T Man
01-30-05, 10:38 PM
Over the years I have been tuning on my truck and also a member of thses boards I have heard a bunch of talk about the Bosch Platinum + series and the Splitfires. I have heard claims of better mileage or preformance, and I wanted to clear some things up.
1) It is phsyically impossible to have spark to all 4 (3 or 2) ground straps at once. End of story. The electricity builds up in the end of the insulated portion, until it has enough voltage to jump the gap. The spark goes the easiest route. It will go to the closest or to the the cleanest ground strap. This is the same with the splitfires The ground strap of these is split in half at the very end. The spark will ALWAYS go the easiset route. If you dont believe me, buy a plug, lay it on the valve cover, hook it up and run it.
2) These plugs aren't bad plugs, don't get me wrong. The Bosch plugs are great plugs, but not because of the multiple ground straps. Any plug that is platinum coated will be a great plug, and heres why: Everytime your plug fires it deteriorates the inside tip a little bit. The platinum resists this deterioration. The Bosch plugs are also VERY VERY good in a motor that is prone to misifre, in a forced induction, or in a vehicle with very high compression. The reason for this is the very fact that the spark has several different ground paths. If one ground strap becomes too fouled, the spark will just jump to another ground strap. In a forced induction or a high compression rato application the air is swirling around the cylinder at a higher rate of speed, thus giving more of a chance of blowing out the small spark.
3) The only other benefit is the fact that you dont have to change your plugs as often. When the ground strap becomes too fouled, then the spark will jump to another strap.
So in conclusion.
You may see a small gas milage jump, but as for preformance, doubtful. These plugs aren't bad plugs as I have stated before, but they arent "high preformance" plugs. They aren't any better in a normal engine than an AC Delco plug. I have run the Platinum +2's in the past and I did it for a couple of years. They wernt bad plugs, but worth the money? No. For my money a set of NGK plugs will do better in an engine prone to fouling than a set of PP2's. They are built and used in a lot of 2 cycle applications, and as we all know 2 cycle's are prone to fouling due to the oil mixed in with the gas.
I hope this write up has been beneficial to those who are considering some of the PP2,3,4's or the Splitfire plugs. This was done to inform those who arent as knowledeable. There was a time I didnt know much (not that I know a lot now) and I would throw parts at my truck to make it faster, most of the time with no results and too much money spent.
1) It is phsyically impossible to have spark to all 4 (3 or 2) ground straps at once. End of story. The electricity builds up in the end of the insulated portion, until it has enough voltage to jump the gap. The spark goes the easiest route. It will go to the closest or to the the cleanest ground strap. This is the same with the splitfires The ground strap of these is split in half at the very end. The spark will ALWAYS go the easiset route. If you dont believe me, buy a plug, lay it on the valve cover, hook it up and run it.
2) These plugs aren't bad plugs, don't get me wrong. The Bosch plugs are great plugs, but not because of the multiple ground straps. Any plug that is platinum coated will be a great plug, and heres why: Everytime your plug fires it deteriorates the inside tip a little bit. The platinum resists this deterioration. The Bosch plugs are also VERY VERY good in a motor that is prone to misifre, in a forced induction, or in a vehicle with very high compression. The reason for this is the very fact that the spark has several different ground paths. If one ground strap becomes too fouled, the spark will just jump to another ground strap. In a forced induction or a high compression rato application the air is swirling around the cylinder at a higher rate of speed, thus giving more of a chance of blowing out the small spark.
3) The only other benefit is the fact that you dont have to change your plugs as often. When the ground strap becomes too fouled, then the spark will jump to another strap.
So in conclusion.
You may see a small gas milage jump, but as for preformance, doubtful. These plugs aren't bad plugs as I have stated before, but they arent "high preformance" plugs. They aren't any better in a normal engine than an AC Delco plug. I have run the Platinum +2's in the past and I did it for a couple of years. They wernt bad plugs, but worth the money? No. For my money a set of NGK plugs will do better in an engine prone to fouling than a set of PP2's. They are built and used in a lot of 2 cycle applications, and as we all know 2 cycle's are prone to fouling due to the oil mixed in with the gas.
I hope this write up has been beneficial to those who are considering some of the PP2,3,4's or the Splitfire plugs. This was done to inform those who arent as knowledeable. There was a time I didnt know much (not that I know a lot now) and I would throw parts at my truck to make it faster, most of the time with no results and too much money spent.