LottaBallsCamaro

What do they do different. What about the bosch platinum +4's?

Black Beauty

+4s suck.

well they(+4s) suck for american v8s and v6s. for most 4 cylinder engines however, they are good. it has to do with the angle at which the spark is hitting the air fuel mix.

i dont think splitfires suck, but they happen to be too long for my headers so i use regular bosch platinums, cuz they are the shortest, although i used to use ac rapidfires.

[This message has been edited by Black Beauty (edited May 20, 2001).]

Guest

Overpriced autolite plug.... .40 for the plug, and 4.55 for marketing fees. I'll stick to AC or NGK thank you very much.

Vader

LBC,

SplitFires probably don't "suck", and they likely don't "blow" either. In other words, they are really no better nor worse than a "conventional" spark plug, so why spend extra money for something that has no gain.

Millions of man/hours of research and development have been invested in the present evolutionary phase of the spark plug. If pressing a split end in the outer electrode were such a great advantage, you would see that design on aircraft plugs and every other brand of automotive plug. You would also discover that moving the spark all over the combustion chamber is not a good thing. The entire reason that people INDEX their spark plugs in maximum=performance engines is that it is critical to have the spark in a controlled and consistent location. Allowing the spark to wander all over the face of a wide or split outer electrode is contrary to that theory, and also contrary to the theory of having a small center electrode like you'll find on true platinum-cored plugs.

The SplitFire design has been in the public realm for more than seven years, and if it were "all that", everyone else would be using the idea now that the patent has expired. If you can get them on sale for 99¢ then by all means get them if that's what you desire. Otherwise, the cost differential probably doesn't justify the difference.

Platinum electrodes, however, are a completely different story. True platinums (not platinum clad steel like some plugs) are a definite advantage for wear and reliability, and consistent spark location.

For the same reasons listed above, I feel the Bosch 4+ plugs are even less desireable. It would be freakin' near impossible to predict the spark location and flame kernel travel with that plug. To me, they are in the same category as oil additives and magnetizers on fuel lines - they sound good on paper using circular logic, but the science doesn't support the theory.

But that's just my opinion...

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Later,
Vader
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"Fear is how I fall, Confusing what is real..."
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Jester

Because they do suck. So do the +4's....completely useless gimmicky garbage.

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Red Devil

I'm a big advocate of the regular Bosch platinum. Don't like anything else except for AC Delco.

V, sure the +4 things are good! You just have to cut 3 electrodes off!!

Edit:grammer
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"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear."

-Thomas Jefferson

[This message has been edited by Red Devil (edited May 20, 2001).]

zippy

well, mostly that assumption comes from people that tried them or know people that tried them and expected a huge difference in power. they work well in everything i've put them in customer's cars or whatever. they are just expensive for what your getting. another big deal is they big hype from when they came out. it kinda killed their chances of selling later on. other than that i think they are ok. i just preferr rapidfires.

poncho9789

My dad tried those plugs in his 84 K-5 blazer and after about 10k miles the electrode were the v is melted down to nothing and caused a miss there was nothing left of the v on the plug. After that I will never own that type of plug again.

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97 formula w/6speed,cags skipshift eleminator, hurst billet pro shifter, 30#injectors,adjustiable fuel presure regulator,Moroso cold air induction,ported mass air sensor,accell300+ ignition box, accell 9000 wires, bosch platnum4 plugs,flomaster crossflow muffler,Lingenfiter 52mm throttle body,TPIS L98 SuperProfile cam,Crane 1:6 full roller rockers,Edelbrock subframe connectors,Edelbrock strut tower brace.

Other car is a 89 GTA w/700r4w/stage 2 shift kit, corvette servo, B&M mega shifter, TPIS bigmouth intake, TPIS large tube runners, TPIS 52mm throttle body,Edelbrock ported centerbolt heads,LT1 24# injectors,GMPP LT4 hotcam,CompCams Pro magnum roller rockers,Edelbrock headers, flowmaster crossflow muffler,MSD 6A, accell coil, bosch platnum plugs, this car is currently under rebuild and restoration.

Andy89RS

I used Splitfires once. Never again. After about 6000 miles they were foul and I had a noticable miss. I've also had a set of Bosch Platinum in my engine for waaaay too long. The platinum electrode was burned away almost 1/8" into the insulator, but the engine still ran smooth. That plus the fact that they are nice and short for good header clearance helps...

Matt87GTA

The only reason people think plugs with multiple spark paths (ie. +4's and Splitfires) are better plugs is because they do not understand electricity. Just remember that electricity can only take one path at a time and it will be the one of LEAST resistance. Just think about it and you'll understand why those types of plugs are a complete rip off.

Laterzzzzzzzzzzzzz

P.S. Now that you are armed with that knowledge, think about what kind of a rip off the Splitfire dual core wires are ....... .

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Matt

1987 GTA L98 MD8 GW6

"Stop Lights timed for 35Mph are also timed for 140Mph"

[This message has been edited by Matt87GTA (edited May 21, 2001).]

Black Beauty

hes basically saying that after the first spark, the other tips will have deposits on them automatically making that first electrode, teh ONLY one that will ever be used, cuz it will always have the least resistance.

JoelOl75

The only good thing about a platinum plug (not +4) is after you shave all the skin off your hands to get them in there, you should never have to do it again until it's time to rebuild the motor.

As for horsepower, a good ol AC with a cut back electrode will give you about 1-2% more hp. They don't last long, but basically the money you wasted on a conventional "special" plug could be better spent anywhere else to make power since on a street car the most gain you will ever get from a superior (cut back) plug you can never even feel. Even a dyno could have trouble telling the diff without repeatitive runs/averaging.

vic_V8

I owned split fires for a day, I only had time to change a few spark plugs friday night. The Split fires didn't even fire. I returned them and for 22 dollars less got Ac delco. Now I have Ac delco plugs (Had them originally too) and Accel super stock plug wires. runs great

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late model 91 rs
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vic_v8@yahoo.com

ws6transam

I got to tour the Roush Industries facility a few years ago (March, 1995) and saw their Dyno farm: 19 dynos were running at the same time. I asked the facility manager who was conducting the tour if they had ever tested Splitfires or Slick 50. He said yes, and that compared to new conventional plugs and conventional motor oil, they saw "no measureable difference".

TomP

I've run Split's every year since I got the car in '94... except for once when I was troubleshooting something and grabbed some Accel U-grooves. I never had a problem with the Splitfire's electrodes melting or plugs fouling or getting oil-soaked or...

And I think it's because Splitfire might not have the exact heat ranges nailed down... or you guys were handed the wrong heat range over the parts counter. There's evidence comparing the AC part #'s to Splitfire part #'s (at least for the F-body's V6 motors- 2.8/3.1 V6) that for 1988, Splitfire recommends a plug that's one heat range colder than that of GM's recommendation. For some reason, with the 2.8/3.1, GM went to a hotter plug with a "special design" in 1988- Splitfire still recommends the same plugs from '87. A cooler heat range would cause an oil-soaked plug. If Splitfire did the same thing with other cars...

The thing I like about the Splitfires is that because of the split elecrode, the plug takes twice as long to wear down. Yeah, I know the spark doesn't split in half (like most average consumers think), but since it takes the shortest path, there's two electrodes to wear down. Plus, the point of the Splits are to expose more of the flame to the air/fuel mix- sort of like cutting plugs.

Anyway I use 'em because of the wear idea, and because I like to... it's one of those personal preference things.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
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MRZ28HO

I totally agree with Vader, the +4 are not a good design (IMHO). I ran these plugs in my LT1 since I installed my headers (~6 months ago or ~26K miles). I recently replaced them with AC-Delco platinum OE plugs, man what a difference. The car runs alot smoother and no longer "hunts"/hesitates in 6th on uphills at 1500 rpms. I also noticed that the +4s electrode was burnt below the ceramic, which was the cause for misfiring in higher gears at low rpms. The grounds are almost parallel in height to the electrode, no gapping needed. Don't get me wrong, I recommend Bosch's Platinums, but I also recommend OE's like the AC-Delcos (Motorcraft for Ford, Mopar for Dodge/Chrysler/Plymouth, Bosch for Euros and NGK for Asian). Those are good designs and the intended engine was design with those in mind.

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George P. Lara
3rd Gen, 4th Gen
SCCA, SCFB, SC3GFB

IROC KID

My brother used the +4s in his ***** and they were junk,the platinum bosch plugs are good although,i run a/c deldo in my iroc.

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If it aint a V-8 that $hit aint fast!,unless its a GN,lol!

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