Checked my spark plugs today, and I found out that yet another thing needs to be done, on top of an oil change, alignment, and new tires. My copper plugs are now out of spec, so I'm going to toss a new set at it.

I jumped onto rockauto, and it appears that autolite is running a rebate special. $2 back per plug for double platinum and 2.50 back per plug for iridium. Which, if you do the math, I could get a full set of iridium plugs for just a touch under 8.50 and it would be quite some time before I'd have to change them out again, so there's that amount of savings to consider, too.

My only question is, do Ford engines (specifically the 3.0 V6 in my '99 FFV Ranger) like iridium plugs, or should I stick with double platinum? If I'm not mistaken, the engine originally came with double platinum. I'd have to look at the service manual to confirm that.

 

Stick with the double platinum, the Iridium plugs only have it on the positive electrode.

Lots of info here too.

https://www.ranger-forums.com/genera...-151637/page2/

The most important thing is to get the correct heat range and gap.
Softer material like copper doesn't last as long as harder material, that's all.

 

Double plat needed, technically only in one bank.
Mine were horribly worn down, i ended up just running NGK laser plats in them (single plat) based on the price.

Single plat plugs will wear down faster in one bank, but we're talking getting a plug that is supposed to service 100k miles Vs a more regular service life of maybe 30k-40k miles.

I didn't care for finding a 100k plug (specs are weird (double plat plugs only have one electrode made of platinum) and can be expensive)