Quote:
Originally posted by mighty mouse
No, you can never get too much power to the plugs. Platinum pugs will probably be just fine, I can't see the irridium plugs really being a necessity, and don't bother with multiple electrode plugs, they are a gimic to lure the unsuspecting.
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wow, mm, you start out making very good sense, then completely lose it with respect to the plugs, vis-a-vis multiple electrodes.
rider, with respect to the plug material: platinum is pretty much standard, has been for about 5 years or so on OEM plugs. platinum plugs will last anywhere from 60-100k miles, as long as no other problems exist in the engine that can damage the plugs. irridium is something new to the market since I've worked in the biz. I dont know much about it, but Id bet that unless your are looking for the ULTIMATE in performance, cost be damned, then I'd say platinum is the way to go. do not settle for anything less than a plug which has platinum on both the center wire and the side electrode.
as for the electrode configuration, multiple electrodes expose more of the flame kernel (ie the initial flame that is created by the spark) to the fuel-air mixture than do standard single electrode plugs. go into any parts store and ask to see the brochure they most likely have for Splitfire or Bosch's Platinum+4 (4 electrodes) electrode plug. There is a picture in one of these (cant remember which) that shows very simply why multiple plugs is more fuel efficient. simply put, multiple electrode plugs burn more of the air-fuel charge with each fire, thereby producing more power without using more gas. more power with each plug fire means better fuel economy. in the long run, multiple electrode plugs MORE than pay for themselves in gas savings.
as for plug wires, as long as you meet or exceed OEM standards, you are fine. and as mm said, NO, you cant deliver too much power to the plugs. what you are mostly paying for with expensive wires is either long lasting materials or (for performance geeks looking for every last hundredth of a second in the 1/4 mile) the most amount of energy that the wires can deliver to the plugs (ie least electrical resistance). basically any of the name brand wires will do you fine. hell, even most of the super cheapie brands are as good or better than OEM. just look for a lifetime warranty and you can pretty much forget about them for as long as you own the car.