Flandry:On that pic of an Autolite plug you'll note that...
Looking at the second plug, the NGK (I am fond of the NGK v-power) you will note...
Thanks for clearing things up! I saw those differences which was why I questioned whether the photo of the NGK was supposed to be the actual plug. Also, I've also never heard of exploding plugs in an Explorer, so I didn't figure threading was a critical concern, but wasn't sure.
My concern with the Autolites starts with the number of complaints I see about them on forums. In all fairness, I've seen just as many recommendations for them. I also keep seeing people recommend Autolite when Motorcraft is hard to come by. Very unscientific, but it raises a doubt that so many people don't like them and insist on Motorcraft when many claim them to be so similar. I've seen less complaining about NGK, but this could be just as meaningless.
So are Autolite and Motorcaft plugs significantly different? I looked for historic information and came across this forum post:
In the 1960s Ford purchased the Autolite Electrical Company a company that already produced 90% of all aftermarket Ford replacement parts. Ford wanted to change that. Ford sells the Autolite company to Bendix(now owned by Honeywell). Ford creates the Motorcraft company to be a competeing entity.
Autolite and Motorcraft plugs are not built at the same plant but generally preform to the same because they are built to the same exact OEM specifications.
I have serviced equipment in a Motorcraft plant.
As it turns out, Ford bought Autolite in 1961, but had to divest itself of the company in 1972 after the US government successfully brought an anti-trust-suit against Ford for building a monopoly in the battery and spark plug business. A history of the Autolite spark plug can be seen
here.
Since that time, Honeywell and Motorcraft parts have often not been the same. Autolite's sister company, Fram, produces oil filters for Fords that are considerably
different from Motorcraft's offerings. So there's no reason spark plugs couldn't likewise vary. But do they actually? I don't know.
As for NGK, they claim:
NGK laser platinum plugs have the highest platinum content in the industry, which is why NGK is one of the worlds leading supplier of O.E. double platinum spark plugs.
Such a definitive claim would have been rapidly reported to the FTC by competitors if it wasn't true, so it's almost certainly fact. Since platinum is material responsible for longer life, this would appear to be a point in NKG's favor.
You say you like the NGKs. Can you expound on your experience with them? Have you used Motocraft or Autolite as well?
Flandry, what a great post! I love these kind of posts.
The threads on the Autolite plugs was the reason why I stuck with Motorcraft single-platinum. Ok, so they are not gunatreed for 100k. I have no problem with that. I'll pull one at 25k and 50k and see how they held up.
Thanks. I'll definitely be interested in what you find.
how about this my colorado has got "iridium" plugs do they offer any more durability over plats ? al.... my x has got autolite 765 coppercore plugs in it ,would the motorcraft single plats be any better than what i got now ? meaning fuel economy ???
bump
just forget it . . . . . . . . . :thumbdwn:
You don't give anyone time to look into things.
From a Honda site:
Iridium is a precious metal that is 6 times harder and 8 times stronger than platinum, it has a 1,200(=F) higher melting point than platinum and conducts electricity better. This makes it possible to create the finest wire center electrode ever. Prior till now, platinum had been favored for long life or performance spark plugs due to its high melting point, also the technology did not exist to machine and bond iridium on a spark plug electrode (at least in a cost effective manner). Iridium industrial spark plugs have been around for years, but still sells for over a hundred dollars per plug. Just now is the technology available to effectively use iridium in a spark plug for automotive applications. The strength, hardness and high melting point of iridium allows NGK to manufacture their iridium ultra-fine wire center electrode to 0.7mm. One of the finest firing points for a spark plug.
This, theoretically, should result in a cleaner burn over platinum plugs. However, I have yet to find anyone claiming (with proof) that Iridium plugs perform better than OEM spec'ed platinum in a non-commercial application. I've also found complaints of poor performance resulting from switching to Iridium plugs. If your Colorado came with Iridium plugs, I'd think replacing them with Iridium plugs would be a good idea. But from what I've read, I wouldn't be surprised if they yielded no difference in an Explorer.
As for longer life, here's what one guy stated on a GM post:
just did a complete tune up on my 2000 gmc yukon w/ a 5.3 I put in a/c Iridiums (stock OEM plug) and new plug wires, air filter, pcv valve and it seems to run a lot smoother. the old iridiums had 120,000 miles on them and i compared the 2 and the electrode was noticably much more worn out. So far i have been happy w/ the plugs.
As mentioned previously, I got 118K on my Motorcraft double platinums. So there may not be a meaningful difference here.
