Spark Plug Recommendations
- Thread starter ab777
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volaredon
Member
Champion copper. Nuff said
darth_linux
Senior Member
I may get some shade for this, but I'm running a set of AC Delco R43S. They are performing well.
ANY spark plug will "spark", and that is all that's needed for things to work.
There is a "rare car" YouTuber in Michigan, who reviews various cars of different makes from the later 1960s to earlier 1970s. In a review he did of his '72 New Yorker, he noted that with AC plugs, the car always started well (and better with ACs than other brands), so he always put ACs in all of his Chryslers for that reason. BTAIM
SO . . . the difference in brands is just how long they'll last between checks/re-gappings.
My first experiences were with the OEM Champions in our '66 Newport. That became the benchmark of sorts for my later experiences. They would easily last as long as other brands, but I could dress the contacts with a point file and get them to about 25K miles before they needed replacement.
On our then-new '69 Chevy pickup 350 4bbl, I needed to check the factory AC R44 plugs every 6 months or I'd head dad complain about something related to how it ran, especially after it got some miles on them. So I had to check/re-gaps them every 6 months or so. Durability seemed to be less than the Champions.
THEN, one Christmas, about 1971, I got a Magic Santa coupon to the local Ford dealer. "What am I going to use THAT for as we had no Fords?" So, I settled on "spark plus" for the Chevy! I went through my catalogs and found a good cross for the R44 plugs. The equivalent of the R44S plug, maybe R43S. So I got them, gapped them, put a drop of oil on the threads, and put them in. They seemed to do well and I forgot about them . . . until I realized that it'd been about 8 months since dad had mentioned how the pickup was running, so I asked. He said all was well, so I pulled the plugs and they were GREAT, as to gap erosion and such. Gap was good, so I tweaked the gap some and put them back in! Six months later, the same, so my "look-see" time extended quite a bit! When they were needed, again, MORE Motorcrafts went back in. Apparently, the materials in the center and round electrodes were of harder materials than what AC was using.
When I got my new '77 Camaro Type LT 305, I kept the OEM-production ACS in it until past 50k miles with no issues. HEI ignition. THEN, one day I noticed that a friend was putting some Motorcraft plugs in his '79 Corvette 350. I cautiously questioned that plug brand choice. He looked up and smiled, noting that he got much better durability and such with them than the AC plugs, for many years. So that was what he used. I recounted my experiences with Motorcrafts and he agreed. So I felt better about my experiences when I got plugs for the Camaro.
In the later 1980s, I happened upon a NGK pamphlet at a local Toyota dealer, detailing the virtues of what was an OEM version of the NGK V-Power plug. I discovered a direct cross with an OEM Toyota plug for my '80 Newport 360. As soon as I started that engine, with the new plugs, it sounded different and was more eager off-idle. So that became my new go-to spark plug for my cars. Due to the gap design more than anything else. Humongously better than the expensive Split-Fires by a long shot!!! I had been J-gapping the Champions in the Chryslers since about 1970 or so, so now I could buy plugs that already had that for a good price.
In the mean time, Champion got bought and sold a few times, came out with their copper-core plugs, and such. AC started using NGK Iridiums OEM in the later 1990s. Motorcraft is still Motorcraft. In the Dakota R/T forum, everybody in there recommended Autolites. I figured out later that they were available at discount stores, probably more than anything else. BTAIM
Heat range wise, I've run J-12Ys, J-13Ys, and J-14Ys in our 383s. The ceramics would all color light beige. No difference between the heat ranges that I could tell. I sometimes would like 1 heat range colder, for general principles and the capabilities of adding a slight bit more timing without detonation. The NGKs have wider heat ranges per number, which I feel is good.
The ONE plug I tried but did not like, other than the expensive Split-Fires, was Bosch in the middle 1970s. Seemed to work good, but the electrodes were just too soft for the long-term durability I was after.
I have spent HOURS J-gapping normal spark plugs. Point file and all! I felt it was worth it to get more of the flame kernel exposed to the mixture. The V-Power, came that way. As did the AC RapidFire plugs, which had every trick in the electrode style book on them. I put a set of them in my Camaro and they worked well too. Then came the NGK Fine Wire Iridiums with almost complete exposure of the flame kernel to the mixture. There are a couple of YouTube videos using lawn mower engines to demonstrate their fuel efficiency and "more POW" per spark. Combustion chamber design played a part in how much difference from normal plugs was actually felt by the driver. The V-Powers were claimed to burn a leaner mixture more easily, which allowed me to lean the automatic choke thermostat setting a bit.
Sorry for the length, but all of this happened over about 45 years of driving. Chry 383s, my 305 Camaro (later with a 355), and my '80 Newport 360. Plus a few others, too.
Whatever works for you (price/availability/durability/ease of getting to the plugs),
CBODY67
There is a "rare car" YouTuber in Michigan, who reviews various cars of different makes from the later 1960s to earlier 1970s. In a review he did of his '72 New Yorker, he noted that with AC plugs, the car always started well (and better with ACs than other brands), so he always put ACs in all of his Chryslers for that reason. BTAIM
SO . . . the difference in brands is just how long they'll last between checks/re-gappings.
My first experiences were with the OEM Champions in our '66 Newport. That became the benchmark of sorts for my later experiences. They would easily last as long as other brands, but I could dress the contacts with a point file and get them to about 25K miles before they needed replacement.
On our then-new '69 Chevy pickup 350 4bbl, I needed to check the factory AC R44 plugs every 6 months or I'd head dad complain about something related to how it ran, especially after it got some miles on them. So I had to check/re-gaps them every 6 months or so. Durability seemed to be less than the Champions.
THEN, one Christmas, about 1971, I got a Magic Santa coupon to the local Ford dealer. "What am I going to use THAT for as we had no Fords?" So, I settled on "spark plus" for the Chevy! I went through my catalogs and found a good cross for the R44 plugs. The equivalent of the R44S plug, maybe R43S. So I got them, gapped them, put a drop of oil on the threads, and put them in. They seemed to do well and I forgot about them . . . until I realized that it'd been about 8 months since dad had mentioned how the pickup was running, so I asked. He said all was well, so I pulled the plugs and they were GREAT, as to gap erosion and such. Gap was good, so I tweaked the gap some and put them back in! Six months later, the same, so my "look-see" time extended quite a bit! When they were needed, again, MORE Motorcrafts went back in. Apparently, the materials in the center and round electrodes were of harder materials than what AC was using.
When I got my new '77 Camaro Type LT 305, I kept the OEM-production ACS in it until past 50k miles with no issues. HEI ignition. THEN, one day I noticed that a friend was putting some Motorcraft plugs in his '79 Corvette 350. I cautiously questioned that plug brand choice. He looked up and smiled, noting that he got much better durability and such with them than the AC plugs, for many years. So that was what he used. I recounted my experiences with Motorcrafts and he agreed. So I felt better about my experiences when I got plugs for the Camaro.
In the later 1980s, I happened upon a NGK pamphlet at a local Toyota dealer, detailing the virtues of what was an OEM version of the NGK V-Power plug. I discovered a direct cross with an OEM Toyota plug for my '80 Newport 360. As soon as I started that engine, with the new plugs, it sounded different and was more eager off-idle. So that became my new go-to spark plug for my cars. Due to the gap design more than anything else. Humongously better than the expensive Split-Fires by a long shot!!! I had been J-gapping the Champions in the Chryslers since about 1970 or so, so now I could buy plugs that already had that for a good price.
In the mean time, Champion got bought and sold a few times, came out with their copper-core plugs, and such. AC started using NGK Iridiums OEM in the later 1990s. Motorcraft is still Motorcraft. In the Dakota R/T forum, everybody in there recommended Autolites. I figured out later that they were available at discount stores, probably more than anything else. BTAIM
Heat range wise, I've run J-12Ys, J-13Ys, and J-14Ys in our 383s. The ceramics would all color light beige. No difference between the heat ranges that I could tell. I sometimes would like 1 heat range colder, for general principles and the capabilities of adding a slight bit more timing without detonation. The NGKs have wider heat ranges per number, which I feel is good.
The ONE plug I tried but did not like, other than the expensive Split-Fires, was Bosch in the middle 1970s. Seemed to work good, but the electrodes were just too soft for the long-term durability I was after.
I have spent HOURS J-gapping normal spark plugs. Point file and all! I felt it was worth it to get more of the flame kernel exposed to the mixture. The V-Power, came that way. As did the AC RapidFire plugs, which had every trick in the electrode style book on them. I put a set of them in my Camaro and they worked well too. Then came the NGK Fine Wire Iridiums with almost complete exposure of the flame kernel to the mixture. There are a couple of YouTube videos using lawn mower engines to demonstrate their fuel efficiency and "more POW" per spark. Combustion chamber design played a part in how much difference from normal plugs was actually felt by the driver. The V-Powers were claimed to burn a leaner mixture more easily, which allowed me to lean the automatic choke thermostat setting a bit.
Sorry for the length, but all of this happened over about 45 years of driving. Chry 383s, my 305 Camaro (later with a 355), and my '80 Newport 360. Plus a few others, too.
Whatever works for you (price/availability/durability/ease of getting to the plugs),
CBODY67
mrs49
Member
I've run E3's for several years in several different cars with no problems. Let the red X's begin
Just remember one thing, no matter how many ground electrodes a spark plug has, there is only ONE spark that will jump to ONE ground electrode at a time. The one with the least resistance of the bunch.
IF you might have a multi-strike ignition, THEN some spark dancing could happen.
CBODY67
IF you might have a multi-strike ignition, THEN some spark dancing could happen.
CBODY67
darth_linux
Senior Member
"There is a "rare car" YouTuber in Michigan, who reviews various cars of different makes from the later 1960s to earlier 1970s. In a review he did of his '72 New Yorker, he noted that with AC plugs, the car always started well (and better with ACs than other brands), so he always put ACs in all of his Chryslers for that reason. BTAIM"
Yeah, I watch this guy too and is the reason I decided to try ACs. Next time, I'll pre-order some NGK V-Powers.
Yeah, I watch this guy too and is the reason I decided to try ACs. Next time, I'll pre-order some NGK V-Powers.
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