this seems to come up often.....people ask and ask and ask, and get the same answer every time.....

 

Or bosch o2 sensors for that matter either....

 

how's 14 years personal experience along with 20+ years certified Ford Master Tech experience work for you? I personally have been working on, building, re-building, and modifying everything from a 1.3L out of a british 4 banging Ford to a 1,300 hp 460....

my old man, who's been with ford for over 20 years will testify to what i'm saying as well! so before you go assuming you're the only one who knows anything about ford's based on the fact that you have a few engines that you've tinkered with i'd highly suggest sitting back and thinking about what you're gonna say

 

thats not 100% true, i just put plugs and wires on my moms b/f's v6 f150 and it made the idle and run alot better, along with better gas mileage.
the plugs were fuxed at only 80k.

when i got my truck it had 106k on it and the plugs where almost GONE.

and i agree, only plugs i will ever use are motorcraft.

 

I have also found that Ford dealer prices are very high on Motorcraft plugs. You can buy identical Motorcraft platinum plugs at most chain auto parts stores for $4~5 each.

 

oh i didn't catch that, bob is right.

i think i payed $3-5 per motorcraft plug at murrys.
autozone and advanced auto doesn't sell motorcraft around here.

i cracked one of the plugs and they replaced it for free, but ive also bought alot of crap from that murrys.

 

I normally don't jump into conversations on this board much but I can speak from recent experience on the Bosch plugs.

I'm not saying that they are bad plugs in the appropriate car. I actually bought the Bosch plats two weeks ago to put into my wife's 2001 Exploder Sport 4.0 SOHC with 83K miles due to Autozone being out of Motorcraft and Autolites. After changing the plugs, it seemed to run okay initially but the minute we pulled out of my buddy's place to go home, my wife immediately pulled over saying her truck "felt funny". I told her drive it home since we had also changed the PCV, fuel and air filters, and see how it does.

The next morning, I started it up and was greeted to a check engine light. I had the codes pulled and it was a misfire (forget which cylinder). I promptly bought Autolites, changed the plugs out, and it ran smooth as a baby's butt. The 4.0 just did not seem to like the Bosch plugs.

Take out of that what you want. Just my personal experiences.

 

^
90% of the time these are the reply's we get from people who have installed the Bosch plugs.


umm, i hope you arent talking about the 6.0 & 6.4 powerstrokes...

 

sorry, i was typing in two different topics at once....running dual monitors, so i had R-F up one screen and FTW on the other...

so NO, i was having another discussion on FTW about PS motors....that should have read 6.8 instead of 6.0 and 6.4...

thanks for the correction Mark!

 

LOL...he meant the 6.0 V4 that Mercruiser made and the 6.4 I-5 that Volvo made...

Obviously there is no further point it telling the tale of the Bosch plugs in a Ford engine. It just doesn't work as well as the Autolites/Motorcraft. The overwhelming opinion verifies this (as well as my experience and some Ford techs I know also...but those stories are like buttholes, everyone ya know...)

If you want to run Bosch or any other brand of plug because of whatever reason, you go right ahead. Because you will anyway, regardless of what anyone else says. The POINT of a friendly discussion about all things Ford Ranger is to further expand someone elses knowledge through your own life experiences.

Good luck to you and I hope all your Platinum wishes and Iridium dreams come true.

 

I doubt any Ranger can practically make it to 120,000 miles without changing the spark plugs or at least regapping them. When I checked the spark plugs in my Ranger at 60,000 miles, the gap was almost double what the specification indicates. I immediately installed a set of Autolite Double Platinum plugs.

I did not see a big change in performance but I did get a slight improvement in gas mileage. I think my Ranger would have been running terribly by 80,000 miles.

 

haha, i was gonna say...Someone on this site actually thinks diesles have spark plugs?!?!


lol, n/p man!

 

not sure what all you have done to your truck, what elevation your at, and what the quality of gas where you are is, but i just pulled mine at 60k and i've seen at least 10 other rangers with 60k+ miles on them and they all were just like mine...gaps and electrodes looked perfect...

 

This is good to know, I have 70K on my 4.0, I was wondering when the plugs would need to be changed....

 

If were comparing resumes.. I've got over 8 years in as a Ford powertrain engineer. And my "old man" was a top fuel driver/builder back when it was all starting... Argueably I'm considered an "old man" myself. And I have a bit more than "a few engines that you've tinkered with" under my belt. You know nothnig about my experiences other than what I've posted here.


I'm not the one assuming anything... as you seem to be. I stand on factual data.. not perception & hear-say.

Lets put down the attitudes and call it a disagreement. OK? We live in the land of the free. I post my thoughts.. and you post yours. There is nothing wrong with that.

Its **my opinion** that people who point at ***one brand*** (falacy #1) and say that there is no other possible solution (falacy #2) are just being narrow minded as to what the goal is. And I question what thier real goal is? Is it to perpetuate thier viewpoint? Or is it to make a better product?

Basic science cannot be ignored because of ones perception. And grouping all spark plugs (or any product) into one group because of the name brand is simply a mistake.

On a spark plug.. an unshrouded kernal and low resistance are superior at creating a good solid spark. There are other considerations too. Quality and toughness of the components in that plug play a part for how they perform over time. All I'm trying to point out is that there are other plugs on the market that are comparable.. and even better than the motorcraft ones.

Peace guys..

Regards,
Rich

 

i have been speaking from experience.....i tried Bosch in my truck....it ran worse....took them out installed Motorcraft and it ran like new........now tell me why that is Mr. Scientist........you can do all the "calculations" you want, but it all comes down to what MANY people have experienced in their trucks...

 

sounds good to me...

 

deal.......but this topic will come up again in a month or so......

 

When you say "bosch".. what model of plug are you talking about?

I do know that the basic bosch plug is not as good as a standard motorcraft. If that's what your comparing.. I would'nt be supprised at your findings. But the +2 plugs are pretty good design, quality, and value. and IMO the +4's are a waste of money.
My only real complaint about the +2 plugs is dimensional control of the ground straps. They seem to vary quite a bit from the MANY that I've purchased over the years. That and they seem to over heat easily. Even.. at a lowly 35shot you can see the ground straps discolor.

For what it might be worth... I've communicated with an engineer from Bosch about high HP applications. He told me to avoid pushing them too hard. (boost & nitrous) but would'nt say why. From my findings.. I've noticed that the +2 model runs a bit hotter than the stock plug for the vehicle. I *suppose* they do that to give the impression of more power? (quicker burn off)

Lumping the basic bosch plug in with something like the +2 plug.. is a-kin to saying "Fords" are junk. Not true.. some models are/were... some aren't.

Rich (aka Mr Scientist )

 

the Bosch +2 Double Platinums....

 

Tell ya what. I'll buy a set and put them in my ranger. I'll report back my finding/opinion. Me having a 9k mile 06 ought to give a good basis I'd think. I won't change anything else except the plugs.

Give me a month or so and I'll post back about this.

Rich

 

alright works.......

 

so i am going to buy bosch for my next spark plug, so what! They are the best!!!!!!!!!!!











































lol, JUST KIDDING! Motorcraft for me don't worry..........

 

Rich, I am interested to see what your results are, because as I said in my bonneville they didn't work for me. (don't remeber what kind of bosch they were)

 

I'm interested too. I recently put them in my 01 Eldo (northstar) and they were fine until I started spraying.

I had them in a 2.0L Turbo (probe) for quite a long time at 12psi. IMO had I just switched them one range colder I'd have been fine. One thing is for sure about them though. You push a little more power than stock and the ground straps will green and white up on you. As if the burn was lean.. but I know it's not.

I just filled up with 87 octane (been running 93). Let me run 2 tanks of this fuel to get a milage basis and I'll switch them. I'd do a power data log but just the time of day (Density altitude) will change the power more than a set of plugs will. At least in a like new engine.

I'll report the facts as best I can w/o a bias-ness. No matter what I find. But it is always going to be subjective to some degree.

Rich