Spark Plugs / Wires

[99Camaro99]

I'm a college student w/little dough. I was wondering why everyone changes plugs/wires when in the manual it says they're good for 100,000mi. Why such an early change and when would you guys recommend changing them?

[Guardsman]

As to the wires, the stock ones are crap...I think they are Bosch wires, but I think that GM has lower specs for them than Bosch normally uses, and so they break down quicker. I've read about a lot of guys that have had defective wires replaced by the dealer. Also, the stock ones are not made for performance, they're made for fuel economy and emissions.
For the plugs, they claim that the plugs are good for 100,000 miles, and they may last that long, but you'll keep getting slower and slower.
So, plugs and wires are one of the easier and cheaper power adders that you can do.

[Viper]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by 99Camaro99:
I'm a college student w/little dough. I was wondering why everyone changes plugs/wires when in the manual it says they're good for 100,000mi. Why such an early change and when would you guys recommend changing them?<hr></blockquote>


Well GM does say that the plugs will last 100k but in my experience when I have removed them at 50+ thousand they needed changing. As far as the wires go they suck to start out with.

Viper

[JAM]

I change my plugs every 12-15k. But, I don't run super altra plat plugs either. Just normal plugs.

I think any deal of trying to run a set of plugs for 100k is kinda crazy. Think about it, wouldn't the rust into place by then? Rather be safe than sorry.

Get a good set of plugs, and a good set of at leat 8mm wires. The previous post is correct. Factory wires are bad. It is the one very weak part in our GM cars. With any aftermarket wires it should be much better.

[99Camaro99]

ok what kind of plugs and what kind of wires do I buy (don't know much about this part of the car) and how much should I expect to pay?

[JAM]

check www.thunderracing.com

[John_D.]

Non-platinum plug gaps will eventually open up over time, as the electrode slowly erodes away.

Platinums hang in there a long time. I'm running the original plugs from the factory, with 80,000 miles in my '98 that I bought new. With nitrous too. 15.7 na and 14.3 with nitrous. The plugs still have the full platinum tits remaining on the electrodes with no gap change.

I will be trying ngk coppers just to see what difference they make. But just because I have the nitrous.

[dstrbd1]

i just got a set of msd 8.5mm plugs wires. feels a whole lot smoother to me, and a little quicker acceleration, but it could just be me. i paid about $75 for mine, but with only 40-50ohms of resistance per inch, i feel like it's worth it. next is gonna be some ngk plats.