New Plugs and Wires WHOO HOOO

[Danbob]

Hey guys - I just changed my plugs and wires for the first time on my legacy since i've had it...bought it will 100k on it...now it has 115 k on it.... Figured I might as well go for it....Plugs were so corroded that the tips were practically worn away and white with crap on them(luckily no oil on them at all)....wires were the original ones that came with the car in 1995 and just nasty and discolored. I was not shocked at all, as I knew the old owner never took care of the car except changed the oil religiously and Ibought the car because of the low milage and price....I am wondering if the plugs were originals too.....anyway, changed to oem wires and ngk stock heat range platinums.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE.....feels like the car gained like 25 hp....everything is smoother and faster, rev matching feels quicker, idle is much smoother and lower, and the car doesnt lag anymore at all compared to what it was doing.....I should have changed everything sooner, but I am always more focused on my wrx so that's where all my play money goes....Anyway - took me about 15 minutes with no prior experience changing legacy plugs and wires...easiest I have ever done. Didn't have to pull the washer fluid tank or anythign else for that matter. Used a plug socket, 1.5 inch extension, regular ratchet, short ratchet, and that's it.

Sorry to ramble - just very excited that the car finally feels like a subaru and not a yugo. - Dan

[sheepdog]

Nice! It's always an awesome feeling when a simple mod makes a HUGE difference

[Sarra]

It's not a mod, it's called maintenance. ^_^; It prevents you from having to spend a huge wad of cash on a new coil pack.

[Huffer]

I put a new battery in the sedan on the weekend - it's running even better now, and the lights are actually brighter.

[LunchBox04V]

What type of plus did you put in? In my BC I put in Denso Iridium with Bosch wires. I have some Denso Iridiums for the BK, I just haven't put them in.
Spend a little now to save a lot later! Also, it made a big difference in the BC.

[devmaster]

this weekend i just put in new BOSH platinum 4 prong plugs, and what a difference. you can really feel the difference in the midrange.. best maintenance ever

[Plays_with_Toys]

I just replaced my MAF. That was a worthy endeavor. The idle is smoother. The next tank of gas will let me know whether or not my MAF was the source of my bad gas mileage.

[MoclovFlop]

I too just replaced my plugs, didn't know how long they were in there but they didn't look too bad. I was planning on going one heat range hotter (live over a mile above sea level) So I bought 5's, assuming that the OEM range (6) was in there. But when I took them out they were 7's. I noticed a small difference just from having new plugs, but I think the change in range will help with gas mileage.

[devmaster]

I just replaced my MAF. That was a worthy endeavor. The idle is smoother. The next tank of gas will let me know whether or not my MAF was the source of my bad gas mileage.

how much was the MAF.. i was thinking of just spraying mine with carb or brake parts cleaner.. depends how much $$ i have in the bank at the moment

[Wiscon_Mark]

this weekend i just put in new BOSH platinum 4 prong plugs, and what a difference. you can really feel the difference in the midrange.. best maintenance ever

I'd advise against the Bosch Platinums on Subarus - stick with NGKs.

[Plays_with_Toys]

I just replaced my MAF. That was a worthy endeavor. The idle is smoother. The next tank of gas will let me know whether or not my MAF was the source of my bad gas mileage.

how much was the MAF.. i was thinking of just spraying mine with carb or brake parts cleaner.. depends how much $$ i have in the bank at the moment

Bought it from a guy who was parting out some cars. He had two up in his attic. So $15. I imagine that's the cost from one at the junkyard too. There is now a MAF cleaner made by QRC. I think it's $5 for the can.

[devmaster]

this weekend i just put in new BOSH platinum 4 prong plugs, and what a difference. you can really feel the difference in the midrange.. best maintenance ever

I'd advise against the Bosch Platinums on Subarus - stick with NGKs.
whats the problem? the guy at the store who also happened to have a legacy GT wagon, and he liked them.. i put anti-seaze on them.. and i feel a little more midrange punch

[backpack09]

There is good reason that almost every Japanese car maker uses NGK spark plugs as OEM.

[Wiscon_Mark]

The Bosch platinums tend to cause misfires, especially on turbo Subarus.

[Huffer]

The improvement in response could just be a result of replacing worn plugs with new ones...

[devmaster]

The Bosch platinums tend to cause misfires, especially on turbo Subarus.
good thing im N/A.. hahaha... some of my friends american and euro cars hate NGKs for some reason so i went euro stock with the BOSCH plugs.. but i guess now i no

[AJM]

The Bosch platinums tend to cause misfires, especially on turbo Subarus.


Personal experiance?

I've haven't had a problem so far at 10k+ ,but i'm currently NA.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Nope, I stay with NGK, but people over at the BBS have reported many different times that they'd had troubles with the Bosch plugs, and I've seen a few of those here as well.

[devmaster]

Nope, I stay with NGK, but people over at the BBS have reported many different times that they'd had troubles with the Bosch plugs, and I've seen a few of those here as well.

i just thought it was home country pride for companys. most euro cars use bosch, most americans use autolites, and asian cars use NGKs.

the only drawback ive heard besides here is that if you dont use any/ or enough anti-seize on the bosch platiniums they get so hot they will weld themselves right to the block (in a way)

[shazapple]

I've had my Bosch platinums for probably 40k km. I can't really say there's any difference, but I will be switching to NGK next time around to see what all the fuss is about.

[d1giPhux]

How much do NGK plugs cost at a place like advanced auto? I was thinking about getting some online.. they are like $7.50 each or something. Are these the proper ones for a 99 subaru legacy gt:

plugs : NGK BKR5EIX-11

wires:

http://tinyurl.com/23ge5q

Damn wires are expensive.. what other brands are a good deal for some quality wires?

[devmaster]

How much do NGK plugs cost at a place like advanced auto? I was thinking about getting some online.. they are like $7.50 each or something. Are these the proper ones for a 99 subaru legacy gt:

plugs : NGK BKR5EIX-11

wires:

http://tinyurl.com/23ge5q

Damn wires are expensive.. what other brands are a good deal for some quality wires?
$7.50 a plug. damn. idk if its worth it

[backpack09]

I run the $1.77 Vpowah NGK's in both my 2.2 OBS and the 2.5 LGT and have no problems

[d1giPhux]

is $7.50 super overpriced for the plugs? It was just an estimate.. i saw some on ebay for like 4/$30 shipped or something..

Also.. where did you get the vpowers for $1.50... online, or local store?

[Wiscon_Mark]

You guys are being totally confusing here. The thing that hasn't been stated is that there different TYPES of plugs (copper, iridium, platinum) and they cost different prices.

Backpack is talking about the VPower Coppers, which are arguably the best plugs for the car (copper has the highest conductivity for spark) but copper doesn't last 100k miles, so they came up with platinum, which has less conductivity, but will last longer. They're much more expensive - that 7.50 estimate is probably pretty close for platinums.

Iridium is somewhere in the middle. IMO- unless you have the DOHC EJ25, changing plugs isn't very hard, and the coppers are the best spark plugs. They're cheaper, go with 'em.

[devmaster]

You guys are being totally confusing here. The thing that hasn't been stated is that there different TYPES of plugs (copper, iridium, platinum) and they cost different prices.

Backpack is talking about the VPower Coppers, which are arguably the best plugs for the car (copper has the highest conductivity for spark) but copper doesn't last 100k miles, so they came up with platinum, which has less conductivity, but will last longer. They're much more expensive - that 7.50 estimate is probably pretty close for platinums.

Iridium is somewhere in the middle. IMO- unless you have the DOHC EJ25, changing plugs isn't very hard, and the coppers are the best spark plugs. They're cheaper, go with 'em.
idk.. changing the right back plug was a bitch, unless you remove the windshield fluid tank. which will tack on thirty min to take off and on to the time.

i think the moral of the story is change your plugs at regular intervals and youll be fine any way you slice it

[d1giPhux]

You guys are being totally confusing here. The thing that hasn't been stated is that there different TYPES of plugs (copper, iridium, platinum) and they cost different prices.

Backpack is talking about the VPower Coppers, which are arguably the best plugs for the car (copper has the highest conductivity for spark) but copper doesn't last 100k miles, so they came up with platinum, which has less conductivity, but will last longer. They're much more expensive - that 7.50 estimate is probably pretty close for platinums.

Iridium is somewhere in the middle. IMO- unless you have the DOHC EJ25, changing plugs isn't very hard, and the coppers are the best spark plugs. They're cheaper, go with 'em.

I was talking about the iridium ones.. i put the part # in there. Also.. why is it harder to chance the DOHC EJ25? I have one of those.. damn, hope it wont be a pain in the ass.

[Huffer]

The heads are bigger on the DOHC. Less room to move. Took me 2 hours to do the first one, after that it got easier and I finished the whole job in 4 hours. If I do it again it should take less time.

[Sarra]

Autolite Copper plugs gave my EJ25D fits. After bucking and poor gas milage/acceleration over 3 months, I tossed the Autolites for some NGK Vpower plugs. Huge improvement.

[ivwarrior]

Also.. why is it harder to chance the DOHC EJ25? I have one of those.. damn, hope it wont be a pain in the ass.

On the dual cam, the spark plugs sit down between the cams. They sit down in tubes going straight into the end of the head. Not much room to move, with the frame rail in the road and all. Single cam engines, they're up closer to the intake manifold, very easy to get at. Sitting out in the open. Takes about 10 minutes to change all 4.

[d1giPhux]

Is there any way to make it easier to get to them? I noticed the other day while my car was on ramps in the front.. they didnt look too hard to access. Is it just hard to take them out because of the lack of space for the socket and stuff? Any tricks to doing it quicker?

[Huffer]

Yes, there's a writeup around somewhere, but I highly recommend taking the washer reservoir out, and the air intake (filter box) out also.

I also recommend using either magnetized sockets, with universal swivel attachments, or an extra long spark plug socket (www.harborfreight.com (http://www.harborfreight.com))

[Wiscon_Mark]

idk.. changing the right back plug was a bitch, unless you remove the windshield fluid tank. which will tack on thirty min to take off and on to the time.

30 minutes?

[d1giPhux]

Werd.. taking my washer fluid tank out will be easy.. since it only has one bolt holding it anyways! :lol: Also, I have an intake on my car.. so.. there is a wide open space on that side.. should be easy. Hope this fixes the 'bucking' problems ive been having recently. They arent very noticeable.. but i notice the car bucks a little in low rpms.. like when you accelerate from a cold start, or when you downshift, then step on it to go again. Think that would be causing the problem? Seems likely.

[Wiscon_Mark]

If it's a cold start, and you experience hesitation, I would say you just need to let the car warm up before you go giving it lots of throttle :wink: It's pretty normal.

[d1giPhux]

Nah.. not even cold start really.. i meant from a cold start.. aka your at a stop light.. and then you step on it.. or, down shift.. let the rpms drop down, then pick back up slowly.aka rolling traffic..

[devmaster]

idk.. changing the right back plug was a bitch, unless you remove the windshield fluid tank. which will tack on thirty min to take off and on to the time.

30 minutes?
i can be ADD some times and i will end up cleaning the engine bay and every thing around it. hahahaha :roll:

[warrior]

I'm looking for the copper V-Power plugs part number but I can't find it anywhere.. I have iridium but I'm not happy with them.. I want to change to copper.. NGK doesn't list their part number on their site.. any one know?

[Reason]

I thought I had a part number for them. I just have the double platinum PFR6B-11. I'll look some more for the V power.

[Reason]

Try this part number BKR5E-11

[warrior]

Try this part number BKR5E-11

That might just be it because BKR5EIX-11 is the iridium one, thanks. :)

[Jedi Taxi]

the only difference is the enevitable one. NGK is a jap company thus uses a different standard of eletrical messurement than any euro company (namly bocsh). so what happens here is that they end up making roughly the same product. the difference is roughly 0.0001 in heat disapation. With the wires its just about 0.00001ohms of resistance difference. if you want to know the truth, insulate the wires better, that way, you get less residual loss due to heat. meaning more power to the sparkplug. which more or less just mean dick, in the end, the same spark is being made, just at 0.000254sec difference between each spark. and that goes into ignition timing.

yes, it is awesome that he got more out of doing maintanance, but the fact of the matter is that beyond that, unless someone is bringing up the MSD 6AL, TEC3 Programable ECU, putting on a MSD ignition coil, this isn't really worth mentioning. unless we went into detail of gapping and indexing. discussions over sparkplug brand are not worth while to me.

thankyou for your time if you read this, for those who dissagree, im sorry if they see it differently, and for those offended, im sorry i did so.

that is my rant of the month, thankyou for your time.

[Huffer]

the only difference is the enevitable one. NGK is a jap company thus uses a different standard of eletrical messurement than any euro company (namly bocsh). so what happens here is that they end up making roughly the same product. the difference is roughly 0.0001 in heat disapation. With the wires its just about 0.00001ohms of resistance difference. if you want to know the truth, insulate the wires better, that way, you get less residual loss due to heat. meaning more power to the sparkplug. which more or less just mean dick, in the end, the same spark is being made, just at 0.000254sec difference between each spark. and that goes into ignition timing.

yes, it is awesome that he got more out of doing maintanance, but the fact of the matter is that beyond that, unless someone is bringing up the MSD 6AL, TEC3 Programable ECU, putting on a MSD ignition coil, this isn't really worth mentioning. unless we went into detail of gapping and indexing. discussions over sparkplug brand are not worth while to me.

thankyou for your time if you read this, for those who dissagree, im sorry if they see it differently, and for those offended, im sorry i did so.

that is my rant of the month, thankyou for your time.

I have no idea what you're ranting about. Is it one of the first posts you're referring to?

[Jedi Taxi]

Nah, just anyone going off on the entire arument of better brand differences that occur on every forum. sorry i didn't specify, i just wanted to vent somewhere, and i just had to get some aggrivation out.

[gwoiler]

I used to index the plugs on a MOPAR 440 a LONG time ago and I got 5 to 10 more horse power from doing that. But these plugs go in to the Subaru at the top of the combustion chamber... so how would indexing help?

[Monkhouse]

Nah.. not even cold start really.. i meant from a cold start.. aka your at a stop light.. and then you step on it.. or, down shift.. let the rpms drop down, then pick back up slowly.aka rolling traffic..

I'm currently experiencing this, and it turned out to be the knock sensor. Took a couple weeks for the check engine light to come on so I could figure it out. Hopefully yours is something cheaper.