Vote! EVERYONE! (Spark plugs)

Give me your opinion. I've heard a bit of everything now. I hear a lot of people that say platinum plugs are bad for the neon. I hear a lot of people that like a good 'ol mild copper plug. And I hear a lot of people that like the platinums, iridiums, etc. Let everyone know your opinion from experience and vote!

Copper is a much, much better conductor of electricity and heat than platinum.

Platinum only has 15%-20% of the conductivity of copper.

The platinum plug may run well for awhile, but you don't get the money out of it. Why waste your money? Just to say I have "platinum" plugs in my engine.

Stick with the stock champions or the NGK copper plug.

When my daughter bought her Neon used, it had new Bosch platinums plugs in it. Shortly after it developed a miss that fresh Champions solved. It's probably not a bad idea to put in new Champions fairly often, but they're so EASY to change on this car and even cheaper than an oil change - why do anything else?

My limited experience with the Bosch platinums (on this and another car) is that they're crap.

The platinum plug may run well for awhile, but you don't get the money out of it.... Why waste your money? Just to say I have "platinum" plugs in my engine.

A lot of people have the impression that Platinum throws out a clean, hot spark as well as having longevity... obviously there is a misconception with poeple who believe what they are told. I have a hard time dealing with why Bosch charges MSRP of $6-$10 for the +4's though...

platinums last a long time, that is why people use them. have you ever changed plugs in an LT1 camaro or 97 chevy pickup? that is why they use platnums, so you dont have to do it for 50,000+miles. on the neon, it takes 10 minutes! run the coppers, ngk are a better brand. personally im running the ngk iridiums because im making lots and lots of boost, and i get blow-out on the coppers

Go with Champions.They are the best ones for Chrysler products

Bosch spark plugs are only good for European cars only.

Bosch spark plugs are only good for European cars only.

Okay well this post was fairly old but thanks for the reply man.

And yes, I can add myself to the heap of people who are against platinums in the neon, from MY OWN personal experience... it hit 19 degrees here the other night, for the first time since I put the +4's in my car (about 8000 miles ago now), and I had to try 4 times to start it... I got sputtering and everything else getting misfires up the ass trying to accelerate. Changed plugs out with NGK coppers, and runs like a dream. Too bad this is the only forum that really seems to push the technical data behind the conductivity of metals (like how much of a drag platinum can be). I think there should be more awareness behind the "tune-up" gimmick with these plugs.

Well ok, since this post has seemed to be brought back to life out of nowhere, I have a similar question:

What comparison does Iridium have to copper? I have heard that Iridium provides a much more efficient spark, but nothing official, and a lot of people around here don't seem very familiar with an NGK Iridium compared to a copper... any thoughts?

What comparison does Iridium have to copper? I have heard that Iridium provides a much more efficient spark, but nothing official, and a lot of people around here don't seem very familiar with an NGK Iridium compared to a copper... any thoughts?The iridiums have a proven track record on the neon and are very comparable to the stock champions. They tend to wear out a bit quicker than the stockers. I have also heard that they are 2 ranges colder, which would be good for say a Nitrous application.

I have to try-out the champions!!!!! I have always used Platinum on my neon and they don't wear-out that fast in fact I don't remember the last time I changed mines :) , but you guys are making me wander about them, so tomorrow I'm going to run to autozone and get some champions.

I have to try-out the champions!!!!! I have always used Platinum on my neon and they don't wear-out that fast in fact I don't remember the last time I changed mines :) , but you guys are making me wander about them, so tomorrow I'm going to run to autozone and get some champions.Please post back what your platinum plugs look like. The fact is, I have heard of some people using them in their neon w/o problems. But 99% of people do experience problems with the platinums. Besides for such an easy job that takes 15 minutes, why spend the extra money for no added benefit?

Please post back what your platinum plugs look like. The fact is, I have heard of some people using them in their neon w/o problems. But 99% of people do experience problems with the platinums. Besides for such an easy job that takes 15 minutes, why spend the extra money for no added benefit?

I will take some pictures when I takem out.

You shouldn't use anything but Champion plugs in your Chrysler vehicle.

I thought everyone knew that?

Horrible performance with Bosch Platinums, hugh power increase with standard NGK's

bosch platinums are junk in the neon, i thought i had a bad coil pack after i put a another motor in my neon, but it wasnt, then come to find out that platinums are bad for the neon....thanks das2123 for the info about the plugs..it had a miss and a surge in and out under acceleration and was losing power, i put fresh set of stock champions in it and it ran like a new car, the i put a k&n cold air intake and some other mods on it now...talk about power increase..now i need a driver side axle

Horrible performance with Bosch Platinums, hugh power increase with standard NGK'sSpark plugs and spark plug wires do not add HP in the neon...

now i need a driver side axleI'd hit up he junkyard for one. You will get practice taking it out and it won't be on your car. :iceslolan

After doing an engine rebuild in my Eclipse, I had some Bosche plugs in for about 5,000 miles. Upon the removal of these plugs, one snapped in half inside the head. I never thought a company would make a product so cheap that it could fuck up your whole engine but thank God I got mine out without messing anything up. Screw Bosche! I installed NGK's right after that and was highly impressed. I will never forget the feeling of having half a plug in your hand and knowing the other half is somewhere inside your engine.

what is the correct Champion's gap?

what is the correct Champion's gap?0.035" is the correct gap.

thanks

I did put the champions in my car and don't getme wrong, but I think my platinums were the same. I didn't notice any change in the way the car idels. and when I floor it is just the same. Sorry but there is no noticeable change between the two spark plugs. It might be just my car!!!?

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/maykelcj/detail?.dir=abef&.dnm=b0e3re2.jpg&.src=ph

http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/32608518/abef/__sr_/b0e3re2.jpg?phIcHxDBra0Ygvy6

Here are my titaniums.
http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/32608518/abef/__sr_/85dcre2.jpg?phwG2wDBfALEOF7n

http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/32608518/abef/__sr_/b0e3re2.jpg?phwG2wDBFMaXgvy6
Where?

Where?

Don't you see the pictures?

Don't you see the pictures?I see this X

I see this X

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/maykelcj/detail?.dir=abef&.dnm=b0e3re2.jpg&.src=ph

Now???

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/maykelcj/detail?.dir=abef&.dnm=b0e3re2.jpg&.src=ph

Now???Now I see them...all that wasted spark :eek:

Now I see them...all that wasted spark :eek:

Are they too bad??

remember..> THEY WERE IN MY CAR FOR A VERY LONG TIME!

Are they too bad??

remember..> THEY WERE IN MY CAR FOR A VERY LONG TIME!Looks like quite a bit of the platinum was eating away. What's the gap on those now?

Looks like quite a bit of the platinum was eating away. What's the gap on those now?

I don't know how to measure the gap on the platinum 4, but they were working just fine. I'm saving them for later if I need them. I'll clean them and put them back when the champions wearout.

Spark Plugs

We also did quite a bit of testing with spark plugs on a different twin-cam Neon. At the end of one frustrating day, we learned that, on a Neon anyway, spark plugs don’t make a bit of difference.
We ran the car first with the NGK plugs that had been installed since we took delivery of the Neon several years ago. We then tested the car with a variety of supposedly “better” plugs-hotter, colder, split electrode, pointy electrode. (No matter what your poison, good plugs cost less than a couple of bucks each.) In this case, all of them produced roughly the same power: within one horsepower, plus or minus.
Unfortunately, this was two horsepower shy of where we started with the skanky factory plugs. The skanky factory plugs were quickly reinstalled. Our dyno shop swears by NGK plugs.
This is a quote from their website. I bolded the good part. Click the link to see...
http://www.grmotorsports.com/news/032005/stock-tips-even-in-stock-class-there-are-ways-to-get-an-edge-on-the-competition.php

This is a quote from their website. I bolded the good part. Click the link to see...
http://www.grmotorsports.com/news/032005/stock-tips-even-in-stock-class-there-are-ways-to-get-an-edge-on-the-competition.php

I agree :thumbsup: I saw no difference between the two of them (only in price).
From now on I'll go cheap!!!!

The copper in the stock champion sparks alot better. I have used the bosch +4's and I thought they sucked.

The copper in the stock champion sparks alot better. I have used the bosch +4's and I thought they sucked.

I never had any problems with boschs and I have always used them since I bought the car. After reading this post I bought the champions and saw no change at all.

I like the bosch 4+ my self. :evillol:

When my daughter bought her Neon used, it had new Bosch platinums plugs in it. Shortly after it developed a miss that fresh Champions solved. It's probably not a bad idea to put in new Champions fairly often, but they're so EASY to change on this car and even cheaper than an oil change - why do anything else?

My limited experience with the Bosch platinums (on this and another car) is that they're crap.
Changed plugs and wires on wife's 99 sohc at50,000 just for PM.
Used autozone wires and those bosch platinums. The next year the CEL lit up and ran poor. Took to shop to get scan. Thet said it was just the plugs ( and the wires not too good either). The stock stuff was still working fine at 50,000 so...

Changed plugs and wires on wife's 99 sohc at50,000 just for PM.Stock Champion plugs are cheap enought to change every 10,000 miles. If you believe in PM.

copper provides the best spark youre going to get BUT they wear out fairly quickly as compared to a platinum or irridium. platinum isnt as good at conducting electricity as copper BUT its negligible when you need them. they also have 2-3 times the life of a copper plug. the irridium plugs are supposed to be something like 6x harder, 8x stronger and have a 1200F higher melting point than platinum with conductive properties that are better than platinum. as for using them with nitrous, im pretty sure you can as opposed to platinums. as for copper OEM plugs in a neon, 20-30k is probably the best maintenance interval you can get. you can go more than 30k but the gap is going to stress the coil quite a bit more. 10k is way too early. you can always keep an eye on the gap if youre overly worried about it.

Yes, but platinum plugs don't last any longer in the neon than copper plugs. They may work for other cars, but we are discussing them in a neon!

I own a Neon and a Saturn and frequent several web forums and the majority say stay away from platinum. I pulled the plug on my car right after i bought it used and it had platinum plugs. It was the four prong plugs. My first thought was, How do you check the gap? My second thought was, A spark will only jump from the closest gap. So all four prongs would have to be the same. I checked them when I replaced them (waited till they started missing) and if you look at the plugs you will see dark spots on the prong that it was firing from. So I don't know if platinums are bad but I think the multi-prong( split fire, platinum 4 prong) are a selling gimmick.

I don't know if platinums are bad but I think the multi-prong( split fire, platinum 4 prong) are a selling gimmick.It's not so much a gimmick on certain cars. There are cars that can benefit from the platinum plug, but the neon isn't one of them. My wife's '00 sebring has platinum plugs for longevity, but that's because there is alot of work involved in changing the plugs. I have to take off the upper intake manifold, disconnect the throttle body, and other things, so the platinum plugs do better in her car. They aren't the +4 plug either though.

i like the ngk-p-lztr5agd or the ngk-dp-4998plztrsm -13

how hard is it to put new spark plugs in your car?

how hard is it to put new spark plugs in your car?If you can put gas in your car, you can change the plugs on a neon. It's real simple.

i was lookin at the plugs i already have. and it looks like i basically just plug in the new ones?

i was lookin at the plugs i already have. and it looks like i basically just plug in the new ones?Pretty much. Unscrew the old plugs, put a little anti-seize on the new spark plug threads and put them in there. Torque them down correctly to 120 in lbs.

After trying almost everything, I get best results from NGK copper with at least .040" gap.

Champions did not last particularly long or perform especially well in my wife's Jaguars, but I always had to put Champions in to pass smog, go figure.

Champion Coppers are the way to go.

Cheap, work the best, and will get you the same performance.

Also, anyone saying that iridiums wear out faster than standard copper plugs has got to be kidding.

ive run 4 of those plugs in a camaro before.. i know its different from a neon, but i figure its a problem related to the neon.. the neon runs cooler than my camaro.. and yet, the problems i had with the plugs were that they fouled up..


NGK copper were the best that ive used..

ive also used iridium (fouled up sorta fast)
plat +4 (it felt like i LOST a lot of power + fouled up fast..)

autolite coppers were alright..

NGK are typically good for foriegn cars. For neons, champion's copper are the best to my knowledge. The only other plug I would possibly consider would be accel.

Forgot to mention my NGK-equipped vehicle is a 1990 Suburban with a 383 stroker, Edelbrock intake, Crane cam, Edelbrock headers, fuel injection, etc.

I had very good luck with NGK's 35 years ago in my 1964 Sting Ray (still have the car). The 327's were famous for eating up conventional American plugs in about 7-8,000 miles. NGK's would last 15,000 easily. I remember that the Ferrari dealer in San Francisco would put them in all customer cars - the wide copper heat range was the only thing that would keep those V-12's running smoothly in city traffic, then accelerate cleanly once out of town!

I was directed back to NGK by my tuner, Scott Brown of Van Gordon and Brown, Claremont, California. They have a couple million dollars of OEM software hooked up to their chassis dyno, and consult with several NASCAR teams. In Scott's experience/opinion NGK's have the highest and most consistent quality of any brand.

I am running cheap NGK coppers with the gap opened from .035 to .040. Might try a little more next time.

hey sub, why are you opening the gap? any particular reason?

Wider gap = fatter spark = more power and mileage. It takes some experimentation to find the "sweet spot" for a given vehicle/ignition combination. I might try going wider next time - the plugs are only $1.99 and I change at 30,000 mile intervals.

I've used up to .065 with good results with aftermarket "hot rod" ignitions, but right now I'm using HD Delco components per Scott's recommendation.

YMMV!

the neons ignition system alternates polarity, that makes it especialy hard on platinum plugs. its copper ftw