Bosch Platium Spark plugs?

Got a 200 sl1 and Saw these on sale at my local Canadian Tire for 4 bucks
off a package of 4. I tried them out and defiantly an improvement in torque
and smoother acceleration (5 speed manual and tons of hiway driving).

I should also note I changed my PCV valve which was grungy and oily so maybe
that has some influence too....


Any long term implications of keeping these things for 35000 to 50000 KM?
do they ruin valves, piston score etc? What about fuel Consumption?


Thanks for any input

In article <OH8tc.172331$0qd.95266
@twister01.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com>, says...
> Got a 200 sl1 and Saw these on sale at my local Canadian Tire for 4 bucks
> off a package of 4. I tried them out and defiantly an improvement in torque
> and smoother acceleration (5 speed manual and tons of hiway driving).

Yeah replace any old worn out plug and you would get that. Bosch plugs
in my experience have been nothing but crap in the long run. The
platinum slides down and sometimes falls out and they also foul out
easily. Best bet is to get autolite platinum or ac delco.

> I should also note I changed my PCV valve which was grungy and oily so maybe
> that has some influence too....
>
>
> Any long term implications of keeping these things for 35000 to 50000 KM?
> do they ruin valves, piston score etc? What about fuel Consumption?

Platinum plugs are supposed to last 100k "miles" and cause no damage to
the engine unless the platinum falls out of those "bosch" plugs then
yeah you'll get damage.

> Thanks for any input
>
>
>

I knew a search would come up with something.

http://www.deathstar.org/~flash/bosch.html

This guy seemed real happy getting new plugs from bosch. I'd be happy to
get my money back rather than more frigg'n crap. I need to take pics of
the ones I got sitting on a shelf. I know other people that have had
problems with bosch plugs. I dont think bosch has been in any hurry to
correct anything.

I've owned my Saturn for 11 years now, and have witnessed a good number of
parts dyno tested (on almost a hundred cars), and have to say this -

The only way any spark plug is going to make a difference in a
naturally-aspirated Saturn motor is if the old ones seriously needed
replacement, or there was something wrong with them. That's just my
opinion, but it's based on what I've seen.

FYI - you can see several hundred Saturn dyno runs in the dyno archive at
http://www.saturnperformanceclub.com.

Lane [ l a n e @ p a i r . c o m ]
---
Visit my Saturn Car Audio and Performance Page at http://www57.pair.com/lane



"Canaan Apollyon" > wrote in message
.cable.rogers.com...
> Got a 200 sl1 and Saw these on sale at my local Canadian Tire for 4 bucks
> off a package of 4. I tried them out and defiantly an improvement in
torque
> and smoother acceleration (5 speed manual and tons of hiway driving).
>
> I should also note I changed my PCV valve which was grungy and oily so
maybe
> that has some influence too....
>
>
> Any long term implications of keeping these things for 35000 to 50000 KM?
> do they ruin valves, piston score etc? What about fuel Consumption?
>
>
> Thanks for any input
>
>

Someone mentioned 100K miles plugs. Does Saturn still use aluminum heads?

I wonder how easy a spark plug will come out of an aluminum head after 100,000
miles? Will they come out with or without the threads?

James

Yes, the heads on the S-Series engines have always been aluminum.

If the plug is put in using anti seize compound, when the motor is cold, and
tightened to the proper torque spec, I'd assume it would come out without a
problem.

Changing plugs is so easy and the NGKs that the dealer sells are so
inexpensive, I take 5 minutes and change them out once a year. Costs less
than $10 and don't have to worry about wear, longevity, or the issues you
mentioned.

Lane [ l a n e @ p a i r . c o m ]
---
Visit my Saturn Car Audio and Performance Page at http://www57.pair.com/lane



"James1549" > wrote in message
...
> Someone mentioned 100K miles plugs. Does Saturn still use aluminum heads?
>
> I wonder how easy a spark plug will come out of an aluminum head after
100,000
> miles? Will they come out with or without the threads?
>
> James

In article >, -NOSPAM
says...
> Yes, the heads on the S-Series engines have always been aluminum.
>
> If the plug is put in using anti seize compound, when the motor is cold, and
> tightened to the proper torque spec, I'd assume it would come out without a
> problem.
>
> Changing plugs is so easy and the NGKs that the dealer sells are so
> inexpensive, I take 5 minutes and change them out once a year. Costs less
> than $10 and don't have to worry about wear, longevity, or the issues you
> mentioned.
>
> Lane [ l a n e @ p a i r . c o m ]
> ---
> Visit my Saturn Car Audio and Performance Page at http://www57.pair.com/lane
>
>
>
> "James1549" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Someone mentioned 100K miles plugs. Does Saturn still use aluminum heads?
> >
> > I wonder how easy a spark plug will come out of an aluminum head after
> 100,000
> > miles? Will they come out with or without the threads?
> >
> > James

Virtually all quality plugs come with chrome platting so they arent
often hard to remove even without anti seize thought i still use it. I
mentioned 100k plugs and 100k is pushing it so let me rephrase that.
Platinum can last "upto" that long but I suggest replacing double
platinums at 80k and wires at every 40k.

I did plugs recently on my 97SL2 - used the NGK's from SPS. One model was
slightly warmer and the other slightly cooler. Do you remember what that
refers to and or what it means related to performance?

I've got the slightly cooler 6953's and the only difference (which could be
various technical points and or my imagination) is that it feels like the
timing is a little retarded when the car is not up to operating temp.

I've noticed over the years the intermittent and slight loss of power (like
when you switch on the AC) and have never figured it out. It's not
detectable under normal driving - I'm talking a full throttle 3rd gear
scenario on a freeway onramp where you're putting 100% load on the engine.
I've read a stretched timing chain can retard the timing, but I'm thinking
it would be a constant and not intermittent condition. Still a pretty
amazing little motor with 116 cubic inches, 90,000 miles and my lead foot.


"Lane" -NOSPAM> wrote in message
...
> Yes, the heads on the S-Series engines have always been aluminum.
>
> If the plug is put in using anti seize compound, when the motor is cold,
and
> tightened to the proper torque spec, I'd assume it would come out without
a
> problem.
>
> Changing plugs is so easy and the NGKs that the dealer sells are so
> inexpensive, I take 5 minutes and change them out once a year. Costs less
> than $10 and don't have to worry about wear, longevity, or the issues you
> mentioned.
>
> Lane [ l a n e @ p a i r . c o m ]
> ---
> Visit my Saturn Car Audio and Performance Page at
http://www57.pair.com/lane
>
>
>
> "James1549" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Someone mentioned 100K miles plugs. Does Saturn still use aluminum
heads?
> >
> > I wonder how easy a spark plug will come out of an aluminum head after
> 100,000
> > miles? Will they come out with or without the threads?
> >
> > James
>
>
>

Canaan Apollyon wrote:
>
> Got a 200 sl1 and Saw these on sale at my local Canadian Tire for 4 bucks
> off a package of 4. I tried them out and defiantly an improvement in torque
> and smoother acceleration (5 speed manual and tons of hiway driving).
>
> I should also note I changed my PCV valve which was grungy and oily so maybe
> that has some influence too....
>
> Any long term implications of keeping these things for 35000 to 50000 KM?
> do they ruin valves, piston score etc? What about fuel Consumption?
>
> Thanks for any input

Unless your original plugs were shot or defective, there is
no reason that the Bosch plugs should have made any
significant difference. With OBD-II compliant systems, any
significant misfiring should be detected. If youi didn't
have a check engine light before replacing the plugs, it is
unlikely you had a misfire problem - i.e., the plugs you had
before were doing all they could. New plugs couldn't do any
more. I have had problems in the past when I changed brands
of plugs, becasue the replacements were not of the correct
heat range, or had the wrong resistance value. Persoanlly, I
now stick with the plugs that were original equipment or
specifically recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. I
learned this the hard way on a Honda. OE plug were fine. I
installed Autolite Platinum Plugs (the ones Autolite
recommended, not Honda)and got a check engine light within a
day. I cleared the code several times, but finally changed
to AC Rapid Fire Plugs (the one recommended by AC, not
Honda). Within a day, check engine light was back. I finally
got the NGK plugs specified by Honda - no check enigne light
ever again. I have also been warned that Fords don't like
the Bosch plugs. I've never tried them, but given the low
price of plugs, I plan to just stick with the OE type.

Regards,

Ed White

Jonnie Santos wrote:
>
> I did plugs recently on my 97SL2 - used the NGK's from SPS. One model was
> slightly warmer and the other slightly cooler. Do you remember what that
> refers to and or what it means related to performance?

Hotter or colder mean literally that. Hotter plugs have tips
that get hotter as the engine warms up. Colder plugs have
better heat conduction properties, so the tip is cooler.

This was more important in the past when the spark was
weaker. A hotter plug is less likely to foul (the depositis
burn off), but it is more likelt to cause pre-ignition
(knocking). A plug that is to cold might lead to missing -
particaulrly in the old days when ignition systems were much
wealer than today. Temperature range can be critical in
racing engines that run for extended periods at high power
levels. Plugs that are too "hot" can get so hot that they
can cause severe preignition. Plugs that are too cold can
foul out at low speeds.

When you are talking about high perfomance engines that are
at the edge of the performance envelope, a lot of weird
things are done with spark plugs (minor changes in heat
range, indexing, etc.). FoOr street cars most of these sorts
of fine changes would be undetectable.

See

http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/sparkplugs.html
http://www.tpub.com/content/construc...s/14273_64.htm
http://www.densoiridium.com/heatranges.htm

Regards,

Ed White