spark plugs

[RonLange]

i need new spark plugs in my 3800 '93.
i've used bosch platinum +4's in a 5.0 mustang i used to have and they were pretty good, but i'm kinda second guessing myself.
any opinions on good plugs to use?
keep in mind i drive this car pretty hard, like to-the-boards merging, using the tranny for braking and cruising at 80 mph.
i know, buick engineers hate people like me.
my old delco plugs are burnt out to about .o9o
so i assume i've fried them by being in the high revs so much.

[Syndicated]

If you're gonna run your car like that, then you have to expect to burn through plugs, oil and gas.

The problem that a lot of people don't see with 2 or 4 point spark plugs is that unless they are designed and built PERFECTLY, you're not getting as many "sparks" as you think you're getting. Remember, electicity takes the shortest, quickest, path to ground, and since only one of those 2 or 4 electrodes is the best path to ground, you're only getting one spark. This only allows the other electrodes to get gummed up with carbon and become usless.
You may be asking why your 5-0 mustang ran so good with them. You must consider that a 5-0 is a v-8, and probably a H.O. version if you were driving a GT. And now you're driving a V-6 with less than 200hp.
Stick to your delco's, or atleast something else with only one electrode, everything else is a waste of time.

Hope this helps,

Ben

[RonLange]

well, being a mechanic, and an especially good welder i do know the properties of electrical flow pretty well, i know i run this thing hot, but i guess my question is, as the plugs age and burn, wouldn't it be better to give them more alternate paths to take for the spark, like the 4 grounds on the +4's? or does the electrode burn up too quickly for any of that to matter? i assume that's what you were getting at. guess i need to find a long lasting electrode, if thats at all possible*L*

[Syndicated]

From what I've been told, by several technicians that I've worked with is that the +4 gets gummed up with carbon on the other 3 non-conducting electrodes well before the working electrode becomes essentially useless. If you think about it, a spark-plug is essentially a self-cleaning part for most of it's service life. Each new spark and resulting combustion cycles cleans off any crap that would accumulate on the electrode.

I know they make iridium tipped plugs now, with single electrodes and their service life is supposed to be ridiculasly long. They're pretty expensive, but may be worth checking out.
Or what you could do is change to a regular plug with a higher heat range.

[BillK]

Ron,
You did not mention how long the present plugs have been in the engine ?? Personally, I have never seen the need to use anything other than the stock replacement AC plugs from GM. I personally believe anything more is a waste of money. I have even heard of platinum plugs causing misfire codes in OBD2 engines that were not originally equiped with platinum plugs.
Dont believe everything you read in spark plug sales ads. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Just my opinion,

[Dan]

i tend to use factory plugs for all the cars i work on (import or domestic). so called "performance" plugs in stock cars don't work for me, stick with the delco plugs.

[RonLange]

well ya, all that is true especially about the +4's fouling up, so i just ordered a set of ngk iridiums, not cuz they are "performance" but i'll see how they last with less material in the combustion chamber to foul up. my theory is if you really think a simple little spark plug is going to magically "create" power in a stock engine, you need a shrink.
they don't cost too much, i get my parts wholesale, so what the hell, at the very least, it's just another set of plugs.