I know this has been discussed before but I can't dig through years of posts guys, so I know you'll give quick and good experienced advice. It, is rainy season here and my high boy is illegal to drive, and I'm going stir crazy so I'm going to catch up on things. New progressive linkage, velocity stacks, change plugs, etc. Question the hype about the E3 plugs. I asked my Advance counter guy, (a true car guy hobbyist), his opinion. He said save your money, not worth the price. Said, I'd not do any better than the Autolites or any other good brand of plug. Yet I see a lot of the big names recommending them. Is that just more hype or are they what they say they are in adding H.P. and performance ? Worth the $5.95 ea. ? (Working my '55 331 Chrysler hemi).
I bought some triple electrode, kryptonite, unobtaniun, guaranteed HP gain plugs once for a BBC. All I gained was a lighter wallet and an education.
Unless the car came with the “ fancy” plugs I’ve seen no noticeable difference using them or just regular copper ones. I’ve installed iridium plugs in some O/T vehicles with zero improvement in performance or fuel mileage. I installed the Bosch 4 electrode plug in a vw when they first came out and the actually made fuel mileage worse ! Just install regular copper plugs and save your money for your other hip ups Sounds like a cool car post some pics!!
Multi-electrode plugs have been around for years (used to see ads for them in '50s/60s JC Whitney catalogs). They work slightly better now than they used to because the hotter modern electronic ignitions do a better job of firing them, but if you look closely at their claims, any actual gain over standard plugs is miniscule. The fact that they're still around shows the power of a big advertising budget....
Hint - The "car guys/girls"...are getting paid..! As long as ANY given plug is in good condition (relatively fresh), not any torque/power advantage to any of them, as long as the "correct" plug for the application is used. The high dollar materials (platinum, iridium, etc.), will help a plug last longer. The spark...little difference. The E-3 plug is old fashioned, standard materials, it "may" last a little longer, ONLY because there is more surface area for the ground electrode to wear away. You want better than "average" spark at the spark plug...buy an MSD, Crane, Pertronix...etc. box, with a good set of plug wires, distributor cap and rotor. THEN...remember to keep them (plugs, cap, rotor and wires) replaced as required. Mike
That's the fact Jack, I have great results with NGK, it is my go to plug, just works better than others.
I have always thought that electricity takes the path of least resistance. With a multi electrode plug, wouldn't the closest ground electrode be the one that gets the spark and all the action until it wears down, and then the next closest gets all the spark until it wears down etc. I don't think the ground electrodes are going to take turns who gets to make the spark to ignite the gas mixture in a multi electrode plug.
When your wallet is lighter, your car should be faster. I have seen shows where they dyno test a vehicle then make changes, including E3 plugs and gain power but I've never seen anybody change plugs after that and dyno test showing a loss of horsepower or torque. I suspect if they could, they would. I also suspect that the people who are praising them are paid to do it.
No can do. Found out the hard way it is not HAMB qualified (friendly). Has E-type early Jag IFS/IRS and other non-traditional features. If you really want to see it google Larry Moes 34 Ford. Its entire story is there from the first build in the mid fifties through my build put on the road a year ago. That is Kustomrama website that has just done a feature story on the car in their magazine. Google www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Jerry_Berg%27s_1934_Ford it is the same car. Yes I do know about promotional pay and thanks everyone for your advise. Guess I've just confirmed what I was thinking and its nice to have the backing of the real car guys that frequent this website.
Yep, all the coatings are for those hard to change plugs like Ford modular engines. They last a long time so you don't have to spend a damn day to change them every six months!
E3=garbage! The first problem I have is there is o way to set, change the gap on these plugs. That's not a big deal if there gaped where you want them. Dad picked up 8 of these things to try on our car. Apparently the gap is preset, to what I have no idea. Inconsistent at best, the gap ranged from .028 to .040.
HemiDeuce hits it right on the head. Electricity like those who us who are lazy takes the easiest path every time even if it is minutely easier. Teenagers seem to have that process down, wish I was still one. MSD however, that's a whole different animal and has been proven on the dyno to make a difference. Semper Fi
A couple of things I just have a hunch about. (I'm not a rocket scientist. ) No original manufacturer equips with multi-electrode plugs. I know it sounds crazy but maybe they know something. All these multi-trode tips seem shrouded or recessed and not sticking out in the wind like standard plugs. The big name spark plug makers spend a lot of time and money to get the heat ranges, tip lengths, etc, etc, just right for each and every application. My guess is these little companies, who make the magic plugs, round off the corners on that precision and those details.
The Jalopy Journal
