Plug and wire change

[4Wheelin]

I am going to be changing my plugs and wires very shortly and I was curious as to what the best combo would be for my 93 Sport. Thanks in advance.

 

[85Dave]

I was having problems with the engine missing at highway speeds in my 92. I removed the Bosch platinum plugs (they had about 30,000 miles on them) and put in Autolite copper cores (factory plug). The miss went away, but started returning after about 200 miles. I then replaced the factory wires (140,000 miles) with Autozone wires for $23. The miss is gone completely, and so is the pinging. I now have about 800 miles on the new plugs/wires, and the engine runs like new!
I went with the Autozone wires because it seems that there are only a couple of companies that make wires. They put whatever brand name on them that the customer orders (Motorcraft, AC Delco, Mopar, Bosch, etc). The wires seemed to be of a similar quality to the Motorcraft wires that I took off. A few wires were a few inches longer than stock, but I guess better long than short. From what I can tell, the OEM type wires need replacing about every 50,000 miles or so.
Several people on this board use Magnacores and like them. I think the main advantage is that the Magnacores will last much longer than stock type wires. They also cost more, naturally.

 

[4Wheelin]

I was thinking of going with the Bosch P4's and splitfire wires. Does anyone have any comments on that combo?

 

[aldive]

Originally posted by 4Wheelin
I was thinking of going with the Bosch P4's and splitfire wires. Does anyone have any comments on that combo?

You can't beat the + 4 plugs. However, there are many good wires including the Splitfire ones. I like Magnacore the best.

Good luck.....

 

[jsdean]

<electrical engineer mode on> the +4s really don't make things better, the world just doesn't work that way, same with splitfires, but hey it's not like you change them that often and if spending a bit more per plug makes you feel better, than go for it <mode off> On the wires, I just did mine and used bosch wires, they were pretty much the perfect lengths which was nice and the boots were pre-lubricated (and from autozone they have a lifetime warrenty). I used bosch platinum plugs. getting to a few of them was a major pain (I broke the ceramic on 2 of the old ones getting them off) anyway good luck with it, make sure you get the correct heat-range plugs

 

[PLRBEAR]

yeah, and just a word of advice: Don't forget to lube the connectors and put anti-seize on the plugs. That way, future undertakings like this will be painless.

 

[irtySanchez]

I have talked before about these issues. I would recommend against any Bosch plugs and wires for Explorers. They are not designed with an Explorer in mind. I think in the end you will either not notice any difference, or actually suffer on performance.

Your best bet is to go with Autolite copper plugs and wires. They are just as if not more capable and will save you a chunk of change.

Do a search on plugs and wires and you will be able to find many peoples opinions,

Good Luck!

 

[aldive]

Originally posted by irtySanchez
I would recommend against any Bosch plugs and wires for Explorers. They are not designed with an Explorer in mind. I think in the end you will either not notice any difference, or actually suffer on performance.

Your best bet is to go with Autolite copper plugs and wires. They are just as if not more capable and will save you a chunk of change.

I doubt that any plug is designed vehicke specific. You are apparantly down on Bosch plugs; do you have any data to support your statements?

Further do you have any daya to support the use of Autolite plugs?

Thanks in advance....

 

[irtySanchez]

aldive-

This topic was posted once before and I left a nasty response when asked the same question you did. So this time I will answer the question BEFORE I have had a few drinks.

I worked as a parts salesman up until a year ago. We were the only authorized Bosch dealer in the area, so we had a complete line of Bosch parts. When it came to most of their parts, The Bosch products were top notch. There were always 2 items that I would run into trouble with: their plugs and wires used on American cars. We would always see the same problems, the wires would become hard and brittle and the wires would break near the spark plug boot. As for the plugs: copper plugs were ok, but the platinums would come back quite often with people saying they felt like they were losing power.

Ever since that point I have had somewhat of a jaded view on bosch plugs and wires. I also believe from personal experience that Autolite plugs and wires seem to work very well with Explorers. I even installed a set on mine.

So there is no scientific evidence or any automotive journal expose to back my claims, but I just want to add my .02 to help others any way I can. But I am a firm believer in most other Bosch products. I even love Vw's to the point that I have owned 5 Jetta's.

Oh yeah, don't buy their rebuilt starters or alternators either.

 

[toad]

I can see irtys problem if he has had sales experience with these plugs & wires,but I have used Bosch platinums in a 85 ranger ,87 ranger and my present 92 Explorer with no problems (dont think the +4s are worth the $) no experience with Bosch wires never seen them in Canada . Just my.05 cents.

 

[leenjen]

ok i dont know much about this stuff. but a few weeks after i bought my explorer, i changed the plugs and wires. i bought splitfire plugs from wal-mart just because i've heard of them before. i dont know the brand name of the wires (my dad bought them), but they were 9.3mm. the ones wal-mart had were only 7mm, so i figured these are better.

i noticed a drastic improvement over the old plugs and wires. i know they dont actually improve performance, but bring it back to where it is supposed to be. plugs and wires are passive, so new plugs and thicker wires provide less resistance and a better spark.
the gas mileage and performance is great. i do most driving in town, and get almost 400 miles from a tank.

 

[4Wheelin]

I think I am going to either do Bosch Platinum plugs with whatever wire I can find because I am going to be doing this tomorrow. I will keep you guys posted on how it turns out.