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Welcome to FordPinto.com, The home of the PCCA => General Help- Ask the Experts... => Topic started by: Henrius on August 10, 2014, 02:32:24 PM

Title: Anyone tried Irridium plugs?
Post by: Henrius on August 10, 2014, 02:32:24 PM
I couldn't believe I got more than 110,000 miles from the irridium plugs in my Toyota Corolla.


Has anyone tried them in their Pinto? I found them listed for both the 1.6 and 2.0 liter Pinto engines? I don't read of performance gains, just very long life.
Title: Re: Anyone tried Irridium plugs?
Post by: Pinto5.0 on August 10, 2014, 10:18:44 PM
I have them in my 95 Neon with a set of Nology wires. It runs smooth. Probably wont need another set of plugs in it's life.
Title: Re: Anyone tried Irridium plugs?
Post by: waldo786 on August 11, 2014, 10:19:48 AM
I used them in my daily driver Toyota Echo.  I liked them so much I bought a set for my Pinto, but I'm planning on doing a bit of work to the head so I have not yet installed them.
Title: Re: Anyone tried Irridium plugs?
Post by: chrisf1219 on August 11, 2014, 08:57:28 PM
Hi I have a set of those E3 plugs in my wagon for 8 years now great plug runs real clean 2 prong End chris
Title: Re: Anyone tried Irridium plugs?
Post by: amc49 on August 11, 2014, 10:28:19 PM
Pretty hard to buy that one, I took back almost every E3 plug in warranty we ever sold at the parts store, they usually made cars run far worse instantly or shortly after. They wouldn't even start my lawn mower, which WOULD start with the old worn plug put right back in it. The plug is a gimmick one that has no platinum or other rare metal at all, the idea of the fancy tip has been around for 50 years. The lack of heat ranges that truly fit all engines a big problem too, they make just a few fit all engines and no way can that work well.

One reason plugs last so long now is the PCM, controlling A/F ratio is what lengthens plug life so much, along with the true dropping of lead in fuel which helped as well. Basically so little fuel used now nothing left to contaminate the plug tips. Use that type plug though in an old school engine especially if still running points and the life will drop like a rock. 

Iridium plug just a more rare metal than platinum, the harder material does not vaporize as fast in use. Why they are expensive.
Title: Re: Anyone tried Irridium plugs?
Post by: dumcheesemonkey on August 13, 2014, 07:01:30 PM
im with amc. when i started working at my part store my bosses made it very clear that even though we stock e3, we "dont have any". according to them, they always got returned for making things worse. I am curious though on the iridium. ive been running motorcraft platinums
Title: Re: Anyone tried Irridium plugs?
Post by: amc49 on August 13, 2014, 11:56:23 PM
Simple enough, plats are 50-70K plugs, iridium are higher or 100K, when they came out is when you first began to hear of the 100,000 mile first tuneup as predicated by Cadillac and others of the time.

They on the contrary told us to push E3s but they came back as fast as they went out.

I look at them the same way I did Splitfire and other gimmick plugs, overpriced garbage. Dad taught me that back in the '60s while working on his 8 bbl. '64 426 wedge Mopar, he had bought the latest 'trick of the week' plug or Fire Injectors, pure crap plugs. Esentially a surface gap plug that then ran way too cool to foul. He tried to run them for like two days, came home one night and yanked them all and threw them out as far as he could in the back field. I'll never forget that.

The true spark plug improvements? The fine wire platinum (notice they rip you off now, none are finewire anymore, only a spot of metal on the end), and iridium. Double plats if you run waste spark systems too. All else out there plugwise is garbage. Bosch +2 or +4? Garbage unless car came OEM equipped with them.
Title: Re: Anyone tried Irridium plugs?
Post by: 74 PintoWagon on August 14, 2014, 07:33:25 AM
I tried E3 once what a turd they were.. :o
Title: Re: Anyone tried Irridium plugs?
Post by: 65ShelbyClone on August 15, 2014, 06:32:18 PM
The plug is a gimmick one that has no platinum or other rare metal at all, the idea of the fancy tip has been around for 50 years.

Gimmicky spark plugs have actually been around for a good 100 years at least. :o

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/118802/131376.html

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/10/spark-plug-collection-was-on-display-at.html

And that includes plugs with the exact same design as Bosch Platinum +2 and +4s. There are (expired) patents galore.

Platinum plugs last a long time, iridium plugs last longer, but none of them really offer better engine performance than a copper plug. Platinum plugs have the potential to cause preignition when using methanol fuels due to the platinum acting as a catalyst.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSdBB1vBDKY
Title: Re: Anyone tried Irridium plugs?
Post by: amc49 on August 16, 2014, 05:18:34 AM
Like they say, if the plug is new there is virtually no difference in performance in any of them unless the gimmick one throws off ignition by running too cool, the multiple points to jump from allow that. A dead stock regular plug will usually work as good as the more expensive, the only difference in plats and others is that that lasts longer.

It's an airgap with metal on both ends, other than the heat sink abilities not a whole lot to make better there.

When I had easy access to a glassbeader I commonly just recleaned old plugs to make them as good as new, it helped with the Kawasaki 3 cylinder I used to run, it was always fouling plugs out and would have cost me a fortune if I hadn't done that.
Title: Re: Anyone tried Irridium plugs?
Post by: Charlie Brown on September 01, 2014, 10:06:59 PM
We sell the Copper, Platinum, and Irridium plugs at my work, and the only thing we suggest using the Irridium plugs for is lazy people that don't want to change spark plugs anymore. BTW, for the 3000GT/Stealth, you have to take the plenum off of the motor to change the rear three plugs. Glad to see someone else is into the old Kawasaki Triples on here, got a good frind of mine that still has about ten of them!
Jeff