well a few days ago the 'bird started acting up. low vaccumm, stumbling, no acceleration....etc. i didnt have time to work on it and i needed it done soon so i took it into the shop. now i was expecting them to find something simple. bad plug wire, timing a little off, whatever. well the "master mechanic" just called me and said that he had no idea how the car ever ran at all because i used bosch platnum plugs. he said that absolutly no GM motor will run on bosch plugs. i tried to tell him that i use bosch plugs in all my cars and they work great but he wouldnt have any of it. now i know that this guy isnt the sharpest tack in the drawer but still before i make fun of him, i have to do my homework, is there any reason why bosch plugs wont run in a GM motor? keep in mind, i gapped them properly, and i havent had any problems before....

thanks in advance for helping me to have some fun at the expense of a dumbass....

 

Some engines don't like platinum plugs for the fact that they don't burn hot enough to take advantage of them. But, I've never seen a later small block have that problem, and in fact, any car I've owned with platinum plugs in it hasn't had a problem. I think the guy is tryin to take u for some more money personally, but I wouldn't go accusing him of that based on my comments. Get some more opinions and then let him have it

 

funny you should ask him why....i had a mechanic tell me once never to put platinums in my car....wouldnt give me a straight answer as to why he just told me not to do it.

 

I know alot of people dislike them, and most people think their cars work best with normal cheapo plugs.....but what that guy's telling you is blown way out of proportion.

 

i run platinums in all 5 of our cars and they run perfectly. especially in the t/a and the mustang. our 4 bangers like them also. hes full of it...

 

Bosch platinums (especially the +4s) are gimmicks. They're overpriced and suffer from the same problems as splitfires. They're good for your average grocery getter but for performance applications I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. They cause predetonation especially in turbocharged applications due to the way the plug hotspots and are very difficult to index perfectly. Ditch the gimmick and get yourself some $.69 NGKs and you won't have any problems. Also, if you ever want to destroy a turbocharged car's engine put some bosch plat +4s in there for a few high boost runs.

 

ok. thanks for your replies. its time to burn an idiot!!!

i guess hes not all that bad though. once i had a guy tell me that if i wanted the best performance out of my car then i just HAD to run "solid rubber plug wires". LOL

 

Solid rubber plug wires huh? Yeah, I found that by using vacuum hose it save money over plug wires!!!

I have used Bosch platinums in my Z when it had the 305 in it, ran just fine. At my shop we put Bosch platinums in most cars when we do "tune ups". I think this guy is trying to tell you he doesn't know what is wrong with your car...

Is that all he told you was wrong with it? What a moron...gives us all a bad name...

 

This is why i hate mechanics....most of them are so stupid they couldnt find their way out of a closet....the best way to describe it is that most mechanics have an intelligence level mirrored only by that of garden tools.

 

In a slighlty more critical manner, 19doug90 is saying what I was thinking. That same mentality (or lack thereof) is probably why some people in the automotive service world have the opinion that synthetic lubricants are a communist conspiracy, orange antifreeze is not as good as green, and front wheel drive is an advantage over rear.

It's not that your mechanic is intentionally trying to mislead you. He just doesn't know any better.

Yes, the "designer" spark plugs are a gimmick, like Slick 50, fuel line magnets, and the intake tornado. They can even be a detriment (search some previous comments I've had on the Bosch +4 plugs). However, in a standard OHV street engine, they should run the engine. Those particular plugs may be fouled, wet, or somehow otherwise damaged, but there is likely another problem.

You could go back to his shop and play dumb, as he apparently expects, and explain that you expect a correctly running vehicle and a repair bill for the installation of eight new spark plugs - nothing more. See how rigidly he believes in his spark plug theory then.

 

I've run regular single prong Bosch platinums in my built 305 for the last two years. Runs GREAT--VERY SMOOTH :hail: :hail: :hail:

People who diss them haven't tried them. They run better than, and longer than, ACs or Champions or any other plug you care to name. Period.

 

I like that then you get to see how fast he back pedals.

 

yeah thats the reason I will never take my car to a shop unless I know someone I can trust works there. I took mine a while ago when my alternator kept shorting out ,and I couldnt figure out why.This was just after I swapped my 350 in and I had my stock 305 tbi cpu in the car .The mechanic told me the 350 was my problem and If I wanted to fix it I needed to put a 305 in. Ever since then I vowed never to go back to a mechanic.I will tare the car to pieces to fix any problem now.

 

I had/have a problem with my car where i had a severe engine vibe at high rpms....first mechanic straight up couldnt figure it out...second mechanic said it could be my engine mounts (it wasnt because of my engine mounts but they did need to be changed) and it might be my tq converter. Third mechanic was at a GM dealership and he did some work and realized that one of the plugs i had swapped (i had the engine vibe swapped the plugs and still had the same vibe felt a lot like a dropping cylinder) was busted...which it was. The GM mechanic told me he hooked it up to a scope and the cylinders were dropping almost at random??? i think he was on crack....i also asked him if he checked my fuel delivery system and my coil (trying to problem solve in my own head). He said yes to both. Took my car home....5 minutes with a multimeter and i realize my #6 injector is just about dead....THE CAR WENT THROUGH THREE MECHANICS AND NONE OF THEM FOUND IT?!?!? WTF HOW RETARTED IS THAT. I have come to the conclusion that even though as of two months ago i didnt know the first damn thing about cars i already know more then most mechanics.....in all fairness to the second mechanic i thought he was on acid at first but now i think my remaning problem (the new injector made the problem half as bad but its still there) might be my tq converter. I just hate mechanics sorry for the rant.

 

I tested all the spark plugs I had avalible one day a work and the platnum single plugs dident do as well as regular old $1.29 autolite plugs. Granted the test pressure was more then any normal engine would see. I do beleive the platnum plugs last longer but not enough to offset the cost especially since your fuel economy and power isnt going to increase.

The newer GM cars wont run on regular old plugs Ive seen it first hand more then a few times. Thats when those $1.98 platnum plugs come in handy seeing how delco plugs are $6.99 a pop.

So are you going to ask this mechanic what vacuum line fell off or what type of cap did he replace yours with?

 

thanks for all the replies. yeah this guy isnt that bright, but then agin i also just realized that his shop is sponsered by ac-delco so of course he is going to reccomend ac-delco plugs. i think a better idea would be to let him "fix" it, get a guarentee and then come back in a week when the new plugs are fouled again too. LOL.

by the way- i appriciate all of your answers regaring 8 plugs but the bird is only a 3.1. oh well, next winter i hear another 350 swap calling my name.....

 

The oddest thing i find is... if "no gm can run on platiunum" why does ACDelco make platinum plugs and some cars come with platium plugs in them. lol

 

19doug90, I had that viberation, rumble in my car and it did turn out to be the torque converter. I installed a non-lockup torque converter. I bought a kit from Art Carr to reroute the oil for the std. conv. and man is it fun to drive this car. No lock, unlock, lock, unlock BS, just smoth upshift and downshifts. What a differance.

Auggie

 

I've ran them I hated them, worse plug I ever used. They fouled every 300 miles. I switched to cheap autolite platinums and never again had the problem. I never ran them in an hei ignition though so maybe that would make a difference. I had them in a daytona

 

I have no idea why someone would put an expensive spark plug in an engine design that is 40 years old and on a good day won't see 5000 rpm???

Auggie

 

The best question to ask this guy is, "If platinum plugs are so bad for my car, then why does G.M. offer the rapid-fire plug?" Follow that with "I thought the rapid-fires were a platinum based plug that would get me 100,000 miles before my next tune-up?" Followed by, "Are you saying I shouldn't use the rapid-fire plugs either?" This should net an interesting response, lol.

 

i wouldn't say all platinum plugs are junk, just bosche. I'm not sure they may have redesigned them. When I used them the electrode set flush with the insulator and they fouled like a s.o.b. The rapid fires are great. I loved them that's all I ran in my fiero. I use standard bosche plugs in my volvo and couldn't be happier with them. I've just been burnt once by those bosche platinums and will never buy them again

 

my step mom one time took her car to the mechanics knowing the alt was about to go out and told them that she was having some charging issues and all she wants the alt replaced.
well first thing they do is notice the batt is dead, rather then charge this one up they just slap a new batt in there. they repalce the voltage regulator replace some batt wires and the starter plus head lights. now they try to give her the car back with a good bill and she was like WTF? I didn't need that stuff. they claimed that is what the problem was and it should all be solved by now and that she is good to go. she figured ok I know a little but these guys are mechanics and they know how to fix things right? so lets just trust them
well the next day she came back into the mechanic again cause the cars batt was dead. again they take the care back put another battery in and this time finally put the alternator in there and since this new batt was dead they put another batt in there and charged her for it also
well when she came to pick up the car this time she wasn't happy about being charged for a second battery and also told her since the work they did the day before didn't fix the problem and since it was work that she didn't ask them to do instead just asked them to replace the alt that she wants her original parts put back on there instead not the ones they put on. they wanted to charge to extra labor to put her original parts back on the car again even though they put them on there withotu her consent and still wanted to charge her for two batts. finally after enough bickering she ended up paying only for the alt and got the rest for free since they didn't want to take the time to take their mistake off her car so it worked out
but damn stupid mechanics

 

I'm running Autolite platinums in both my LB9 and my wife's Escort 4 banger. They work just fine, and they're cheap at Wally's. They have been in the cars for over a year now, with absolutely no problems.

With that said, I would avoid the multi-prong booteek expensive stuff. Just go with a regular single prong platinum plug.

 

only advantage I see with multiprong plugs is the plug itself might last longer OTHER then the prong's are setup on the ground side and the center electrode is positive and generally with the way eletricity and erosion works is the ground/negative side doesn't erode near as fast as the positive side
so even with multi prong units most your wear is going to be on the center electrode
the only other thing I can think of is maybe a little more resistant to fouling but even then I'm not so sure (this isn't talking about the bosch +2/+4 plugs)

though there is I'm sure a few motors that use multi prong units and that is due to the way the combustion design works. like my little rotary needs those or a surface discharge style plug. if I tried to run a normal plug it either wouldn't fit, would fit but first time the apex seal came around would chip the hell out of it or some other problem like that.
also with the surface discharge style plug it works much better with the way the plug is situated and some some motors I can see it working good. but many motors it is more harm then good I think as far as performance goes