forester2002s Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Champions are junk and I've never heard of a Subaru owners manual saying to use them. Quote from the Subaru Factory Service Manual for 2002 Forester: Recommended spark plug: CHAMPION RC10YC4 NGK BKR6E-11, BKR5E-11 Spark plug gap 1.0 — 1.1 mm (0.039 — 0.043 in) The Forester came from the factory fitted with the Champions. They worked just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountaingoatgruff Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 i won't touch the "better plugs" arguement, but i'll suggest a wire-style gapping tool. the tapered gauge type can damage your plugs, especially if you have little experience and/or insist on wasting money on exotic electrodes... and NEVER twist or wedge the gapping tool in the gap to open it, use the slot provided on wire-style gappers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman18 Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 my parts store, 4 NGK V power plugs, 1.53 each, so with taxes, 4 plugs less than 7 bucks total. Where are you trying to buy plugs, MACYs? yeah I'm with you, I've never seen NGK's cost that much! Good luck with the champions! They might have been alright years ago, but I have heard nothing but bad stuff about them in a long time! Unless like I said they are used in a lawn mower! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulwnkl Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 To the original question: No, you do not need a torque wrench to install plugs in a Subaru. Why? They use the little crush/compression washer, and the instructions right on the box say to tighten 1/x of a turn after the washer makes contact. Simple. As for the Champions, you'll never be able to tell whether they're Champions or NGKs. I have had some experience with the concept that this plug works in this car, that one in that car, etc, but I've never, ever had a Champion not work in an application. I kind of think they're like Buicks or something: People like to talk trash about them, but the objective reality is that they work better and less expensively than almost everything else out there most of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 my parts store, 4 NGK V power plugs, 1.53 each, so with taxes, 4 plugs less than 7 bucks total. Where are you trying to buy plugs, MACYs? I remember a couple of years back that I went to a parts store to buy replacement plugs for my '98 OBW. I can't remember if there were NGKs or Nippon Denso that were in the car, but exact replacement plugs were expensive, like $8-$10+/plug for some exotic top of the line model spark plug. I thought that was outrageous. Projected total cost with tax out the door was $40+. I opted for a cheaper plug made by the same company, and it has run just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hohieu Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 (edited) Quote from the Subaru Factory Service Manual for 2002 Forester: Recommended spark plug: CHAMPION RC10YC4 NGK BKR6E-11, BKR5E-11 Spark plug gap 1.0 — 1.1 mm (0.039 — 0.043 in) The Forester came from the factory fitted with the Champions. They worked just fine. Mine did as well. Subaru also specifies a "hotter" Champion plug (RC8YCA), if necessary, probably because their cars see action in some very cold places. NGK BKR6E11 and BKR5E11 are the copper core "V Power" plugs, the latter being a "hotter" version. They have a groove machined onto the top of the center electrode. I've run the following copper plugs in my 2.5 SOHC engine without any differences in either performance or efficiency, and they're all in the neighborhood of 2 bucks: Champion RC8YCA NGK BKR6E11 NGK BKR6ES11(standard coppers w/o the groove) Bosch FR8DCX 2.5 Phase I engines came equipped with more expensive double platinum plugs (NGK PFR5B11). I'm guessing Subaru installed plugs with longer lasting electrodes in this application because they're more of a hassle to replace. And I do believe Slegacy96, Quote: Originally Posted by bheinen74 I don't believe anything you have said for reason. Really you were with me at Napa this morning? Funny, I didn't see anyone else in the store. Quote: Originally Posted by bratman18 My opinion is you should really return those lawn mower plugs and go get some NGK's! Champions are junk and I've never heard of a Subaru owners manual saying to use them. There is a reason you don't hear of them being used in Subarus! But you can disregard this as well, but I have a feeling you'll have issues later on with them! Good luck I dunno, car is running better than ever with properly gapped plugs. Don't plan to keep it long enough to justify spending $12 a plug when I don't have to. No to mention that my NGK plugs only lasted 30,000 miles. That is far from spectacular. I'm not convinced that they are all that great. ... they do cost upwards of $10. Edited January 26, 2009 by hohieu typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Wow, Subaru Fight!!! Well, since everybody else has thrown out their opinion, I will as well. I personally use Bosch Platinum +2's. They run me about $5 a plug at CSK autoparts, now Oreiley's. I use them because I don't like buying plugs that have to be gapped. Not to mention they burn nice and hot and seem to take abuse well. I have them in both my brat and my legacy and I have never had an issue with them. Just my two bites. Twitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slegacy96 Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/productdetail.aspx?MfrCode=NGK&MfrPartNumber=PFR5B11&PartType=960&PTSet=A NGK Laser platinums, $19.99 a plug at Advance. These are expensive plugs whether you think that they should be or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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