Best Type of Plugs

[LJ11194]

So, what are the best type of plugs for a Chrysler 5.2L V8 Magnum engine? (It was used in Ram trucks like mine as well as Grand Cherokees, Vans, Dakotas and Durangos) It has either Autolites or Champion copper plugs stock and I’ve been recommended NGK Irridium for the best performance, others have told me to get Bosch, but are either of these worth the price? Others still have told me that the stock coil isn’t powerful enough for the irridium plugs to really make a difference. If a cheap set will do just as well, I’d like to save the money of course. As far as I can tell, these engines don’t respond poorly to non-OEM plugs like a Honda would, so does it even matter?

Topic

[Michele Pensotti]

Hi, about iridium plugs I can say this; they do not need more powerful coil to run, in fact it’s quite the opposite, because with this kind of plugs the spark needs less energy to jump between the electrodes.

This is because of the central electrode pointed shape.

This uses the same principle of the lightning rods; they are made as very thin and long rods because if a lightning is formed and needs to discharge on earth, it will always chose the path of least resistance, and that’s the rod, not (for example) your roof or antenna, or whatever sensible property which could be damaged by the lightning.

They are made out of iridium because having a thinner electrode they would last less, and iridium is much more resistent than copper or steel, and thus it compensate for the higher wear of the thin electrode.

So in my experience, if you have a marginal ignition system which doesn’t deliver enough energy to the plugs, using iridiums makes it better ’cause it better uses the available energy.

Hope this helps! 🙂

Live long and prosper (and stay dirty!)

10nico

[Lord Ihcalam]

i use E3 because they dont foul out in my massively oil burning engine. NGK are great plugs though i run a set in the saturn cause its picky about what it likes. it all depends on the condition of your engine what you do with it and your budget.

[college man]

I would use champion copper.Thats the OE plug.

[LJ11194]

Thanks guys I’ll go with the NGKs I think

[dave]

I always recommend to my autozone customers that they purchase the OEM plugs that came with the vehicle. Here is the general brake down:

GM = AC Delco
Ford/Lincoln/Mercury = Motorcraft or Autolite
Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep = Champion
European = Bosch
Asian = NGK or Denso

The theory behind this is that the vehicle rolled off the line with these plugs. The engines were engineered with these plugs. If you put in something different, you will get unexpected results. For example, never put bosch plugs in an american vehicle because it will run craptastic. I would not recommend putting NGK’s in an american vehicle.

Although it is possible, I would advise not gaping any plug that is not copper. Take what you get out of the box.

Use a spark plug socket if possible to install your new plugs; they are thin walled so they can get into tight clearances. Also, the rubber boot inside will not damage the electrical contact.

Use anti-seize on the spark plug threads in effort to prevent bad things from happening 100,000 miles from now when you need to replace them again. (broken plug or damaged threads for example)

Use dielectric (boot grease) on your plug wires to improve electrical contact, reduce unwanted resistance and to prevent electrical arcing.

[LJ11194]

I ended up getting Autolite platinums. They were less than half the price of the NGKs. People on the Dodge forum seem to like both NGK and Bosch in these engines but there are those who like the stock ones as well. Another thing many people said was that Champion are junk these days, despite being the OEM plug. Seems their quality has degraded over time. The guy behind the counter recommended Autolite as well.

[Lord Ihcalam]

plug quality and type like a lot of parts are dependent on engine condition and what you use it for.

but yeah i had a chevy mechanic tell me to not use anything but Delco plugs in my GMC. that was before the E3 came out though.

[LJ11194]

Well this is a high mileage engine (260k as of this week) and it’s driven at least 30,000 miles a year.

I’ve also always heard not to put anything but Delco in a GM, but for other brands there seems to be a debate and for every person that says to use the OEM stuff, there’s someone who says you can do better.

[Lord Ihcalam]

you can. OEM usualy means that the company that made the part put in the cheapest bid. this model year it might be autolite, next year could be champion. again its about maximizing profits. i dont think there are too many auto manufacturers out there today that actually care about a car making 10+ years of life

[LJ11194]

So, it had Autolites in it. Copper though. So, moving on to pressing matters, I was only able to do 4 of them. Not only have I all but run out of daylight, the 4 boots on the right side of the engine will NOT come off. I spent a good half hour just pulling on one of them and made no progress.

1. How can I get them off without damaging anything?

2. How am I even supposed to reach the ones under the brake booster?! My hand only fits back there enough to hold the boot. I don’t see how I’m going to get a socket wrench in there.

3. How bad would it be if the vehicle was driven with the mismatched plugs? I took it around the block and it seems to run alright (still misfiring a bit which is what I’m attempting to fix) but what about driving it a long distance? If I can’t get it done tomorrow, my dad still has to drive it to work Monday and Tuesday at least. (100 miles round trip each day)

[college man]

how many miles on this truck? You may need to put a set of wires on
the truck.Also The platinum plugs may not run right in this motor.
They may run right at first but after 3-5k you may start getting rough
idle and hesitation.Take those platinum plugs back and get the champion
copper plugs and a set of wires.here is two links to help you.Put dielectric
grease in the boots for next time removal.

http://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen-durango/212456-need-advice-removing-spark-plug-wires.html

http://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen-durango/208845-cap-and-rotor-change-out.html

[LJ11194]

260k. It’s got brand new wires, cap, and rotor already. I put dielectric grease in the boots too.

I’m using AP5224s which are copper core with a platinum tip. According to various sources on various forums, this is the same as the Champion truck plug. Now I’m concerned about the gap as some say that you should gap them differently than spec. I didn’t mess with the gap at all, as the stock is .040″ which is what’s recommended for this engine. I’m going to keep them and if in a few thousand miles, my idle gets bad, you’ll be the first to know and I’ll go buy Champions.

I still need to know, will having half full copper and half the platinum tip ones cause any problems for a couple hundred miles? If we had another vehicle I wouldn’t even try, but we may have no choice.

[LJ11194]

Disregard that, I got all 8 done. The one in the back under the brake booster, required two extensions, a breaker bar, and some universal joints to get out but I was able to do it.

And what to my wondering eyes should appear, but.. An Autolite double platinum?! The rest were Autolite coppers. Strange that it was the hardest one to get to…

Oh, and it still sounds like it’s knocking and missing at idle. No longer misses under load, though. (Or at least the CEL isn’t flashing) To recap it has new cap, rotor, wires, and new plugs. Most of the old plugs were spectacularly bad, some were caked full of carbon. But I’m not getting an appreciable improvement here.

[college man]

post some pictures of the plugs.

[LJ11194]

Will do. For now I should add that I can feel the knocks in the steering wheel and there’s a noticeable vibration inside. Only when idling in park. In drive, it goes away, making me suspect it isn’t really spark knock. Shakes a little bit when the TCC is locked up as well. Motor mounts?

[Author]

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