E3 Diamondfire Spark Plugs? (Opinions)

[Ice_Man]

Well, I searched the forums and no one directly answered this question. So I'm going to attempt to ask it once more. For those of you who have a late model XJ 97-01 and have tried the E3 Diamond Spark Plugs in your 4.0L, what are your opinions? I have 114k on my 2000 XJ engine, and Ive changed the plugs a few times, but I'm currently running stock plugs. Reason being, I tried those Platinum +4 plugs that Bosch makes, and my engine ran like shit. I'm really not sure it maybe one of the connections was loose or if it was the plugs them selves (my wrench skills wasn't so good back then), but I can tell you that the idle was rough and it didn't want to run. I see quadratec has the E3 Diamond Spark Plugs in their new Cherokee Essentials catalog, and I even went as far as calling them to see what they had to say. Ultimately my opinion was that they sell a lot of them, and have very few returns. So my question, after the spiel, is: For those of you who have run these plugs, what are your opinions? Is gas milage improved? Power? Any other suggestions? Cause I can tell you that the way gas prices are going, it wouldn't hurt to get a little better milage, especially when running 32"s. And Ill never say no to a little bolt on HP. Last it should be noted, that I have a few preformance mods on my engine (K&N FIPK, Edge Trail Jammer Module and 63mm Throttle body, Magnaflow Cat-Back Exhaust). Thanks in advance.

 

[RyanM]

My XJ likes the good ol' champion plugs
the way gas prices are going you need gears, or stock tires

 

[John90XJ]

My buddy runs an auto repair shop and about 30% of what he does is Jeep and he's found that they run the best on simple Champion plugs.

Most of the time, rough idle, when the plugs have been changed to something like Bosch Platinums or similar, is attributed to the plugs.

 

[crusTodd]

Hey,
My '94 with external power bolt ons, including a full MSD setup, had a bad misfire around 4000 with those. They SHOULD be better, but when I went to the platinum version of the stock plugs, my Jeep ran MUCH better. I may still try them on my '99 Grand, though. I've read other reviews of them that suggest they REALLY are an advance in spark plug technology, so I'd like to know what's up with them too. Check out Direct Hits plug system also.

Later,
crusT~

 

[mgreen84]

Copper is a better conductor than platinum. Period. The benefit of platinum is a longer lasting electrode. If you want a better PERFORMING plug find one that has the largest copper electrode available (i.e champion truck plugs) If you want one to last longer get a platinum. If you look at it from an electrical point of view (because thats all the ignition system is) Copper conducts very well burns hot and erodes quick. Platinum is also a conductor, not as good as cooper but it does conduct electricity however it does not erode as fast.....Thats why some forced induction engines can't run platinum plugs, they are easy to ""blow out""(best way to describe it) copper is considered a super conductor thereby letting your fuel/air mixture ignite more effectively.

 

[ktm racer 419]

those plugs with the 3 or 4 prongs are just marketed to kids who want their honda to go faster and have cool stickers to put on their windows.

a spark will jump the gap to the closest ground point, so either way the spark will go to one of the 4 prongs, not all 4. so no performance gain whatsoever.

same with those big accel or msd coils, you dont gain much, a plug takes 7-12k volts to fire the stock coil puts out something like 40k volts which is more than adequate, so anything more is just to add color in your engine compartment and give you a cool sticker.

 

[PornstaR]

those plugs with the 3 or 4 prongs are just marketed to kids who want their honda to go faster and have cool stickers to put on their windows.

a spark will jump the gap to the closest ground point, so either way the spark will go to one of the 4 prongs, not all 4. so no performance gain whatsoever.

same with those big accel or msd coils, you dont gain much, a plug takes 7-12k volts to fire the stock coil puts out something like 40k volts which is more than adequate, so anything more is just to add color in your engine compartment and give you a cool sticker.

^^^ Unless you are running a "high fuel" motor such as FI. Just stating this since I run a 650+ whp Acura (yes a 4 banger) with 1000cc injectors. I have to run a Digi6.............. there is no way around it at this amount of fuel and 28lbs of boost. (there are no typos in this)

I agree with John tho, my rig had some crap platum plugs in it when i bought it and i swapped them right out. Ran much better just by the plugs.

 

[j99xj]

Or you could just trim back the tip of the plug so that the flame kernel can expand away from the plug faster.

The only downside is that the electrode wears faster.

 

[WheelinJR]

Don't bother.

For me, nothing tops a good old NGK V-Power plug.

 

[max419]

i dont know about cherokees, but my wrx sees a big improvement on fine wire tip plugs, there like 12.50 a piece, but they run great.

 

[Fred]

I've seen no mileage improvement for a year of use.

Fred

 

[planefixer]

Champion Truck Plugs.

 

[Stumpalump]

E3 plugs are great! That is they are great for their intended original use. 2 strokes. They dont seem to foul as fast because they center the spark energy up the middle and all the side electrodes shield the center from oil. I bet they would be great in a gas burner that fowled plugs because of oil consumption. They are worth it if you need one for a chain saw or weed eater. Not to start a plug war but Autolights are dam good and long lasting. Champions suck! Yes they are the worst plugs you can buy, period. They are now made in Mexico out of cheap metal and when you go to take them out they break off in your cylinder head. It happends to the old cast iron head tractor heads but most of the warnings are for aluminum heads. This is just the first google link I pulled up but do your own reasearch and never use Champions.
http://www.epinions.com/content_1646895236

 

[DeftwillP]

Probably over 60% of this board likes and uses champions. I haven't heard of one yet "sucking" on a I6.

 

[Stumpalump]

Probably over 60% of this board likes and uses champions. I haven't heard of one yet "sucking" on a I6.

They work great and I used the truck plugs in boats for years but the new ones can break off when you try to remove them. Ask around next time you hear of a plug that has broken off in a cylinder head and it is allways a Champion. That would suck. I bet a lot of n.o.s. USA made plugs are still around and that would be good but if they say made in mexico you were warned.

 

[MudDawg]

There are applications where multiple side gap plugs are the specified ones...but NOT for Jeep engines...air planes engines come to mind...but the intent there is if the engine runs lean and burns off a side electrode, the remaining one(s) may keep the fire lit. In a 4.0, the electrodes obscure the spark, causing poor ignition especially noticable near idle.

On "copper core" plugs, the copper is the conductor within the porcelain...not the electrode...use regular plugs...Champions are ok, but not my fav...i'm a NGK man...but autolites are excellent also...if you are high buck, order the fine wire platinum or iridium plugs...otherwise, the 1.95 plugs work well and are the best value for the money.

 

[Wounded XJ]

I have had problems with aftermarket spark plugs. I just go down to the dealer and pick up what they recommend. Yes it is a little more money, but I do not have to play a guessing game with what plug is going to work in my engine and what plug makes it run like crap.

 

[Ice_Man]

Well guys thanks for the info. Maybe somebody should tell quadratec to stop selling shit that wont work with our Jeeps. ;-)

 

[MudDawg]

They are selling what people want....slickly packaged in brilliant color with catchy logo....what else should one want??? Dull ordinary $3.00 spark plugs??

 

[MisterFubar]

It depends on the motor. I normally run NGK iridiums in my higher compression motors with great success. They are a little pricey, but the last set I replaced had 110k on them and I would have put them right back in if they weren't such a pain in the arse to change.

As far as the 4.0 goes, good ol' cheapy champions work great and I don't think you'll see any performance gain from running anything else on a stock motor.