Why BOSCH plugs not rrecommended

[98greyxlt]

basic question here, but how often should spark plugs be changed?

 

[mattadams]

On old spark plugs I think they used to say 30,000 miles, then 60,000... my F-150 they say you don't need to do it for 100,000 miles, I will before then though...

 

[jimbo74]

has anybody tried the new Aoutolite Titanium plugs?

 

[DocVijay]

I think it's a bit much.

I remember when a GOLD credit card was exclusive. You were important if you had one of those. Now I have a gold ATM card. Then it was PLATINUM. I remember my uncle had a platinum American Express card and thinking WOW! Now I have one. I nearly fell of my couch when i saw the first TITANIUM card. What's next. Actually I know. The AMA offered us a "Diamond Card." it was clear plastic. After that? Who knows.

Sorry, kinda got off topic. Titanium plugs wouldn't be better than platinum because platinum is a better conductor of electricity. Actually, silver is one of the best, but "platinum" sounds better than "silver." Don't bother with the titanium plugs. Just the next step on the hype ladder. I've already seen those "iridium" plugs. As I recall, Oakley sunglass lenses are iridium coated, and I thought that they just made that up, kinda like their "unobtanium" for the rubber parts...

 

[<<MONOCHROMOUS>>]

my 2 cents, been running PLAT +4s and BOSCH WIRES for about a year now, i dont know if its faster, but it kicks like a donkey, and no excessive wear and tear

 

[Sux2bu101]

Well I work for a place that sells bosch wires and plugs. Personally I would only use the regular platinum plugs if the ford plugs werent avaliable to me. As far as the wires go, if you are gonna spend the extra money to put the bosch on, why dont you go out and buy some good wires, go with MSD or ACCEL, those are at least 8mm. In my opinion, I wouldnt use bosch wires, because for a little bit more I can get something I KNOW is better.

 

[tlott01]

Over the 10 years I've owned my 91' XLT it's had Autolites, Champions and +4's in it and the only ones I really had problems with were the Champions - I would start to get a miss under load, pull the plugs and find one or two with the insulators blown off of the electrode. Replaced them with +4's and that problem went away. I'm running Autolites right now because the mechanic that was tweaking the beast for emissions last fall didn't like the +4's - but I'm putting them back in at the next tune-up.

 

[maxxus]

yes, they DO BREAK OFF!

well guys, it's true from my personal experience, they indeed do break off. I had a z-71......which was detonating like crazy with these plugs after only 3,000 or so miles......i removed them and they were already becoming brittle...and yes, a nightmare was about to be seen....one tip had broken off into the engine! I was f**&*&( pissed. screw bosch

 

[HIX]

Are you really going to blame the detonation on the plug? Could it be that the excessive and prolonged detonation caused the failure of the plug. I bet if you looked at the top of your pistons they would be pitted from the detonation. I would say that any plug could have failed. My only reason for saying that is b/c when my Explorers engine blew up the two rearmost pistons came up and crushed the 4+ plugs that had 30k even under that type of blow the prongs were still attatched. When I put in the new engine I just switched the plugs over and regapped the ones that got crushed.

Worked fine for me.

 

[astrochimp]

Guy i know who tests engines said go with NGK..There may be other good ones too..but he said DEfinitely not Champion.... and Bosch has high resistance(didn't say anything about falling apart though)

NGK for ME

 

[01EB5.0]

Ok, all the stuff people have said about Bosch plugs is BS to say the least. Sure the plug will break if you engine is running bad. If it was detonating bad it most likely overheated the plug and/or contacted the plug causing it to break. We have the Bosch in all our cars and never had a problem. Also there is no evidence of any engine damage caused by Bosch plugs...NONE! The plugs DO NOT void warentee of the engine and are tested for every application. They last 4 times as long meaning they will be the last set of plugs you every need. They may be more expensive, but they are better then the alternative. Ford doesn;'t actually make their own plugs anyway...do they? I can't believe all the bashing people do on here about Bosch. The rumors...(and thats all they are) are FALSE!

Also to whoever complained about the Bosch blades on a snowplow.....well they are not winter blades.....they weren't designed for winter use. You sure hate bosch for reasons which are not really concrete. On a snowplow truck, usually rubber coated winter blades work the best. The Bosch blades far outperform any other blades in the summer.

Anyway, thats just my .02 worth. If anyone has any other questions, drop me an e-mail. I have had the plus 4 plugs for several years and they give better gas milage and it idles nicer.

 

[brianb9]

Bosch Plugs

Hey thought I would throw in my experience and mechanics experience as he builds and races cars. One of the problems with the Bosch Platinum plugs is our trucks use high energy ignitions (HIE) and under heavy load or accelleration will blow the platinum off or apart.

Unfortunately the platinum electrode is to thin to with stand the current of the HIE. I had this experience with 3 sets of Bosch Platinum Tips. Luckily the pieces were never a problem in the engine, but every time I removed a set the platinum electrode was gone and that was in under 25,000 miles. They do work fine in high performance cars where extended load on the engine is not such a problem.

Since my mechanics recommendation I have run the regular Autolite plugs and had no problems and better mileage along with much better plug durability.

So there are some documented concrete reasons to not use these plugs in our trucks.

 

[01EB5.0]

I don't want to get into an argument with anyone on this fine board, but the Robert Bosch corporation would not sell plugs that would damage an engine. They test the plugs in every application and if your had problems maybe it's just either the wrong heat range, wrong gap, or combustion problems. Also you said they are good in high performance cars, bt that they are not good for engines under a load. well I think high performance cars engines are under a pretty heavy load a lot because people tend to get all they can out of that gas pedal. I think it's more related to another possable engine problem. If Bosch plugs went bad in a lot of cars they would no doubt recall them in fear they may get hit with a lawsuit. I tow with my truck and sometimes are a bit harder on it then I should, but the plugs and the truck have never backed down...

If you people really think it's plug-related why haven't you contacted Bosch about it?

 

[brianb9]

Bosch Plugs

I was not trying to start any arguements with anyone, just share my knowledge and experience with Bosch Plugs. I can assure you what I have stated was fact and my truck is in excellent condition and the plugs were the exact heat range recommended by Bosch and gapped to the proper spec.

You would be naive to think that just because Robert Bosch is a large company who tests their products that it is impossible to have a product that does not work for its intended application.

Take for example Ford putting the Mazda 5 speed in Explorers. It is by no means up to the job and has a tremendous failure rate yet Ford would tell you it is fine for the application when anyone with a little knowledge knows it was originalyy used in the much lighter Mazda small pickup trucks and just pulled from their parts shelf for the application.

Finally, when I said our trucks were under more load than a high performance car, I was referring to the fact that our approximately 145-165HP motors hauling around 4700 lb. of truck do experience much more load than a sports car that weighs 1000 lbs. less and has 100 or more HP than our trucks. These cars never feel the load on the engines our Explorers do.

This load is what ultimately ends up causing our ignition systems to apply more voltage to the plugs and results in electrode deterioration. Regardless of the platinums superior conductivity the sheer lack of material causes the electrode to overheat quickly in these situations, hence a more conventional material and electrode size offers more durability.

I will say all this is more applicable to the 6 cylinder engines. The V-8s are less of a problem as they are not as underpowered and again load is not as much of an issue.

Hope this clarifies a few things.

 

[psychotic]

eh i'm gonna get bosch +4s and some accel 8mm blue wires, i don't care about all the which is better crap, i just want to know, where can i find the wires for cheap ??

 

[SGF]

I wish I could identify the source but about 3 or 4 years ago I read a really good (read as unbiased) review on spark plugs. They tested all sorts of plugs in a variety of vehicles under varied conditions. One of the focuses of the testing was to find out if these "speciallty plugs" performed any better. The winner was regular old Motorcraft plugs they bought from a discount auto parts store, go figure.

Food for thought....................
We live in a sue crazy society. If a major auto parts manufacturer hears of a trend where their spark plugs are causing major internal engine damage that would likely be reported by a variety of sources; (Ford would certainly want to wash their hands on any blame if they knew it wasn't a Ford part failure), don't you think that part would be off the shelf the next day?

 

[brianb9]

Parts failures

That falls under the category of never admit there is a problem unless you absolutely have to because a majority of the consumers don't know any better and will just pony up for the repair.

Ford doesn't have to take responsibility for damage caused by an aftermarket part such as a Bosch spark plug because they supply the motor with a Motorcraft Plug they manufacture that works fine. If an aftermarket part causes damage Ford is happy to do the repair and charge you for it.

As for the Mazda tranny issue they own 51% of Mazda so it is in there best interest to use parts they already have on the shelf and are the most cost effective to manufacture for them.

Also trying to sue a company like Bosch or Ford requires some very deep pockets and alot of time. Unfortunatley, even if a whole drivetrain is at stake it is cheaper to pay for the repair and not be without a vehicle to go through a lengthy court battle that will most likely have little chance of success.

To answer 95XLT's question a few posts back, Ford does in fact manufacture their own Motorcraft parts.

 

[Ben99]

Just adding my 2cents on this. Not about the Bosch, but the Autolites. From my experience they are crap. I have seen about 40% of the Autolite plugs used by me/freinds have been junk. Out of 2 sets on a Focus, there were 4 plugs in 3 months that fell apart at the ceramic part (and no, they were not overtightened or broken off by the installer; me). And the same thing happened on the electrode side on our Maxima, electrode/ceramic fell off. Also, I have read on a Honda board many posts of how the autolites fall apart. Just letting yall know. I would never buy/recommend autolites. Remember YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! For you cheapies out there, spend a few extra bucks for some Motorcraft Platinums. That's what came in the engine, thats what I'll keep for reliabilty/driveability. If you want performance, a plugs not gonna help you unless your Supercharged/nitroused/turboed.

 

[psychotic]

Plugs help ignite your air/fuel mix. they make sure it fully combusts by having the spark length/time long enough to make sure all the mixure is ignited. they can help smother acceleration and better mpg. There has to be a plug that is good for durability AND performance, come on, anyone with good experience?

 

[Dan Whitaker]

I had some Bosch plainum plugs in an '85 Broco II about 10 yars agin and were the worst plugs I ever used. I have always ran Chapion in Ford's with no problem.
Two weeks ago I put some Champion Truck Plugs in my 97 Mtnneer 5.0 with Taylor Spioro Pro Wires and it was like a new truck. I realy have to watch the old speedometer.