I was looking on Jegs this morning at spark plugs for my 82 z28 Camaro w/ a 4 bolt carbed 350, and was totally blown away at how many different plugs they have for sale. I'm looking for some spark plugs that will help my gas milage/performance. After doing some research here on ThirdGen.org, it seems that people are very happy with their E3 spark plugs. Should I get those? I'd like for some of you to give your $0.02 on spark plug selection. If you want to see the spark plugs Jegs has, heres the link. http://www.jegs.com/c/Ignition-Elect...10391/10002/-1

 

if you do a search there are tons of threads about spark plug selections.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/afte...-e3-plugs.html

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tpi/...performed.html

some people have good luck with them and other not so much. i use just the stick cheapies and my car does just fine no problems.

 

Best plugs for you application are either ac delco (copper) plugs or ngk copper plugs from my experiences. Older v8s like them. Running platinum plugs or anything like that will probably cause you problems especially if your running high compression or nos. Just my opinion.

 

I agree - just plain jane good old AC/Delco, available at any auto parts store.

 

TBI's are AC delco 45TS, I run 43TS

 

I run the AC Delco R45TS and I beleave that is the stock plug these cars came with. Cant go wrong with that.

 

R45TS is exactly what I was saying!

 

I was thinking about the E3s years back when i saw them on horsepower tv. But after seeing the problems people were having with them on this board. I chose to go acdelco. I am running acdelco platinum spark plugs and no problems. I own a 1983 tran am with the dreaded Crossfire 305, so that should tell you something. I am also runing a MSD Cap, rotor, ignition coil, and spark plug cables.

by the way they do work well in hondahs and lawnmowers

 

I really like the NGK V power, simple copper core $1.99 and they run great

 

ACDelco, NGK, Champion.

Take your pic and get the base plug. You dont need anything fancy and please dont fall for any gimmick plug.

 

whatever you do, stay as far away from the e3's as posible. theyre junk and cause more trouble and they make the car run like crap. personal experience and seen this with several different vehicles. basic A/C delcos is the way to go for sure

 

Sorry, did not mean to step on your toes. I should have read your post a little closer and thanks for the verification that R45TS are the stock plugs.

 

lol I wasnt trippin I was jus saying that is what I was trying to say buddy. I run NGK's in foreign cars and AC delco in american cars.

 

Go look around sparkplugs.com

info out the wazoo

 

NGK is better than delco or anything else champion is the worst. regular copper plugs only no platinum

ngk has something called v-power which works well

 

NGK has some good fancy plugs, but their standard NGK plugs blow, constant fail n gas foul problems, on motorcycle forums the first thing ya do is dump the stock NGKs n so many problems go away.

And most are using autolite now.

 

The stock AC delco's are the way to go for your average "modded" 305 or 350 combo. These are not F1 cars and gimmick plugs will empty your wallet before they add any significant benefits.

 

Just to elaborate upon this subject a little more, has anyone had luck using a colder heat range such as an R43TS? Lots of variables/conditions apply, I know, but thought I would ask.

 

I have owned near one hundred cars over my lifetime so far. I'm a true car nut and you can usually find approximately 7 motorized vehicles at my home at any given time. I just like old beat up cars that i can fix up and drive till I get bored and do it all over again. With that said, I long ago learned that Champion spark plugs were the ones most likely to give me trouble. NGK & Denso do the best.

What I learned the hard way, is that many manufacturers will state clearly: DO NOT USE 'Platinum' plugs in 'such and such' engine. This goes for many foriegn AND domestic products!

Splitfire's were a joke.

Iridium's have a place. I had an slight oil sipping Toyota Supra '85 that would oil foul the plugs. I dropped in the Iridiums and they cleaned those cylinders right up for the next two years of Highway 1 drifting. My '88 IROC had the same tendency when I aquired it six years ago; L98 engine was so slugish that it wouldn't even do a burnout on gravel. I dropped in the Iridiums and she may be suffering from burned valves, bad bearings and 150k thrashed miles from the previous family- but she's a sassy little b*tch once I tossed those newer gummed up Delco's in the trash bin and massaged those Iridium nipples high & tight into her heads!

Every engine runs great on the 'manufacturer engine's 'sparkies' when new. Howerver, It is my belief that our engines start becoming more need sensitive with miles and age; thus one plug won't fit all after a certain point AND after a More Certain Pronounced driving style shows up Does that make sense?

 

what irdiums did you use ?

 

I used Denzo's.

 

always been a fan of plain ngk or ac delco coppers. platinums or iridiums by both brands are good as well; those materials cost more but result in longer replacement intervals. however, for those who tweak and mod, that's not always a good idea, since tuning changes may require a different plug or cause them to get fouled before their time.

The only time that iridium or platinum need to be avoided is in forced induction motors. because they have a smaller tip to them than your standard copper, it can cause that part to get & stay hotter than a copper and possibly cause a pre-detonation situation (and with hotter than N/A temps being the norm, FI may see this happen more often)

 

Well Said, and very accurate: 1A Dan! (.....and great timing, since my super charger JUST came in today's shipping!!!)

 

I work for a Mechanic, and I can say after replacing literally thousands of spark plugs over the years that NGK, like you guys say, is one of the best.

If you have a hankering to try some new plugs, follow their and my advice and pick up some NGKs.

 

I've used AC RapidFires (interestingly, now Platinum...didn;t used to be when I started using them 10 years ago) now in 6 third gens...

Always liked them, never had an issue.

 

I take it that you're using one of the 'multi-spark boxes'? Nitro-Nicky

Post Script-*- Since you've used these long term: What gap and how long do they last (with what I'm assuming is one of the MSD 6al boxes)?

 

I run AC Delco platinums in my IROCwith no issues.

 

Re: "The Project" I took a gander at your engine size and then your quote: "No Issues". Then back to your engine size, then looked to the right at your claim "No Issues"; Then left again to 305v8- back to the right, "No Issues" Scratched my goatee with a quizical look on my face (or was that a flash of concern?) 305=No Issues?

Finally I realized that you were from Canada and I TOTALLY got it (he shakes his head in grave understanding now) (aaaahhhhhhh; he's frum 'Canada'. I get it!!!!!!!


But I can have the right to feel smug- My blower just came in the mail this week! That must mean my IROC (5.7999) will do the 1/4 mile in the low 7's if I just place the box in the back seat, won't it?

 

I just graduated from U.T.I. and what learned there including choosing the right spark plugs. It all depends on what your gona use them for and you said you wanted fuel economy stick with ac delco every manufacture spends thousands on research for there own brands don't listen to the guys saying to use any other brand they will work but in some cases problems occur the only time you can use aftermarket spark plugs is wen your building a high performance motor like on power block I have instructors at school who can back me up on this so just buy the cheap ones or you can go one step up I learned the hard way and besides most of it is just marketing its all ways good to do research

 

another thing to note - NGK does make some of the factory plugs for GM. I pulled a set of plugs out of my 97 GTP that had never been changed by the previous owner. One side had the ac delco name and part number on them, spin it around and there was the NGK name and part number. And when it comes to the LSx motors, every pro tuner and owner swears by the TR5, TR55, and TR6 plugs

 

Who would have thought there would be so much specific information on this subject; NGK's in a factory GM vehicle? what a surprise!

By the way, although it is off subject, the contributor "THE PROJECT" rebuilt his camaro bolt by bolt and has a great thread of it you can follow if you care to click into his 'info'. Nitro

 

sparkplugs.com is a great site for info and cross reff for plugs.

 

for the most part, a spark plug is a spark plug. most of the guys saying there is a difference between them are the same guys that say their car runs better after an oil change. plugs dont foul themselves, and i dont think ive ever seen any type of plug fall apart on its own. also, someone said ngk's base model plugs are junk.... thats funny, because 90% of the guys running nitrous use ngks due to their ease of reading and ground strap is ideal for melting off during a problematic tune.

my advice- just put some standard plugs in there, or maybe some platinums if you dont want to change them again for 100k miles.

 

Drop into my Virago forum

ViragoTechForum.com

Stock regular NGK's give folks nothing but troubles, just chaning to autolite fixes so many problems.

They just don't work well anymore. Like back when they were the factory stock plug in the 80-90s

But im talking the base low end NGKs that were factory stock, not the fancy NGKs which work better but cost allot more then $1 each.

 

i've gone through around 100 ngk plugs the past 3 years in my car with no issues. and yes, im talking the cheepie plugs.

 

what are the plug numbers of these bad plugs?

 

i went to the virago forum and did a search for "ngk problems". found some guys running the incorrect ngk plugs and swapping to the autolite version of the correct plug. they could just as easily fix the problem with the correct ngk plug.
plugs dont foul themselves. i think some people dont understand that and believe they foul because they are crappy pieces of junk. excessive oil or fuel will foul plugs once there is enough to stop the spark from jumping across the gap, and the plug cant clean itself of the contaminants.
for a street car, the only thing i can see adding value to a plug is platinum. the plug can be used for nearly 100k miles with it.

 

BP7ES, most try a BP6ES for one hotter, but a switch to an autolite AP63 makes problems go away.

Id say bigger problem is the choke system just add more fuel and not less air and NGKs gas fouls real easy. I use to have to carry a spare set all the time to swap out. As just a little to much choke and they were done.

But reguardless, the autolites don't have this problem.
They spark no matter what.

 

i run a br-9 ngk in my car... its like 3-4 heat ranges colder than needed n/a and non-projected tip. never fuel fouled, even hitting it with the fuel side only of my nitrous plate accidentally.