Speaking of spark plugs

[83 WagDriver]

I am thinking of putting in Split fire spark plugs. Has anyone ever used them?
Will it be safe to put on the ol 360?
Looking into getting them this weekend.
Any input would be appreciated.

Mario

[Bombadier]

Split-fires should present no problems, and they in theory are a good idea anyways..... Just don't use Bosch Platinums..... Bosch doesn't say anywhere, but those are not intended for non-fuel-injected engines, the electrode area is very small, easily gummed up, and have a higher resistance.....(the x4 Platinums might work ok, but for the not for the $$$, get Champions)

[J Series Trucks]

Don't do it. It's not they they don't work, but they are no better, and in fact sometimes worse than a good standard plug like Champion, Autolite or AC.

You would do much better on a stock 360 to save your money, keep tuning up with a good quality "regular" plug, and improving the sad stock iginition on your 360.

In timed 1/4 mile testing, I have even found that Autolites (the brand I am partial to) outperformed Bosch Platinum plugs, and in fact the electrodes in the Bosch couldn't stand up to my hot ignitions. It seems to me that the modern designed motors do like the platinums, however... The Turbo V6 Grand National guys seem to have ggod luck with the Platinums, and I know my wifes Neon, and my Civic liked them.

Autolites have a hard electrode, and are good for long service, but I think Champions and ACs have a softer electrode giving them a performance edge for some combos in racing, but don't last as long in hard service.

Asking about plugs is like asking about oil- everyone has thier favorites and opinions, but I think everyone will agree that the Splitfires are snake oil and a waste of money.

Brad Feick

[jasonthomasfrance]

I put the Bosch Platinums +4s in my little 89 XJ. Didn't hardly notice the difference. Not for the price of 30 bucks for 6! Only thing that was kind of nice, didn't have to gap them...

[tito]

I'll have to disagree with JSeriesTruck, I've been very happy with my snake oil plugs. They've been in the truck for about 2 1/2 years with no problems although they're ready for a change now.
Had the choke get stuck on the carb and the engine loaded up so bad it wouldn't go over 25mph and finally died, (It was 13 degrees and the middle of the night is why I pushed it so hard). After getting the carb fixed, took the plugs out and cleaned them. They've worked for almost 1 1/2 years since.

Maybe it's just a mental thing, but it seems to run a little smoother with Splitfires. And maybe it is snake oil, but I figured a little hotter spark would help the engine run cleaner. At 149,000 miles I'm sure there's some oil burning going on.

Run the Splitfire design (Sreamin' Eagle brand) in both my Harleys and there is definitely a performance difference in them. Harleys are known for fouling plugs and stumbling from the carb loading up. I've never fouled a plug and if the bike starts stumbling under hard acceleration, I know it's time for new plugs. Plus, there is a noticable improvement in throttle quickness, especially off the line. I've had the same plugs in my old Ironhead Sportster for almost 2 years.

I posted a question on spark plug preferences about a month ago to see if there's a brand out there to try. Think I'll be sticking with the Splits anyway.

Tito

[Stuka]

Me and every racer I know run Autolites in our american engines (NKG's in japs). Any of the multi point electrodes or those fancy ones dont improve spark, they degrade it. They cause where spots to appear fast as well, as the spark is jumping off one small corner of the metal. When we put different plugs in a high end race engine platinums where terrible (platinum doesnt conduct electricity very well, but is a hard metal so the plugs last a long time). The split fires werent any better, as the spark jumps off a small area rather then a broad area, making the spark weaker...the engine had a hard time pulling in upper rpm's with them. (BTW: this is in a 900hp NA 460 thats in a 4x4 puller truck) This truck and the others all run the best with the standard autolite plugs.

[Puvong]

I am 100% with Stuka on this. The regular plugs will run best, but don't last that long when comparing to the platinum plugs. Because of the Platinum plugs, so today hi-tech engines can claim to replace the plugs after 100k miles. I use Platinum plugs on all of my cars, including the Jeeps and I agree that Platinums don't conduct well as the copper material, but my Jeep's ignition system had already been upgraded to the(MDS)TFI.
** I will vote NOoooooo on the SPLT fire plugs.

[coolram]

2 stroke engines seem to like Splitfires a lot more than 4 strke engines.Iv'e used platinum plugs since Bosh first came out with them($5.99 a plug then).Autolites do have harder electrodes and last longer,AC resister plugs have a tendency to break down.
Jacobs Electronics ignition book is an excellent reference for working ignitions.

[Joe H.]

I have regular old Autolites in my Waggie with the TFI upgrade. My Chero had Bosch Platinums, and I see now they could have been the cause of my chronic rich condition in that vehicle--I didn't do the TFI upgrade in it. I'm a sucker for snake oil sometimes :(

[Don S]

Originally posted by Joe H.:
My Chero had Bosch Platinums, and I see now they could have been the cause of my chronic rich condition in that vehicle--I'm a sucker for snake oil sometimes :( ..
Joe H.:.. and OTHERS...
Did you say what you intended to say? :confused:

... I installed Bosch single electrode platinum plugs in the spring of 1998 and they are still running GREAT with stock ignition.. Great Googley MoogleyGreat Googley MoogleyGreat Googley Moogley??
I just don't understand... :rolleyes:

Good Luck
CUL ;) … ds..
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[Rogue]

i was taught electricity always follows the path of least resistance soooo... it don't matter if you got 15 electrodes on your plug only one is gonna fire dont waste your money

[Joe H.]

Don S. : I'd always thought the plat. plugs were supposed to be unfoulable. It's true, they always looked good...they're still in the vehicle, two years later. I'd had problems with the motor running rich, and I eliminated all other causes--carb out of whack, power valve bad, etc. The above posts now have me suspecting the plugs IF platinum isn't a good conductor. My GW with Autolites (and TFI ignition) hasn't had a running rich problem.

[Don S]

Originally posted by Joe H.:
Don S. : I'd always thought the plat. plugs were supposed to be unfoulable. ...
Joe H.:...
I live at 550 feet of altitude in Texas but regularly drive to Colorado at sometimes over 14,000 feet. :eek:
Since 1984 I have fouled out every brand and type of spark plug I could find including Bosch. :mad:

My Carburetor is set up a little lean for Texas but it is, of course to rich for Colorado. Black smoke starts coming out of the tail pipe at about 10,000 ft. Anyhow to make a long post short… I solved the problem in the LINK below. :D
FUEL TANK ADDITIVES
http://groups.msn.com/ATexasOklahomaJeepClub/ouraycotopic.msnw

CUL ;) … ds..
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76 406 QT TruTrac 2"lift 31x10.50s been over 261 Colorado MTN Passes since '85-BRC#30093 http://www.sharetrails.org/ –Join and save your Trail
http://www.fullsizejeeps.com/jeeps/files/1963-1983-Wagoneers/elvouray.jpgJeep of the Month http://www.auburn.edu/~hawkijf/test.html
http://communities.msn.com/ATexasOklahomaJeepClub/yourwebpage.msnw ..
2003 Ouray Invasion tips ABOVE*&*Abbreviation & Acronym list BELOW
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[Ralph]

I had SplitFires in my '88 GW for about a year. I really didn't see any benefit to them, much less enough to justify the price tag.

Jeff Kennedy bought out Champion's remaining stock of Gold Truck Plugs for the AMC V8. Really beefy plugs that have taken all my MSD ignition can give them. In fact, I'm about to order another set from him: (614) 879-7283.

P.S.
I've taken these plugs out in order to clean them off. I've been running a bit rich since moving to Colorado, despite having put leaner jets in my Carter AFB. I've narrowed the problem down to the electric choke not opening as it should, perhaps because it's getting insufficient voltage. Anyway, even with the carbon deposits, these Gold Truck Plugs are beefy enough to take a good wire-brushing and keep on chugging.

[ October 24, 2002, 01:17 PM: Message edited by: Ralph ]

[Damage, Inc.]

Splitfires work great. They really do. However, they're not worth the money they want. While at a previous employer we did some studies on spark plugs, including the SplitFire.
Know what we found? The SplitFire is simply a hotter running plug. That is basically all it is. Save your self $40 and ask for the next hotter plug that's available for your vehicle. It's really that simple.

[krob725]

i'm using Bosch plat +4 plugs. yes the high dollar, four prong, wonder plugs!!!
did i notice a difference? well....yes, but the old plugs were shot.
would i put them in again? well....no.
i have had them in for about 2 years and only had to clean one plug. this was when my power valve crapped out and the wag was runnin rich.
the champion truck plugs are good and autolites are also.

krob725

[rjw]

ihave used bosch platinums in my 78 cherokee 360 and havent had a bit of problems with them the previous owner had champions in it and it ran like crap ihave had it 3years and change the plugs once has 197,000 miles on it

[Stuka]

On a side note..I have had my autolites in my 360 for 2 years now, never had toc lean them. But then I have it tuned just about perfectly. All 8 plugs are tan except one which had a tiny bit of oil build up on it (valve seal leaks a tad)

[83 WagDriver]

very interesting...Thanks for all the input, fellas.
Sounds like im getting autolite, since that seems what most of you recommend. Should I have them gapped? if so how much?

Thanks again...Mario

[J Series Trucks]

Depends on your ignition. If you are running a hot ignition like HEI, or aftermarket like MSD amplifier with a better coil, then .045 is a start. Otherwise whatever the stock gap is will be fine. You can play with plug gap (wider is better up to a point) if everything else is in good order, and you can tell a difference otherwise go stock.

Just for the record, I never said Splitfires sucked, just that they aren't what they are cracked up to be, and anyone who races will tell you the same thing-especially if they experimented and can show you the time slips. You must compare apples to apples-you can't pull a set of regular plugs with 40Kmiles on them and replace with new SF plugs, and say "Gee they run so much better" Split fire plugs actually shroud the flame kernel and prevent the propagation of the combusion from ocurring correctly. If you like them, cool, whatever. I'll guide you to the finish line with my tail lights. smile.gif (Donning Nomex) They run against the well documented fact that sparks like to jump from one sharp point to another. Some drag racers will actually file their plugs down for this very reason (although they don;t last long this way, and this is not reccommended for the street)

I've had good luck with both Bosch Platinums AND NGKs in modern motors, but all of my American V8s and my Harleys ran better with Autolites, and I've had both in very sharp states of tune where I could tell a difference- even down to 1 point of octane...