Cdog, Big P was asking for OPINIONS, so i dont appreciate your flying the BS flag in my direction.
you might want to read up before posting YOUR EXPERIENCE as gospel. above i said platinums 'can' cause problems. many folks whom have tried platinum have noticed a detrimental difference. there is no disputing that platinum does not conduct as well as copper. the only advantage of platinum is that the gap does not erode as fast; there is no performance gain from platinum -there is a loss of performance from platinum. i would have agreed with you had you said iridium rather than platinum. iridium is the best of both worlds, but pricey. but you didnt.
if you think that one of any similar plug will perform noticably better than another, maybe it is time to go back to the "other" forums you must visit. in the real world, plugs, even with 40 ground straps, dont "create" an extra 20HP. something to do with that whole path of least resistance.
im real glad your platinums work good for you. did you base your decision on reading a magazine write up? i once heard a rumor: Mag's get compensation to promote products. just cuz i saw it written up does not mean i will use it or that it is a good product.
many folks in here run autolite plugs; i would not call them average ford junk. for the record, i dont think autolite has any OEM connection to Ford, so Motorcraft would be the only product that fits your description. i personally have no problem with Motorcraft parts.
as for many of us, i guess we better go get some platinums so that we can see some of that above-average performance we apparently dont have.