Anyone tried these on an EA82? How about those Bosch Platinum 4's? All hype or what?

Don't waste your money. IMHO nothing works noticably better than the standard NGK plug (my personal choice).

I tried platinum plugs, but they didn't give me any performance or fuel economy boost that I could notice. Just a decent set of autolites, NGK's, etc. should work just as well as the $20/spark plug arrangements.

 

Unless the owner's manual specs an iridium or platinum plug (sometimes they do), it probably won't make that much of a difference.

Everyone is absolutely correct. As far as Subarus go anyway, platinum and iridium plugs are pointless. I put platinum plugs in my Legacy for about 3 months. Those 3 months were the worst I could ever recall it running.

 

Go to Autozone or Discount Auto Parts, get a set of NGK V-powers, spend about $6, gap them correctly, and you will have the best spark plugs money can buy for s Subaru.

 

Stephen is also correct in saying that a car that calls for such fancy plugs will indeed benefit from them and should have them. It's just a matter of engine design.

I have iridium plugs in my EJ22, EA82 and EA81. My 91 Legacy (EJ22) runs the same as it did with factory plugs. My 91 Loyale (EA82) pinged really bad and I had to retard the spark after I installed them. And my 84 Hatchback (EA81) helped it big time. There is now a noticeable power boost when climbing hills. It runs smoother also. I am sooo glad for that little extra power. But the big american trucks still try to run me off the road. :-\ So thats my experience

back when saab99 models were plentiful, i noticed an

improvement when i switched to the first generation of

bosch platinum plugs... i figured they ran hotter and didnt foul so easily on old oil burner beaters...

 

just about to put a set of NGK platinum in the ea81,

with new wires, cap/rotor.

 

will advise

In my hatch (EA81) Reg Autolites worked ok. NGK V-powers work awesome, and the bosch platinum is $0.20 more per spark plug, and there is only a *little* difference in my car. but it runs great with either NGK or Bosch (v power or regular platinum)

 

So if you want to save $0.80, or spend it, it doesn't really matter to me, as far as my car goes.

I have been running NGK iridium spark plugs for a couple of weeks in my EA82Turbo. They work great, but I am not sure how much they benefit because at the same time I put them in I also put in a MSD Blaster Coil, Magnecor 8.5mm wires, and I gapped the plugs to 0.050 inches. I ran bosch platinums before the iridiums. My car improved dramatically after I did all this. It ran smoother and it felt much more responsive.

NGK V-Power gets my vote.

New ignition coil, cap, rotor and wires should give you every bit of spark that's possible. Of course you could convert the whole system to MSD, but that gets really spendy. It's supposed to be excellent on low-end torque though.

Nathan

Thanks for the input everyone!

 

I've read that copper is the best, it just doesn't last very long. I wouldn't expect a performance boost from platinums or iridiums, just a longer, cleaner lifespan. I was thinking that the iridium's would be good for someone who doesn't like doing maintenance on their car. Or people like myself who tend to put it off for too long. I was curious because I saw Iridium Denso's going for $10 at http://www.drivewire.com.

 

Rock on!

This is correct. If you were to get platinums or iridiums, get NGK's. The reason is they are at leats the correct heat range...

 

Anyway, copper is the best conductor of electricity there is. If you want performance and fuel economy, get NGK V-powers. No question.

 

If you want your plugs to actually last long , then get NGK platinums or iridiums. They won't perform as good as the V-powers, but they'll be adequate...

 

This is the final word, you heard it here, boys and girls...

just go with the cheap, standard NGK plugs- about 2 bucks from the dealer! and they work great, and seem to last for a long time

 

just my opinion...

(from experience)

Austin

Hi, actually gold is the best conductor of electricity. As far as paying for the irridum, I have a set in my Ea-71. I also changed the wires, cap, and rotor, with the acell high voltage coil. It does start a little faster, warms up a little quicker and runs good anyway. I put a set of plain old NGK's in and could not tell the difference. In my engine anyway, there is no difference. So, I am eith Ed, save your money, Bradd

they work great, but if you change your plugs when you are supposed to, it probably doesnt pay to buy $20 spark plugs. i have them in my harley, and they work great with high compression, and are supposed to be good for high boost engines. but i doubt they give me any horse power at all. they should last a hundred thousand miles though right?

Unfortunately, I broke off ties with my buddy Goldfinger a while back, so I won't be getting any gold plugs anytime soon.

 

That's what I was thinkin' too Archemitis. Like a good plug to twist into your old ladies ride or something. Set it and forget it!

 

And I've seen 'em for $10.67 a piece. They'll probably keep getting cheaper and cheaper too.

bosch platinums didnt foul out ad bad in the pinto. but the extra +4 or split fire is just a gimmick, but platinums work just as good as any. i usually run them, i would say they are best suited for high energy ign setups