what spark plugs and wires to get

[jeffseal]

i am about to replace my spark plugs and wires what are the best ones to get and how hard is it to change the plugs? thanks in advance SEAL

 

[Tim K]

If you do a search you will find MANY people on here (including myself) went with Bosch Platinum +4 Plugs. You can get them at Pep Boys or any auto parts store for about $6 apiece. As far as wires, don't skimp, get a quality set...probably run you about $25. Mine are Borg-Warner also from Pep Boys.

As far as installation goes...the difficulty depends on the year of your truck...my '97 shouldn't be too bad...but I bought the plugs 2 weeks ago and have yet to install them. Its just too damn cold! I may give up and spend $80 to get a mechanic to do it for me.

 

[Okrazie1]

I put a set of Bosch +4 in my Explorer a few months ago. It took around an hour to do. It seems the most popular wire set on the forum is Jacobs. I ordered a set but was sent the wrong ones. I really wasn't impressed by the build quality for the price ($65 with shipping). I sent those back and ordered a set of Magnecor wires. They're fairly hard to find, and pricey (I paid $78 with shipping) but they seemed to be better constructed than the Jacobs. You can get info on them at http://www.magnecor.com.

 

[<<MONOCHROMOUS>>]

i bought the Bosch Platinum +4s and i too havent installed them yet!! the best price i can find around is $60, i also bought Bosch Premium Wires, they are built extremely well i must say, $40 for the wires at Auto Zone. ill let you know if i feel any difference when i install them

 

[97bignslow]

I installed the bosch +4 and Taylor wires. Both work great. The wires I got from Summit and the plugs fro Pep Boys.

Eric

 

[Anime]

Magnecor

Cant go wrong with Magnecor wires ..but if $$$ is a factor, I guess the Bosch wires are almost like any other regular wire...I'll still stick to Motorcraft plugs...nothing against the Bosch...so either way is fine, just depends what youre going for..

 

[rock883]

YOu are going to pay $80 to have the plugs put in Tim K? If you lived by me I would do it for you for $80, Icould use some of that. Its really not that hard. The rear one on the pass. side was hard on mine, but not as hard as people on here talked about it. It took me less than an hour to get them done. And I wouldn't mind doing it in the cold either. Thats a fairly short project. But, now I have a body lift, and I would love to change my plugs now because the plastic fenderwells are up higher, and I could change the pass. side through the fenderwell.

 

[leebo]

Bosch plugs and Jacobs wires. I could tell the difference at first in both the ride and the mpg. You can really feel the difference at higher RPMS. The cost was up there on the wires, but Jacobs offeres a killer warrianty.

 

[Anime]

consider

something to consider...its easier to change your plugs in cold weather...why? heat..i.e. a hot engine..causes metal to expand...cold causes to to contract..some...enough to make it a cinch to loosen em and pop em in and out

I'll do it for $70 Tim!!

 

[jeffseal]

thanks guys you are the best. all i have to do to change the plugs is unscrew the old and screw in the new, or do i need to set the gap and stuff???? THANKS SEAL

 

[Okrazie1]

If you go with the Bosch +4 plugs, you don't have to gap them. A standard type plug would have to be gapped before installation.

 

[Anime]

well

well..dont forget to use anti-seize on the spark plug threads..it will save you tons of hassle when you take them out next time..I would also say use some diaelectric grease inside the boots going to the plugs to seal out mousture and everything..and yes always always gap your plugs if theyre the conventional type.

 

[DOGMAN]

I might be the lone dissenter on Bosch +4 plugs. I installed a set last year, mainly because I needed new plugs and I was curious to the claims the Bosch plugs were getting. Seemed ok at first, didn't really notice anything drastic, good or bad. After about 7000 miles though, I started getting some missing under hard acceleration, something I'd never had a problem with in the past. I thought it might be the fuel filter, but after replacing that the problem persisted. I don't know why, but I pulled all the plugs. I was astonished to see that most of the electrodes on the plugs were misaligned, meaning the set gap was out of wack. And you know you can't reset that with them, at least you're not supposed to have to. Two of the plugs were trashed, the insulaters were cracked and the electrodes were way out of wack. So I installed a fresh set of stock Motorcraft plugs, and no problem no more - my motor ran fine again. I still have the Bosch plugs in my garage as a momento.

Now I'm not trying to say that everyone who likes the plugs are all wet, I'm just saying they didn't work well for me. Maybe I'm the only one who has had problems with them.

Something I find interesting though, is that I've never seen anyone who races use Bosch +4 plugs. The NASCAR & NHRA guys all use a single electrode plug. It's a little different that the ones you and I use, but still basically the same type of construction. Hmm......

Many plugs today, like the Bosch, use platinum for their center conducters. Now platinum is more corrosion resistant than copper, but copper is a better conducter of electricity than platinum. Again, I don't think racers use platinum plugs. They're looking for the hottest spark possible. The claim by the automakers that many of their cars don't need to be tuned for 100,000 miles is because they use platinum plugs. Another good promotion to sell cars. But do they perform better? Again, what do those interested in high performance go with?

I could be wrong about all this, it's entirely possible. But I remember when the Splitfire plugs came out, they sold a lot of these because people were led to believe that these plugs would increase the performance of their vehicles. Same thing with the Bosch plugs. It's kinda like selling snake oil. I'll admit the companies are pretty smart though, they've made a lot of money. A friend of mine, who is an expert high performance tuner, used to work at the plant where they made the Splitfire plugs. He claims they were just a gimmick.

I guess the only way to prove if any performance enhancement actually works is to compare it on the dyno. I've never seen actual data that supports the claims of Bosch or Splitfire.

My intent is not to belittle anyone with my opinion of said products, I'm just giving my opinion, backed by my own experience.

The driver's side plugs are all easy to get to and change. No problem at all. The passenger side are more difficult though. The rear plug on the passenger side is best accessed through the wheel well. The other two are a snug fit, but can be changed through the hood opening. Having a universal joint for your socket wrench is a good idea.

Good luck!

 

[Chris Jella']

Dogman,
I feel your pain bud. I just threw my 40 bucks worth of +4's in the garbage too. I too had misfires in the upper end of the RPMs to the point of backfire a few times. Although mine didn't have the gap problems you talked about, I did have another problem. On 2 plugs where the center of the electrode comes through the porcelain, the tip had receded, or burned or whatever to a point well below the tip of the pocelain insulator. A fresh set of motorcraft platinums seemed to fix the problems. Mine had a little over 17,000 miles. So much for fancy plugs!! I think I'll stick to OEM from now on.
Chris

 

[Gopher]

resistor or nonresister that is the ?

Just so you guys know..I bought the bosch platinum and i think that they have no resistor. The prob that i have now is that i have alot of stereo equip and pull some power. When the engine is under load i get tons of popping in the speakers. Reason is because the spark plugs are not resisted. The stupid part is that they make both resister and nonresister plugs for our trucks. So make sure you get the right plug. I'm going to go look to see if there is a R at either the beginning or at the end of the stock #. Just beware thats all. My girlfriend is to the point of buying me new plugs. I've heard that the motorcraft plugs work great.

 

[Tim K]

Its too COLD for meeeeee!

Boy, I'd love to find someone to do my plugs for me...as I said, I'd do them myself, but I don't have access to a garage to get in out of the cold. Now, I'm sure one of the guys from Buffalo or Canada will come lecture me about COLD....but 25 degrees is just too cold for this fella right here! I was hoping to find a local mechanic who would be willing to do some "after hours work" for $50 cash...but I don't know how I would go about finding one...

Oh well, here I sit with a bag full of plugs and wires....

 

[MarkB]

I recently installed the Bosch +4s & Borg-Warner wires. The wires were $20 at Pep Boys & I doubt wires that cost 3x that are 3x better. But what do I know? The change seriously helped my Explorer. It just runs better and accellerates with more umph so I'm happy. Changed them myself in about 2.5 hours. Would have taken less time but I lost a freaking socket somewhere in the engine!!!

 

[Rhett]

My experience with changing plugs and wires on the Explorerer (4.0 OHV) is that it is tough to change the driver's side back 2 plugs. That will be your biggest problem. The others are relatively easy. You absolutely MUST have a good (i.e. Craftsman) universal socket and at least 2 or 3 extensions. Don't get one of those crappy "Great Neck" brand sockets, it won't last.

On mine I installed a single electrode plat plug, the Autolite Platinum; this is the plug recommended by Jacobs for use with their wires.

 

[Waverider]

My bosch platinum +4's are sucky as well. i got 5000 miles on them and have spark not real bad, especailly if it accelerates in 4th gear. I never havd the problem with the ac delco rapid fires. They are a very good plug and they work real well in my bosses dodge ram. They have 10000 miles on htem and are in fine shape.