What are the best spark plug wires? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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What are the best spark plug wires?

Exploring XLT

Never Stop Explorering
Elite Explorer
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Location
Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada
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Stony Plain
Year, Model & Trim Level
93 Ford Explorer XLT 4WD
Hey everyone, I am looking at getting new spark plugs and wires and coil pack.
BOSCH 4505 PLATINUM IR FUSION is what I was thinking of for plugs,
ULTRA-POWER 140035 SUPER COIL; HORIZONTAL PRIMARY CONNECTION; EDIS for a coil,
But I could not decide on wires, does anybody have any thoughts on what the best wires are?
I am open to comments/advice on any of the above mentioned products.
Also, with the hotter coil should I open up the spark plug gap?
 



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NGK wires are the best, but that is just my opinion. You won't see any "performance" difference between any of them. The 2 things that set the NGK set above the others are just a couple details. 1 they silicon the boots on making them even more water proof. 2 each wire is numbered for its cylinder. The part number for the set is 52184.

Those spark plugs should be ok, but the standard NGK TR55's have been great for me at a much cheaper price. I would not change the spark plug gap.

You can use that coil pack, plenty have, but the standard one works just fine.
 






A Jacobs Ignition tech once told me that the Explorer OEM coil was "good for more power than we would make",

Those NGK wires sound like the Jacobs wires I used to run. They lasted 13 years, but eventually the silicone boots got brittle and ripped when I was changing the plugs a few years back. Now I run Motorcraft plugs and wires at the stock gap. With the Jacobs wires I was running a larger gap, as recommended by their tech, but I don't do that now.
 






Thanks for the responses!
Would there be any difference in performance with the 4 grounds on the spark plugs?
In the Haynes manual it says to use platinum or higher spark plus, is this not necessary?
 






Don't waste your $. OE quality plugs, wires & replacement coil will work for you. Do you even need a coil pack? do you have ignition problems? Don't just throw $ at your X for no reason.
 






Would there be any difference in performance with the 4 grounds on the spark plugs?
In the Haynes manual it says to use platinum or higher spark plus, is this not necessary?
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Missing pics from thread above. (Post #81)
https://www.google.com/search?q=I+w...AUICigB&biw=1280&bih=705#imgrc=wfsalYxti-nd6M:
 






The previous owner of the Explorer broke one of the towers off of the coil, so the spark plug wire will not stay on. On rock auto the hotter coil is very little more than the regular one.
 






Thanks swashawii!
I will skip the Bosch plugs!
Open to recommendations on other plugs!
 






Hard to fault the Motorcraft SP486 Finewire Platinum. After all, they are OE replacements designed for your engines heat range. Do a search, you will not find a single complaint on EF about Motorcraft plugs unless they were the notoriously breaking two piece plugs used on earlier 4.6L 3V V8 engines. Carefully check the factory specified gap, and lightly coat the threads with copper or nickel anti seize. Good another 70 to 100K minimum.

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/ford,1993,explorer,4.0l+v6,1119620,ignition,spark+plug,7212
 






I'm using Motorcraft AWSF42FM gapped at .054.
 






I'm using the plugs in my signature. I have them gapped tight and have read that can cause an occasional idle misfire on these systems, which I do have. Runs great at highway and load so I haven't been too motivated to try a wider gap.

That said, quality wires are more about long-term lasting. NGK/Belden are where I would go. As for plugs, either go copper or double platinum, not single. On our engines, one side (bank) is run positive to negative, the other side is run negative to positive. Having single platinum will only benefit one side, the other will have extra wear after time. Don't waste your money on gimmicky plugs, either get a set of NGK/Motorcraft double platinums or go with copper. I've seen some Motorcraft plugs on RockAuto for pretty cheap.
 






Best is a relative term. Best for what? Reliability? Longevity? Power? Torque? Racing? A trip to the moon?

OEM Motorcraft everything (plus, wires, coil) is "best" for simplicity and for the engine to run as designed in stock form.

As much as I like NGK stuff on imports, I'd disagree with using NGK anything on an Explorer. They make great plugs and wires but they're better suited to Japanese vehicles. Ditto for the Bosch plugs or really anything else. Motorcraft plugs seem to give the best performance and they last 60,000+ miles and are priced right. A lot of issues have been solved on this forum simply by changing back to OE Motorcraft plugs.

You could get performance wires that would be slightly better than the OE Motorcrafts, stuff like Magnecor's wires are great, but they tend to cost a lot and aren't really worth it for a stock vehicle. If you spend money on things like a catback exhaust and want slight improvements, I suppose spending more on a nice set of wires might be worth it, but you really can't go wrong with Motorcraft if you just want something that works and that you probably won't have to take into consideration as a possible cause of ignition issues.
 






The 4.0 OHV is a german engineered engine, just thought I'd point that out. I'll vouch for NGK, everything they make is top tier. Their TR55 plugs are great. You can't go wrong with OEM, but as far as I'm aware, Autolite makes Motorcraft spark plugs, and I don't think anyone would argue Autolite in favor of any brand.
 






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