Spark Plug Opinion

[78WagLimited]

I have driven mostly Ford's...no jabbing... I have always used Autolite plugs... PO installed Bosch Supers in my '78 Wag.. time for new plugs.. what works good in the 360.. thanks guys/gals... :D

[Jeep Jeep]

78Wag, I have always had good luck with Autolite plugs. I run them in both the 360 and 401. Have never had any problems.

[Stuka]

I run autolites in everything..as do all the racing guys I know. But if you want the best bang for you buck..get copper plugs. They conducts best, but wont last as long (about 6k miles average) Where as platinum or titatium cn last as long as 100k miles..but dont cunduct well..and your spark wont be nearly as good as it should be.

[78WagLimited]

Thanks Guys.. When I worked at the Zone I always recommened Autolite plugs.. But wanted to know if there were any problems with certain plugs & AMC motors... I learned the hard way that Ford engines don't like Bosch plugs.. My 3.8 ltr V-6 melted them very quickly :eek:

[jeepbob]

I am not knocking anyones' choice of plugs as what works for me rarely works for anyone else unless they run the junk I do and are as sick as I am.
Ever since I had the center blow out of an autolite plug (ceramic and all) due to defective bonding, I only use them in my Mother in law's car. Bosch supers work well in AMC motors with the TFI upgrade and .045 gap. I have just switched to AC Rapid Fires in my CJ opened to .045 with the TFI and saw 6500 rpm with my 304 :eek: This motor never used to get over 5200 without the TFI and the rapid fires. The really scary part is that the motor was still making power and had not nosed over yet! If I had not got out of the gas she might have pulled 7000 rpm or gernaded. These rpms were turning 35 x 15 swampers in 4 low 1st gear with 3.54 gears in very heavy gooey mud.

[ August 29, 2001: Message edited by: jeepbob ]

[Bob Barry]

I have had good luck with whatever costs $.99/plug or less. This often means Bosch or Autolites. If given a choice, though, I'd buy the Bosch, mainly because I think the German on the little colored boxes is pretty cool... smile.gif

[Lindel]

Jeepbob, do you remember the part no. for the AC plugs?

I'm running Champion Truck plugs, but I think I've got a bad oil ring in the no. 2 cylinder. It fouls no. 2 plug with oil, but that's the only one.

Valve seals are only about a year old, and still in good shape. No play in the valve stem that I can feel.

Can one oil ring go bad, and others be good? No loss of compression, and power is still there. No. 2 hits until overcome by oil.

[78WagLimited]

Lindel.. Yes you can have one ring go bad :eek: .. If you can perform a leak down test on that cylinder.. if you get air through your PVC or breather/oil fill tube then chances are the ring is bad...if you have'nt done one before let me know and I'll post the info... :D Also you can get a plug for that cyllinder that is one heat range hotter and that will help prevent early fouling.

[ August 30, 2001: Message edited by: 78WagLimited ]

[Lindel]

thanks, that's what I suspected, since that's the only cylinder that has any indication of oil usage, other plugs don't show anything other than normal wear. No. 2 plug will foul in about 4 days, or quicker if I load the engine.

I'll have to get a compression gauge, but I need one anyway.

Next question: Do you think I can replace the one ring, by itself, or go ahead and completely re-ring the engine? At present, I haven't checked the compression, and am concerned about doing just one cylinder.

I've just about decided to bite the bullet, and do a complete rebuild. :(

[78WagLimited]

Lindel.. Once you pull the heads to replace the rings you'll have half the teardown process complete...you could only replace the rod bearings and rings but with that much teardown might as well finish it...It'll give you a warm fuzzy :D

[UnkleMunky]

I think there's some validity to the point that some plugs will work in some engines better than others, and vice versa. I'd gather the autolite/motorcrafts work particularly good for Fords, so that's fine. I had a set of Autolites in my Reliant after getting it(put them in myself right away as it was what was $1 at the time). Was never overly impressed with them. Have been considering sidegapping a new set of plugs and trying in the Reliant, and one counter guy told me to run nothing buy Champions in a Mopar engine, so I thought about it. A few days later, another shop puts Champs on sale for $1 and 30cents, so got 4 of 'em for the Reliant. Sidegapped 'em and put 'em in last weekend. I'll have to say that I definitely feel better power and smoother running. I'm considering sidegapping for the J10, but haven't tried it yet. After putting on a new muffler, PCV and sidegapped plugs, I'm seeing a solid 4-5mpg improvement in the Reliant, plus more power and better running!

Anyway....back to FSJs. Got some Champions on sale(75cents each) for the '76 with a 360, and am using those right now....can't comment on them other than they're ok, but also did wires, etc. with the plugs. I think I've got autolites in the '78 J10 right now, but am going to try something else next time. If not Champions, maybe NGK or something...have been told those are good, but not sure how AMCs like 'em. I've used whatever I can get cheapest and not had any problems, but I'm not an expert either. I pulled ACs out of the Honcho....and hate the way those ACs rust on the outside....yuk!

PS....here's some numbers for plugs:

AC DELCO R44XLS
BOSCH 7522
CHAMPION 405 (RN14YC)
MOTORCRAFT 454
NGK 2635

These are probably the common ones....my '78 J10, with an '80 258 in it, runs something different, but the AC Delco number for whoever asked!

If money weren't an issue, I'd like to try the Halo Plugs....I like the design, but $8-9 a plug is pretty spendy. http://www.halosparkplug.com/

So, am trying the sidegapped cheapo method with Champs right now, and like it enough to try it in my '78 in the near future. Has anybody else tried that?
Here's a page on sidegapping if you're wondering what it is: http://performanceunlimited.com/illustrations/sparkplugs.html

Take care....

[ August 30, 2001: Message edited by: UnkleMunky ]

[78WagLimited]

UM.. Great info on the Side Gapping.. I'll have to try it.. :D

[jeepbob]

I think the number for the Rapid fires is #4.
The problen with side gapping is that while it makes more power it only does it for a short time as electrode wear is great. You have to regap the plugs constantly. If you want a better alternitive for a daily driver then Bosch makes a plug in the super series the has 3 electrodes that come into the sides of the center electode. I have not run them in a long time so you will have to go to a bosch dealer that has a book to cross check the heat range to get the right plug.

[UnkleMunky]

Yes, the wear is apparently one of the drawbacks to the sidegapping, as is the "do-it-yourself" aspect of buzzing off the tip! The Champions were pretty hard metal there....yikes! I wanted to do a crescent shape to match the center electrode so it could have a partial moon to spark with instead of a flat surface, but it was too hard of metal and too fine a crescent I wanted to make, so just left 'em straight cut off. Used the dremel cutting disks to do it. Takes a little practice too...I used a used set to practice on. smile.gif

As for how fast it wears, I'll have to see....if it lasts awhile, that's ok, but if it drops fast, I'll rethink it some. In my reading, "regapping" now and then is the suggestion, but will have to see how often that is(sounds like the plugs need replacing every 5k instead of 10k too, but that's not bad if that's right). Still, I can tell the spark is better right off....I could feel a difference in the car's power with it too.

In looking over all the "designs" I've seen, I like the Halo format....it's almost "ideal" and not a compromise really, like all the others(even the Bosch). Not knocking the Bosch, but the Halo, at least in theory, makes better sense to me. Not sure about the "rest" of the quality of the plug, but the design is good. I'm not overly impressed with Splitfires or some of the other fancy ones, but the Halo's design definitely is something I like. How it works I'm not certain...at $8/plug, I doubt I'll be trying them soon.

Which brings back side-gapping and why I'm trying it. Besides "needing" a little more umph in the car, I'm trying to eek out a little better mileage and savings. With a 4 banger, it's cheaper to "try" something like this! smile.gif Even if I have to change plugs every 3k miles, heck, that's $4 in that car! Oil and filter too, heck....I'm probably still under $15 for basic maintenance points like that every 3k miles! Will have to see how the gap lasts, but the initial power is nice. Even changing the plugs regularly like that, I'd have to go through 3-8 sets before the same price for a premium set of plugs, and that might put me in the range of tuneup miles for those anyway. Will have to see.....but thought it would be nice to try.