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Originally Posted by conradtan
Hey Jim,
You seem like the kind of guy that believes that there is nothing better than stock. I like that. I don't practice that myself, but I like and respect that a lot. I actually listen to much of what you say before I go and do fool-hardy things to my car. Hehe... No seriously, I appreciate the advice. It keeps me from doing stupid things!  |
Hi,
Thanks for the kind words. But, I'm not actually against modding a car. I have done so many times.
But, for a Street Car, I think keeping it Stock has some advantages. Many Aftermarket Parts haven't been as rigorously tested as the OEM Components and may not offer as long a service life. Also, many Aftermarket components are
universal, designed for a multitude of cars and not for one specific application. A lot of them are mainly Hype with gains not measurable or quantified. Then, often a replacement part is not available if the Supplier goes away, and if you needed to modify the car to include the Aftermarket part, you may not be able to reverse it to re-fit the OEM part later. It may make the car harder to sservice or diagnose.
So far as Anti-Seize, I use it when called for, but have found that it's not required in all applications. If you properly torque the plugs, and change them regularly, there should be no need for it.
For Spark Plugs, the differences between the various materials used are miniscule. Most Performance Spark Plugs using rare or exotic metals are
universal and usually offer only a reputed longer Service Interval, but I'm not sure that's a good thing. They s/b changed regularly, or at least inspected, which amounts to the same thing. Also, there is no Temp Range Standard between Manufacturers, so you could get plugs that perform differently so far as Heat Management is concerned and this could be bad longterm to the motor.
But, the Head was designed with a specific Plug in mind with regard to thread length, Tip extension into the Combustion Chamber and Electrode orientation. This is one reason why you should always torque your Plugs - so they maintain the design depth and orientation (relative to Flame Front travel) as the engine was designed to optimize. If these Super Plugs were actually as good as their makers claim, why doesn't any Manufacturer captitalize on these gains and install them OEM in the first place? That's all why I recommend the OEM Plugs...
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99
Thank you-great advise
Hybrid Mode
