Halo Spark Plugs

[Steve Harris]

Has anyone tried Halo brand spark plugs?

[strange_trp]

i dunno. sounds a bit trendy. spark will still only find one path to ground and just because the grounding electrode is in a circular shape does not necessarily mean combustion will occur more completely. looks pretty trippy though.
i'd have to see 5-gas numbers from a vehicle running an IM240 test to compare to OEM plugs.

i have said before, i say now and i'll say again:
unless you're FA or N2O, use AC Platinum. there absolutely is no worthy substitute. don't pay all that $ for the trends or the cool german name (ie bosch.) the engineers designed the engine to run w AC Plats in it, and unless you need a cooler plug I recommend staying with what it came with.
just my $0.02.

[Steve Harris]

I agree with you up to a point. We could also say they designed the entire car to work together, so use OEM. We know there are better electronics, exhaust systems, brakes and so on, available for our cars. The factory design parameters were for a certain level of performance, not max performance in all areas.

Maybe the Delco plug is the best for our application. There are superior designs out there. At 7+ dollars a plug for OEM, some of the independents start to look attractive.

[strange_trp]

i have already considered that very valid point: if the engineers designed this stuff to work as a system, why are we jacking with it?
some things (like brakes, air filter boxes, etc) were designed by the engineers to meet the varying demands of the customers (comfort and quietness as well as performance.) by using a whisper lid in place of the factory airbox, we are saying, "i don't care that much about the added noise, i want more air coming into the engine (as long as its metered by pcm)."

spark plugs are a different story on vehicles with electronic engine controls. they are critical to proper engine operation and long tune-up intervals. look at how many people eventually go back to using AC plugs after trying a billion other trendy plugs. the fuel and ignition systems on these engines are not simple in their design or their operation and much care should go into deciding which components to use that will optimize power and efficiency in that particular system. IMO, professionally and personally, AC is the only plug that should to into this engine, so long as its naturally aspirated and not n20-fed. the AC has the proper heat range and resistance specifications preferred by the coils and ignition module. the ACs do an excellent job at providing complete combustion as well as preventing detonation.
look at 5-gas exhaust numbers from a vehicle with AC platinums in it, switch the plugs, and run the same vehicle under the same conditions (say, an IM240 test) with say NGK or Bosch plugs. i guarantee you'll see higher HC with lower CO2 on the vehicle with the colder plug (NGK or Bosch). this means that combustion is not completely occurring. or you may see very very low HC's but very high NOx, meaning that combustion temps are much hotter than they should be...

my point... there are a lot of components in the systems on these cars that we can play with. I do not particularly recommend that naturally aspirated 3400 and 3800 engines use anything but AC plugs. the rapidfires are okay if you cant afford the Plats, but plats are preferred...

and why complain about the price of AC plats? you're paying the same amount for Bosch plat +4 or NGK iridiums, and you're not getting nearly what you think you are... even with accel coils, a performace module (does one exist other than the dis-4?) and aftermarket wires, i'd stay with AC Plats. but like i said, these are only my prof and personal OPINIONS... your results may vary...

[chevcamaro18]

the same engineers that made our spark pugs so easy to get to right??? [img]graemlins/rofl.gif[/img]

[strange_trp]

you're supposed to change the plugs with the engine OUT of the car... thats how they did it at the factory
[img]graemlins/rofl.gif[/img]