The best plugs wires, and coil options 4 your S12

None of the automotive shops around here carry ngk's, so whats the next best thing. Ive been warned to stay away from champion and boshc.

lets hear what cha got.

fyneyoungstunnaNone of the automotive shops around here carry ngk's, so whats the next best thing. Ive been warned to stay away from champion and boshc.

lets hear what cha got.

thats what i figured. only one store here carys them. wonder if itd be better to order online.

what about zex or splitfire(sp)

fyneyoungstunnathats what i figured. only one store here carys them. wonder if itd be better to order online.

what about zex or splitfire(sp)

NGK Irradium IX is what im running

NGK is the only way to go for plugs.

RedneckNGK is the only way to go for plugs.

i spent about an hr and a half driving around town napa is the only place i didnt make it to. EVERYBODY else doesnt have them. i even went so far as to autozone if they could order them and even that was a no go. i didnt check checkers i should do that tomorrow. im as supprised as you guys are that none has them, you would think since they are so popular that they would keep them in stock!!!!

why do you guys dislike bosch?? I have NEVER had a problem with bosches mid range plugs.

i ended up having them order and deliver ngk's from the next city over. they should be in at about 3p.m. my time.

the engine had bosh's in it(just pulled them out) man they were in bad shape. i dont know why people dont like them.

Bosche got a bad rep from issues they had in the early 90's w/ platinum plugs, but that problem has been dealt with long ago, and they are a decent plug now... for the price they are fine.

I've done *extensive* research on spark plug manufacturers, and the BEST plugs in the world are made by NGK and Champion, Champion who has been making platinum and even irridium plugs for the aviation industry since 1963.

Go with either NGK or Champion.

I haven't done extensive research, BUT! Having been the commercial parts pro, and slinging parts for 8 years. You get a lot of ideas on what works for what. And from what I have gathered:

NGK = Perfect for pretty much everything, some instances where they aren't...
Champion = Lawn mowers, small motors, Big blocks and chevy small blocks, most Mopar/Daimler Chrysler products
AutoLite = Ford Vehicles, EXCEPT Turbo vehicles, But even on Ford's can sause serious issues
Bosch = German vehicles such as VW, mercedes, Audi,  Alfa Romeo and FIAT (I know, not german)
Denso = Honda

Bosch did have the early 90's problems, and champion pretty much is the inventor of the modern spark plug. Yes, but all the different companies, to me, have their places on different applications. In my experience, even to this day, Bosch plugs are just garbage for anything but what I stated above, but anything BUT Bosch for those vehicles are garbage. I'm a pretty opinionated person when it comes to very few things, and spark plugs are one of those few things. I paid a lot of attention to which ones worked and which ones didn't to a lot of vehicles, and even more so on my own. I've never run into any problems ever with NGK V-powers for nearly everything I owned. However, In my 77 Chrysler Newport 400 big block, and my 71 cuda 383 (Yes, I had one...) And they ran for shit on anything but Champions.

I will agree, this is a matter of personal preferences here, and I can pretty much say this will be a discussion. But from all of the years I have put in to the industry, selling hundreds of spark plugs and tune up parts a day. Some things are learned in passing...

/rant

For those who are curious, the issue with Bosche spark plugs originated with their platinum plugs in the late 1980's. Platinum spark plugs feature a platinum core and electrode tip, and a tiny wafer of platinum fused to the arc tip. Earlier Bosche platinum plugs performed well, until installed in a forced-induction engine (i.e. a turbocharged or supercharged engine). Under positive pressure, the tiny wafer of platinum on the underside of the arc tip would sometimes come free of the arc tip, sending a tiny, hard piece of platinum bouncing around in the cylinder and combustion chamber... doing all sorts of damage.

This was big news in both the automotive repair and racing communities alike, and while Bosche did indeed perfect their platinum fusing techniques by the end of the 80's, the stigma against them has remained as an urban legend in automotive repair and tuner culture.

In truth, Bosche may indeed now make the most sophisticated platinum plugs on the planet, both in fusing technologies and in their experiments with multiple arc targets (you know them as "+2" and "+4" plugs with 2 or 4 arc tips), which work extremely well on high-flow NA heads with trick timing and more modern advance.

Autolite should mean "lite" on performance and "lite" on quality. Autolite is literally the cheapest plugs on the market, and the ultimate proof that you get what you pay for... and not what you don't. They don't even have an actual iridium plug, just an "iridium enhanced" one which just uses a small iridium wafer bonded to a copper core. Autolite plugs are offered in copper, platinum, and the iridium "enhanced" plugs mentioned previously, but are designed in the same spirit as cheap, generic oil -- cutting R&D costs and quality control means an inexpensive replacement plug for repair shops who just want to put some fresh, new plugs in for common "tune-up" jobs. Often times a tune-up with these plugs can result in misfires not all that long after they are installed (or sometimes immediately after install). Again, less quality control does mean lower cost to wholesale and consumers, but it also means a higher failure statistic.

Ford was mentioned, so I'll say this: If you have a Ford vehicle, then you might as well go with the Ford-designed plugs for it... Motorcraft copper and platinum spark plugs are engineered by Ford engineers, for Ford vehicles, and meet or exceed factory specs. Anything beyond that would bring you to an iridium core spark plug, in which case...

Denso Iridium spark plugs, NGK Iridium spark plugs, and Champion Iridium spark plugs all have true, full iridium cores from contact to electrode tip. But only NGK and Champion iridium plugs feature .007 diameter cores -- the largest diameter iridium core you can get in an automotive application spark plug.

I hope this clears up some of the confusion and occasional misinformation that you might get online, at your local parts store, from buddies, or in a repair shop.

Arro, I love you.

Your the only other person I've seen to know that information.

I, too, work in the commercial parts department for a reseller to shops, but honestly, I know more about this than any of the shops I service, or any of my coworkers. Plugs, filters, wiresets, timing components, radiator hoses, brake materials, brake rotor technologies, advanced ignitions... In those areas I probably am the most knowledgable person in my store or among most of the shops I work with.

The reason for this is because when I actually DO get some money to tune one of my cars, I don't skimp, and I don't just buy the most expensive. I research EVERY detail before I buy, so I know I buy the BEST, or I know that I didn't buy something that was a waste of money. An example of a waste of money is buying iridium plugs without completely upgrading the rest of the ignition -- the wires, the coil, the distributor... even then the only way to take FULL advantage of an iridium plug is to install a multiple-spark box, like MSD's DIS II (although that costs something like $500 or so).

Still, I run Champion Iridium plugs, MSD 8.5mm silicone wires, and an MSD coil pack on my 2G Neon... but then again the coil pack design for the Neons is superior to many other distributor-driven vehicles, and outputs more than even some coil-pack electronic ignitions.

But for an S12, with a factory ignition setup?

NGK V-power plugs (NGK's excellent copper plugs) or even G-power plugs (NGK's platinum versions). NGK wires, which while they do not have the lower resistance that the MSD wires have, they still are far lower than generics... If you are dead-set on even lower resistance wires (an have a CA SOHC w/ 8 plugs), you can run an 8.5m  custom V8 kit from MSD and cut-to-fit. If you have a Mark I CA20 car, you have a single standard coil, which can be easily replaced with an Accel or MSD universal coil. Either brand makes an excellent selection of universal and specialty coils, and you should consider both brands for COIL upgrades. If you have a Mark II CA20E or a CA18ET, you can use twin MSD Blaster SS coils on a custom bracket. I am not sure about the coil options for the VG30E engines, so perhaps someone with an SE can chime in here.

for distributors for ALL S12's, you are limited to one choice -- NISSAN factory distributors/rotors. This is especially true for S13/S14 engines (you people with motor swaps), but also very true to our CA and VG SOHC engines. If you really want that "aftermarket" feel, just get you a blue or red can o spraypaint and shoot your distributor cap for that cool "t00ner" style look.

i ran bosch in my monte carlo, they held up.....
champions seemed to be what it liked, i think someone said that.
beleive it or not though, my single carb chevelle had autolites when i first bought it,granted after a two days of driving with that setup i chunked them, the carb,and the rods for some better options.

Arro about the low resistance wires, I understand why you would want to run low resistance on them but then I have no idea why magnecore run high resistance? I also read and research about lot of things before I buy, but the magnecore wires is one of the few things I didn't.

btw those cheap ass 10.2 mill plug wires for dohc ka's on ebay work fine on single slammers

Just to chime in on the VG side of things, a single Blaster SS works OK, i feel like it cant really keep up with the revs sometimes, but that could be a number of other things.  If I were to do it again, I'd be looking for a new coil to try, as the Blaster SS is only rated to handle up to 6500 rpms (yes i know it works better than what they rate it at, but still).

plugs, I always run NGK V-Powers, they seem to work the best for the VG out of the 10 or so types I've tried so far.

David Bbtw those cheap ass 10.2 mill plug wires for dohc ka's on ebay work fine on single slammers

Thanks for answering my question

what firing order are you guys using. when i do 1342(?) it idles like crap just pops alot, when i do 4312(?) it idles a lot better then dies.

PraizewoodThanks for answering my question

Taylor spiral core wires.

Blaster 2 coils (2). Had an accel SS but it died in a short time.

Bosch plugs; one bank plus2 the other plus 4

Had NGKs the first time around. Ran bosches then champions then autolites now first bosches are in there.

Think I'm gonna go with NGKs again. Read a while back that the plug companies heat ranges sorrta lined up but weren't spot-on, so it was best to stay with a single brand when tuning the ranges. I don't know though.

Have accel yellow jackets for my other car. Haven't thought about what I'm gonna change those to.

1342 on the order; CA. Pretty sure you'll have to stay stock on that unless you get a custome ground cam. There seems to be no way not to have two fireing next to each other. I know alotta v8s do a 4-7 swap, but that needs a different cam.

ArroActually, Sterling tells me that the only wires to run on the KA's are the Nissan factory ones, fresh from the dealer. I'm not sure what I think, but I would never trust an Ebay generic.

Yeah I'm not sure either, and when he comes over in a few minutes I'll press him more on the subject, but like I said, on my next day off when work hasn't left me beat senseless, I'll ask around on ka-t.org.

Praizewood felt I did not address Magnecor's wires, and they do indeed make a proper-fit wireset for the CA20E/CA18ET and the VG30E. Something I said earlier in this thread...

ArroCheaper knock-off wires are made in such a way as to offer low resistance with crappy materials, so they don't *keep* their low resistance for very long.

glad i just checked to see what kind of wires i have. i have magnicore wires, guess its time to ditch those and get some ngk's to go with the plugs.

Arro

 If you have a Mark I CA20 car, you have a single standard coil, which can be easily replaced with an Accel or MSD universal coil. Either brand makes an excellent selection of universal and specialty coils, and you should consider both brands for COIL upgrades. If you have a Mark II CA20E or a CA18ET, you can use twin MSD Blaster SS coils on a custom bracket. I am not sure about the coil options for the VG30E engines, so perhaps someone with an SE can chime in here.

Arro If you really want that "aftermarket" feel, just get you a blue or red can o spraypaint and shoot your distributor cap for that cool "t00ner" style look.

where can i get the ngk wires for my Vg?

if you can't find NGK locally, just order them from sparkplugs.com  although your local Napa can order them too, but you might want to take the part numbers with you if you go to Napa, as those guys typically aren't the smartest around

if you search for a site called ecrater, sparkplugs.com has a seller account there I just bought a set of ca18et plugs for 33.95 shipped usps priority.  while ecrater itself seems cheaply done overall, the guy is the same and i got my plugs much cheaper then on sparkplugs.com

i think i saved 17 bucks or so.

if you dont mind waiting an extra day or two, to have  them actually ship (ordered on a monday usps received them thursday) then the money saved is pretty good.

does anyone know about accel wires? or, rather, accel tune up kits?
im going to get this, which is like 10 bucks more than a motorcraft tune up. so if theyre not legit, ill just go motorcraft

who cares, just solder some 10ga wires and use those

hahaha wtf

ngk or ac delco.

but not oem ford? or accel?

what U guys think about the pulstar sparkplugs???

ragewho cares, just solder some 10ga wires and use those

check ebay i believe they have ngk wires