I disagree with HISSIN 5.0 I have used NGK UR55 platinum and they are great never cut out never foul and my idle is perfect! 5.0 magazine even recommended them! They pull for me to almost 5700RPM no problem! yeah you spend a little more but autolites are average ford junk for average performance!
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.
I had an 89 GT 5sp w/ 3.08s, back in 1996. Ran Bosch Platinums at the stock gap. Car loved them. Flat out screamed for such a stock GT Had a K&N panel, 18* timing, U/D pulley kit, and straight pipes in place of the stock muffs. Other than that bone stock with all smog, sway bars etc... and was a heavy car, power everything, A/C etc. On street tires I got a 14.19 @ 96 MPH and cut a 1.9 on the 225s how I dont know.
Fast forward to now.
We first discovered Bosch platinum plugs to be a problem in my friend Rodneys 1989 Mustang LX. He had bought a whole bunch of stuff including full MSD right down to the TFI distributor, and Bosch platinums at MY recommendation cause of my old GT. His car at WOT would get a real quick sputter or a miss. We put everything back to stock parts [one thing at a time] trying to fix the miss, and the last thing we changed were the platinum plugs, for the stockers. Bang, problem solved.
My car... I got the platinums from Rod and thought that maybe they'd work in mine cause each car is different [like I say my GT loved them]. SAME exact thing as Rods car, so I yanked em and bought some brand new stockers and been fine since.
dear Hissin I didn't say they were gospel plugs and that they had stellar performance! If you are looking for horse power from plugs you don't know cars! I was simply trying to state that you were wrong about platnium plugs being all bad they have been reliable for me and I don't have to change them as often! go ahead and even try the NGK non platnum you will see it is a good plug that doesn't foul and is reliable! So be nice I have used NGK for about three years now that is what I based my info on!
Using champion cause that's what they had and I have no problems what so ever, don't know no one else seem to run them, good price, good performance, and good life.
I run 12*timing with stock longblock, eddy rpm upper and lower 70mm TB, Mac Long tubes and O/R, I only use 93 octane and car runs like a champ.