iridium plugs is because precious metals don't loose electrons as easy helps prevent the core from wearing away and gives you a plug that can go 80-120 thousand miles. The best reason for using the factory plug is so your firing direction isn't messed up after market cheaper plug's don't always end firing the same direction in the engine. That is usually what causes poor idle or misfire with new plugs.
Moral of the story. Run diesel.
Fuck diesel !
John Drohan they don't
Platinum and Iridium have less electrical resistance then copper. The Temperature coefficient is almost identical between copper and platinum. With a 0.00012 difference in coefficient. The bonuses is that platinum can allow for a similar spark, with less material, allowing for better initial ignition. Platinum being harder will last longer, Iridium being harder than platinum will last longer and can be thinner than platinum. Better initial ignition means better expansion of gases within the time frames given. This provides more power and wastes less gas. This means better gas mileages too!
Gold and Copper actually. What I said was that there was a small difference between the metals. Silver actually becomes poor over time because of its' high reactivity with other elements, causing it to oxidize, those oxidants have high electrical resistance, wherein heat complicates this further. Which is why they still use them for a non conductive thermal conductive material. Like Thermal Paste. platinum and Iridium actually have a extremely high conductivity that is similar to copper. Which the resistance difference was stated. Copper has to have a large surface area as it will erode quickly with the spark. This decreases the surface area of the spark. However. When it comes to the actual spark, it's conducted through air, which is the actual resistance. Wherein the distance between the gap is where primary resistance occurs. To decrease on actual resistances, you should have good copper core spark plug wires, and excellent engine ground. The platinum or iridium cores will provide less resistance than a long or poor gauge wire sets. The actual iridium and platinum, at least in many of the instances of use, are actually bound to other cores, like copper. This means that just the tip, where the spark is actually generated, is protected from erosion. I would have been more skeptical if they made the wire out of these precious materials.
Just... Never run AutoLites.
all my cars an bikes have them i run 275s in my corvairs only thing that will last in my kw100 dirt bike my 56 chevy has to have them ,,ngks now they are junk
NGK is top of the chain when it comes to spark plugs! What the hell are you talking about lol. Your KW100 should have a NGK plug in it haha!
ngks wont run in it ..an its a ke100..... i run autolites or ac deloco in all my 16 cars an even in my honda rebel ngks are junk to me they foul to easy
Lol i hope you realize that all tuners recommend NGK plugs right? Some tuners wont even touch your car without switching it to NGK plug's. I think you may need to research a little bit my friend. You have have issue with the greatest spark plugs in the world for a reason, As in maybe you dont gap or install them correctly idk, But clearly something is wrong if you can use a junk plug like AutoLite, And not use a top quality plug like NGK.
Lol look me up kid. My name is Scott Gatto, And you have no idea what you are talking about.
thanks for the great video!
is rare to hear people talk about spark plug, good information on this vid
Also check the brisk spark plugs. Used them in a few motorcycles. Those I could tell a difference in for sure
I have a c6 z06 and follow the crowd using cheap NGK Japanese made over ACDelco iridium factory plug. When I switch to ngk I notice it didn’t have the kick it normally had and months later when it was time to replace plugs I bought oem iridium ACDelco plugs and runs like a champ
Clear, Informative, unbiased, and a nod to the supplier who supported you. Very well put together. You thought of a career in broadcasting?
Great video. I've heard of one step colder before but didn't understand what that meant. Know I'm a little smarter then before. Thanks.
Awesome video. One thing I never see in these though is what materials work best for certain fuel types. i.e. Ethanol, Meth Injection, Race Gas, etc etc.
Double platinium is specifically for engines which use 1 coil pack per 2 cylinders, the spark jumps opposite ways on each of the plugs, so then just having single platinum on the tip doesn't stop the electrode from wearing down on half of the plugs. Cars with individual coil packs or a distributor don't need dual platinum.
for normal day to day driving I use spark plugs one step hotter than stock, keeps them cleaner and firing better
Wow! Really happy to see someone doing their homework BEFORE putting out a video! I grew up working on cars n trucks then went to college to work on aircraft... I think I kinda know what I'm doing. Lol. You are now very knowledgeable when it comes to spark plugs! Great work! Keep it up man! Don't EVER be afraid to admit you don't know something... its FAR worse to fake it and give bad info. Sub'd
Great video brother iv been having a problem with detonation on my car after a performance exhaust and intake I guess the stock exhaust was very restrictive,, thanks for the great insight.. (I went with a colder plug as it retains less heat and my car is running great again )
I only use Bosch Premium Platinum spark plugs for my vehicle. They do not make any more power. But they last much longer. I have had my vehicle since 1996 and have only changed the sparkplugs twice on this vehicle. I have a 2001 Ford Ranger that I have maintained since new for the original owner. The original Champion plugs had to be changed every year and a half. Both vehicles have around 400,000 miles on them.
Copper core are often placed as manufacturer's recommendations when the plug is easy to access. Years ago, at every second service interval, replacement of spark plugs was recommended, and possibly still is today. In that process, it allows inspection and diagnosis for other faults not caused by spark plugs. If they are hard to access, where the life expectancy of the plug needs to be greater, platinum (with its catalytic properties) or iridium is preferred at greater expense...
I had used the expensive Bosch Platinum+4 and had the ceramic shatter in the winter cold. The ceramic apparently got too hot to handle the cold air intake, so I returned them for an exchange and they cracked again. Never seen that happen before or afterwards with any other type of spark plugs.
BTW Advanced Auto Parts were the ones that sold me the plugs and then the ignorant manager took my receipt to prevent me from getting the sparks plugs replaced a third time.