richsteve

Hey guys I have 84 camaro with the standard 305 carb stock setup and I just replaced my old plugs with new Busch Platinum 4's that I bought at autozone. Old plugs look good and clean but worn. Engine idles smoother now and has a nice smooth acceleration but I am now noticing an engine surge when I am under heavy accelerating to highway speed. It doesn't surge in town under heavy acceleration and low speed (like from a stop.) I am hoping its bad gas but it seems suspicious since it started right after I changed the plugs. Any ideas would be appreciated.

BOTTLEDZ28

iTrader: (9)

First off IMO, those plugs are a total waste of money. You should only put the plugs in that GM put in from the factory and gap them per GMs specs. You will not notice any hp increase by using all those aftermarket plugs.

You mention the possibility of bad gas causing your problems so I assume you havent run the car in a long time right? if so then it could be a number of things.

jtsk

iTrader: (3)

Could be a fuel filter needing changed. Dirty air filter too.

richsteve

Yeah i have a new fuel filter and air filter. New cat as well. It seems to do it when the transmission shifts into 3rd and the torque converter locks up and the RPMs drop while I am still accelerating. Starts to act like its being starved for fuel. Maybe VAC sensor?

BOTTLEDZ28

iTrader: (9)

Is this a car that sat for a while without being used or were you using it prior to the plug swap? Have you checked your fuel pressure reading?

the209bnr

is this a L69 305 Powered Camaro? I have the same issue with my 1984 Trans Am. Two months after purchase, I developed a misfire and very poor performance/gas mileage, and two of the plugs covered in carbon, one of them completely and the rest looked really worn,

So I changed the stock plugs to E3 Sparkplugs, as well as changed the air/fuel filters, wireset, cap, rotor, coil, oxygen sensor, pcv valve and the a/c filter thing in the air intake and it was running like new if not better , and now i have the same hesitation/surge issue when i "put my foot down" heavily on the accelerator. Timing was set as well and it idles normally and drives around the city ok.

Any Idea on what can be happening? I ran the car out of gas a month back and for some reason it started running like new again then developed the issue again two weeks ago

BOTTLEDZ28

iTrader: (9)

If you bought parts from your local parts store i.e Auto Zone and Advance Auto then you open the door for issues like this. The parts they sell are Chinese JUNK!!! It is very difficult to track down and eliminate an issue with these cars when owners replace parts with Chinese crap.

the209bnr

MSD cap, rotor, coil. Bosch premium wireset and oxygen sensor. Fram PVC vlter, air filter, a/c filter thing in the air intake. I don't think any of these are Chinese

richsteve

yeah mine is the LG4. It has always had a slight surge when accelerating on the highway but now that I put the platinums in it is worse. strange cause it runs really good in the city and at idle. All my sensors are changed as well except my VAC sensor and throttle position. Hmmm well I will look into it further and see if I can figure it out. The old plugs showed that the car is burning lean and clean so I know its not a rich mixture issue. Good point regarding the inferior aftermarket products. I need to start getting my parts straight from GM and ACDelco

Black88Z

Im not sure what the a/c filter thing in the air intake is, are you talking about the black plastic parts under the air filter? Or the maf??

I would first suspect fuel filter if it hasnt been changed recently. Could be fuel pump flaking out. Also, the firing order may have been messed up when installing the new plug wires.

Pull out 2 or 3 plugs and see how they look. Are they white? If so, you are running lean. (this is what i suspect). If they're black, your running rich. You want them to be a light "cocoa" brown. Then you can check fuel pressure if the problem persists after changing fuel filter.

Just a few things to get you started.



--- AS FOR the bosch platinum plugs. There is a thread on here explaining why you cant use them with the stock heads. IDR the exact details, i didnt care to read the entire thing. Apparently, somebody found out the plugs would get too hot and cause misfires/preignition, causing the knock sensor to retard the timing, obviously hurting your performance big time. I installed them before reading the thread and INSTANTLY noticed a HUGE lack of power! I tore those things out, put in a/c delco plugs gapped at .40 (msd ignition + 8mm summit street-strip wireset) and after the test drive i came back home giddy with a smile from ear to ear, all my torque was back. I do NOT recommend them (at least not with our stock heads) and id advise everybody with them to put a/c delcos back, im sure you will be very happy with the results.

the209bnr

Its orange in color, it sits inside the intake close to the air filter has some sort of filter. connects from one of the valve covers through a pipe to the carburetor intake

89RS_82Z

iTrader: (2)

Bosch plugs are junk, especialy in HEI

I run A/C Delco rapid fires

the209bnr

I love E3 plugs, had them in my Monte Carlo (had a Grand National conversion) and my Honda Accord, loved the durability of them..

but if my trans cant handle them, out they will go

Stevolwevol

iTrader: (1)

Are you saying that the Boch platinum plugs purchased at auto zone are counterfeit?