spark plug equivalents

sassy_one

I don't think that £4 is a lot, specially when I have been advised that mine will be £8 a plug!

bartman

Paradigm still doesn't appear to have got the message through to some on this thread - there can only be one spark, folks! It isn't going to share itself between multiple points; it will find the easiest way to earth. The only downside about a single ground electrode is that it might not last as long. have a look at spark-plugs.co.uk - where this comes from:

Q8. Why do some spark plugs have multiple ground electrodes?
A8. This is an attempt by the manufacturers to increase the service life of the spark plug. The ground electrodes can wear down rapidly in some engines. Tiny particles of metal are removed from the ground electrode each time the plug fires hence they gradually wear away. There is a misconception that a multi ground plug will produce mutiple sparks - this is not true, only the nearest electrode to the centre (i.e. currenty the longest) will spark, as that becomes worn, another electrode will become the longest and replace it as the sparking electrode.

Q9. Do my multi ground electrode plugs outperform single ground plugs?
A9. In most cases, no. The additional electrodes disturb the flow of gases around the spark plug tip and performance may even be reduced. In addition, for high performance applications the additional metal within the combustion chamber will retain more heat and may be more prone to detonation/pre ignition.

mikey72

bartman wrote: »

Paradigm still doesn't appear to have got the message through to some on this thread - there can only be one spark, folks! It isn't going to share itself between multiple points; it will find the easiest way to earth. The only downside about a single ground electrode is that it might not last as long. have a look at spark-plugs.co.uk - where this comes from:

Q8. Why do some spark plugs have multiple ground electrodes?
A8. This is an attempt by the manufacturers to increase the service life of the spark plug. The ground electrodes can wear down rapidly in some engines. Tiny particles of metal are removed from the ground electrode each time the plug fires hence they gradually wear away. There is a misconception that a multi ground plug will produce mutiple sparks - this is not true, only the nearest electrode to the centre (i.e. currenty the longest) will spark, as that becomes worn, another electrode will become the longest and replace it as the sparking electrode.

Q9. Do my multi ground electrode plugs outperform single ground plugs?
A9. In most cases, no. The additional electrodes disturb the flow of gases around the spark plug tip and performance may even be reduced. In addition, for high performance applications the additional metal within the combustion chamber will retain more heat and may be more prone to detonation/pre ignition.

If you want to be really flash, you can get a multispark plug, but then you have no electrode in the conventional sense.

http://www.briskracing.com/content/multi-spark.php

bartman

mikey72 wrote: »

If you want to be really flash, you can get a multispark plug, but then you have no electrode in the conventional sense.

http://www.briskracing.com/content/multi-spark.php

Yep - not sure about their advantage in a "normal" engine though - and I hope they're made with a bit more care than the typing on that web page! - SPRAK " TRAVEL " FROM THE CETNTER ELECTRODE :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

bartman

.........and I can't find any of the Bosch equivalent for much less than £4 each including postage, to answer the original question - although if you want to risk Fleabay there are some Denso equivalents for £3 each inc postage. I wouldn't, personally.

Wig

Just for the record, I don't believe the hype about multi electrode plugs, they will be no better than single electrodes and possibly worse (as mentioned). but another point to add would be that far from multi's lasting longer............ multis cannot be adjusted, once they are worn they have had it, they logically take longer to get worn, but a single can be adjusted to outlast a multi, assuming you want to keep them for 4 or 5 or more years.

Having now been to halfords, I find I can have double electrodes for £18 set quad electrodes £22 set single electrodes for £10 set, or single electrodes from a cheaper source for £8 set.

I will be going with the single electrodes because they do the same job just as efficiently.

However, I got out my "box of sparkplugs" a collection over the years from various sources, and I found 4 BKR5E 11 which I have adjusted to 1.0mm, they are in very good clean condition, I think I got them from a friends car when he asked me to change his plugs when they were only 1 year old. When I took them out they were in such good condition, I certainly wasn't going to throw them away! They have been fitted and the car is running smoother (as smooth as it should be) than it was with the old worn out multis that were in there before.

I'm happy and it didn't cost me a penny. If I was paying I would have bought a set of NGK BKR6E (single electrode) for about £8 - £10

This site is about moneysaving, and if you can do the same job cheaper, that's what it's all about.