Is there any way to get noticably more power by swapping the plugs now. IE those irridium things. I was just wondering. We have 4 platinums in stock, correct?

 

Did you try the Search?

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=119907
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88626
https://acurazine.com/forums/religion-politics-18/more-idiot-protesters-99929/

 

Nope. Thanks, gonna take a look.

 

You would have 6 plugs since it's a 6 cylinder car. Not 4 and it's gonna be a PITA to change the 3 near the firewall.

 

I meant the 4 tipped platinums, even I couldnt screw up that bad.

 

Way back in college I had an Oldsmobile Cutlass (no, not the classic 442, but a $&!tty '91)... anyway, I actually had to disconnect the motor mounts (per the owners manual) and roll the engine forward with a crowbar to get to the back 3 plugs. You probably could have heard me swearing down in VA!

They had a special "nook" for the crowbar to go just for plug changing. Thanks GM

 

I installed the Bosch Platinum plus 2's (2 electrodes). I didn't see a performance gain or mileage change. Overall I am sure it is better but not noticebale. The back three plugs aren't that hard to change out. Yes it is a pain, but not to bad.

 

I thought we had the bosch platinum plus 4s already, or an equivalent.

 

Yeah we have a '97 S10 with the Vortech V6 and the back plugs look to be more of a pain in the ass than I want to deal with. Looks like it will be a good days work so I may just pay someone so I don't have to do them and waste my saturday. I hate GM!

 

i really doubt it, the stock for the 2nd gens are just single platinum NGK plugs

 

I remember hearing somewhere we had the 4s, can anyone clarify?

 

Save your money, unless your car is modified, you won't notice a difference. I'm sure Michael Schumacher would notice a difference; however, seven time F1 world champions don't drive Acura's so I would not bother.

 

Wow, "hate" due to spark plug replacement difficulty? I'm sure their are other reasons :-). If that was the case you would hate Acura and most auto manufacturers with vehicles/engines other than 4 bangers.

Most really aren't that difficult if you have the right tools and know how to get to them (plugs) etc. I remember the GM six cylinder issues like Scribesoft mentioned, worked on many - most you had to have a lift and remove from under the vehicle etc.. Just takes patients, thought, and a little dexterity (and a few bloody knuckles along the way).

I only commented due to being a lifelong "Bow-tie" (GM) guy.... I tend to "dislike" Ford myself.... Then again all manufacturers have their pluses and minuses now days. Ford could give me a GT or one of those Cobra concept vehicles any day of the week.

Cheers

 

I would not change the plugs unless you are super charging or adding nos... A plug change will not make any real difference. Add a CAI...

As plug access you guys with the 91 GMs all you have to do was remove the tire and the heat shield around the plugs and you had enough room to get at them... simple.. no engine issues.. great design!!!!

 

Actually, mine was FWD and the back 3 plugs were UNDER the cowl (far back portion of engine was almost under the windshield). Removing a tire and heat shield would not have helped. I did it as the manual (and local Olds dealer techs) recommended. Didn't take too long, but was cumbersome for me at the time.

 

I have owned japanese cars for the most part ie Honda's/Acura's, Toyota's,Subaru's, and one euro a VW GTi VR6. Never once did I have any problems with any of the above cars outside of normal maint.. However the first time we get this Chevy S10 I take it out and it leaves me stranded.

I have always disliked american car manufacturers due to them being so problemmatic. We have Chevy Vans at work and there are nothing but problems with them from brand new. I have friends that have Caddy's and brand new they are in the shop for a fuel pump or a bad computer. Fuel pumps seem to be a big problem on GM products as I know the ones in our work vans have gone bad. I have a friend with a Chevy P/U that just had to have his fuel pump replaced and a few with Caddy's I known to have theirs replaced as well.

Maybe "HATE" was a strong word to use so how about I say "Strongly Dislike". Sounds nicer.

 

I think I may be a bit biased (maybe just confused) on the like/dislike for American/Foreign car curve.

See, with my TL I expect it to perform flawlessly and not break at all. If something breaks, I get upset and wonder why they don't make a better car (nothing has gone wrong with my '05, but I did own an 96 TL 3.2 about 6 years ago which had some nasty tranny and brake issues).

I also own a WJ Jeep Ltd. When that breaks, I go to the store, buy parts, put them on and go on my way. I think I actually have a lower expectation for my DC-based car, so when something breaks, I'm pissed about the cost, but not mad at the car. I feel lucky when I go a long period without spending money on the Jeep.

In the end, I don't expect my TL to ever break. But if that happens I'll fix it and still love it. Especially while in warranty!

I DO expect my Grand Cherokee to break.. And even though I've dumped a ton of money into it, I still love it. I do the Jeep work myself, so the cost isn't as bad as bringing it to the dealer, but it still adds up. I can only imagine the cost of owning that car and having to bring it to the dealer for every issue.

Either way, I know I have higher expectations for my foreign car than my domestic.. Maybe that makes me a sucker b/c I'll let things slide on the Jeep that I wouldn't stand for on the TL. Maybe I just buy into the arguement that foreign cars are better than domestics and I lower my expectations for domestics..

 

I posted extensively on real-world tests we did with a variety of plugs - you will not see substantial power increase from ANY of them. We found that the Denso Iridium type plugs did have the least amount of misfires, which may make a difference at high RPM in race situations. But the same performance was available from "TR" series Densos with good ol' copper. Those multi electrode designs like SplitFire are hyped.

Delco has a very good multi-electrode design - they got hacked off at the claims made for the SF's, and some of their best engineers worked on their own to outdo them with REAL engineering.

There are no free gimmicks* - sorry - the flame "kernel" needs to be matched to dynamics of the intake, the swirl of the fuel-air charge, etc. This is not something that hackers can do except by chance, and without controlled testing, how would you know that any change is anything more than placebo effect?

If combustion is compromised or incomplete, you can be adding insolubles to the oil. Not good.

My advice is to stick with the factory rec, but change them out no later than 60k to ensure they do not seize in the heads.

I went with 1 range cooler Denso Iridiums (Iridia?) in my S2000 because I seldom drive the car in traffic, and the cooler plugs, thermostat, intake manifold insulating gasket (Honddata)and fan switch combine to keep the optimum spark maps intact - Hondas pull spark a lot when they heat up, and you lose power. On Hondas, it is KEEPING the power more than making more - at least in the S2K's.

*Well, there is plug indexing - but that is beyond the ken of most shadetrees, as you really need to pull the heads to do it.