OK after hearing from TOM, I am swayed once again. Tom are they good enough as is, or do you also use the heat bootie covers?

 

My Montero (the non Sport) with the 3.5 was the same way, huge PIA!!!
And imagine my discontent when the cheap plug wires I put in only lasted a month and I had to do it all over again.
Dont go cheap on the plug wires no matter the car.

 

Well, the NGK look like decent wires too, just never personally tried them.
I've never used the heat covers.

 

As far as wires go, any 8mm wire from a known company should do the trick. The NGK wires are super nice but you can get similar stuff with the CarQuest name stamped on it a bit cheaper if you want to save some cash.

Plugs are a different story. Expensive plugs are a marketing gimmick and a total waste of money. Iridium, platinum, whatever E3 happens to be and anything else with the whole "precious metal" thing in the title is just a way to make you spend more money on the same old thing. I've personally dyno tested all sorts of plugs and I'll tell you from experience there is no gain whatsoever over coppers in any application I've tested. Most companies claim more MPG and HP but that's a load of BS. I ran NGK iridiums against NGK copper core el cheapo plugs in a 1000+hp Big Block during a dyno comparison and they made no difference at all.

Granted the Iridium plugs are said to outlast the coppers but anyone who cares about their engine changes plugs more frequently therefore eliminating the need for longer lasting plugs.

So yea long story short save your money and buy standard copper core plugs.

 

im a huge magnecor fan, and just put their 8mm set on the disco last week

along with a set of champion plugs (whatever the manual recommend) gapped to factory.

idle and rev during shifts is a lot cleaner, the old plugs looked like theyd say in a lake for a while hah

 

re: anyone who cares about their engine changes plugs more frequently

AMEN. Just had a truck I got from another office with 260K, Chevy C30 van, plugs never changed, little skinny plugs rusted into heads, sheared off when mechanics tried to remove, royal PITA, sold truck on ebay.

 

Well for economy reasons and my revised budgetary predicitions I have decided to try the NGK wires and stay with the Champion Coppers until the current downturn in fiscal situation reverses itself for a more prosperous period of ROI (Redneck Opportunity for Income).

Thanks to all for their input. The projections for the upcoming quarter have improvement on the horizon as my oldest son has achieved more certifications in Welding Inspection and is getting assignments that involved paid perdiem and massive overtime and I can sponge money from him like he did from me for so many years.

Have fun, just don't Rover Over. Need to go fishing again. Like that new Jimmy Buffet song, Knee Deep.

 

a set of 8mm kingsbourne wires and champion 318 plugs can get you done and dusted for under 60 bucks shipping and tax included..

 

Yes, much in the same way an MRE is similar to food. Please elaborate as to how they are similar other than insulation thickness.

Also, the Dyno reference is absolute crap! Whoever led you to believe any wires or plugs made gains in horsepower? The efficiency/better burn theory is on the money, however, is it "real world measurable"? Not unless you run your plugs longer than you should. Can you tell the difference between Bose/Infinity speakers in your car vs. Focal or Dynaudio? It's a measurable difference and a difference in quality, but you may not hear a difference. The fuel and the oxygen make the power; you just need a good reliable spark.

The NGK's are not "going cheap". Our set just happens to be relatively inexpensive right now.


Random examples that are effective as the Dyno/spark plug/HP illustration:

1. So, I shot the charging Cape Buffalo with a 30-06 and it didn't kill it, so I switched back to the Daisy Air Rifle.
2. I ride my 4-yr old(since I've owned it) previous rental snowboard(fact.) and don't know why anyone would pay $500 on a brand new Burton... we both get to the bottom of the mountain.

 

Stupid question....what is the torque spec on the plugs? and is it all that critical?