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Author
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Topic: Spark Plugs
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70SportsRoof
Gearhead Posts: 964
From: Orange County, CA
Registered: Dec 2001
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posted 06-19-2005 02:50 PM
   
Next weekend I'm going to replace the plugs and wires (orig wires still on it). For the wires I was planning on Ford Racing 9MM, but I was wondering about the plugs. Should I still with stock ones, or maybe a differnt style? With all the platinum, 3 prong, etc, it's confusing. I don't mind spending the extra bucks for better plugs. Any opinions? TIA.------------------
Gary M
2 '46 Ford 1/2 tons, '47 1 ton, '57 Fairlane 500, '70 Mustang 63B SportsRoof, '95 Mustang GT coupe
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Steve68Cougar
Journeyman Posts: 23
From: Galva, KS, USA
Registered: Jun 2005
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posted 06-21-2005 01:21 AM
My suggestion would be to stick with Motorcraft plugs or Autolites. What I've done with stock 5.0 HO's (I'm assuming you'e talking about your 95 GT) is to use one step colder plugs (32's) and crank up the initial timing a bit (12-14 deg BTDC) and crank up the fuel pressure to about 42. I did this to the '90 Lincoln Mk7 LSC I'm driving and it jumped the gas mileage average from 18 to 22. I have gotten adjustable fuel pressure regulators in the past, but found out (from TurboGT) that carefully crushing the fpr while watching a pressure gauge can do the same thing (I would suggest using an adjustable fpr unless you're really comfortable with the process of crushing a regular fpr). It doesn't take much to jump from 38 to 42 psi, so you'd want to be careful. Different engines like different fuel pressure, so it may take some tweaking to find the sweet spot for the engine. Anyway, back to the plugs. A fresh set of Motorcraft plugs is plenty good for a relatively stock 5.0. Platinum is actually used on plugs for longevity rather than for it's electrical conductivity (and for marketing purposes). As for the plug wires, my only experience with the Motorsport wires wasn't a good one. There was quite an electrical show under the hood at night. That was probably 10 years ago or so that I bought them, so things may have changed since then. Others have had good luck with them (someone else may have a more recent opinion of them). If you don't see any arcing then it may not be necessary to change from the stock ones.------------------
68Cougar - 289, 4-speed
98 Mustang Cobra convertible - stock - does everything better than the Cougar except bring a smile to my face.
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SteveLaRiviere
Administrator Posts: 44921
From: Saco, Maine
Registered: May 99
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posted 06-21-2005 06:04 PM
Every time I experimented with fancy plugs all I ever got was poorer. You can't beat Autolites. Avoid Champions like the plague. ------------------
'70 Mustang Mach 1 351C 4V/FMX/3.25 Open
'70 Mustang Convertible 250 I6/3 speed/2.79 Open
'72 Mustang Sprint Hardtop 351C 4V/FMX/4.30 Trac Loc
'94 F-150 XL 5.8L/E4OD/3.55 Limited Slip
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Scott G
Journeyman Posts: 72
From: Chattanooga, TN USA
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 06-28-2005 10:00 PM
A word of caution about timing and fuel pressure changes on the 94-95 GTs. Changing the fuel pressure will net you gains right away, however, the computer in the car will actually tune around the higher fuel pressure and it will drift back to a stock tune. The only way to truely fix AFR is to have a chip burned or use a tuning device on the car. The timing is very finiky on these cars. A lot of the 94-95 cars have pinging problems based on the very high amount of timing that Ford ran for emissions reasons at part throttle. Upping the base timing only increases the likely hood of this happening. Again, the best way to do that is with a chip or a tuner. For what it is worth, I have heard very good things about the FRPP plug wires. Hopefully that helps some.Scott
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