Rapid Fire Spark Plugs?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 196
Likes: 0
From: St Paul MN
Rapid Fire Spark Plugs?
Is it worth the $ for Rapid Fire spark plugs, or are Champion just as good? It's a 1976 L-82/m-21.
Last edited by crazydalys; Apr 7, 2005 at 01:25 PM. Reason: add info
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 2,668
Likes: 43
From: Eastern US XX
Originally Posted by crazydalys
Is it worth the $ for Rapid Fire spark plugs, or are Champion just as good? It's a 1976 L-82/m-21.
If you don't want to pay the extra $$ for the Rapids, then I would recommend standard AC plugs. They are very good.....still.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 29,745
Likes: 3
From: Exiled to Richmond, VA - Finally sold my house in Murfreesboro, TN ?? Corner of "Bumf*&k and 'You've got a purdy mouth'."
CI 6-7-8 Veteran
CI-VIII Burnout Champ
St. Jude Donor '06-'10, '13
I love the Rapid Fires. Every car that I have installed them in I have noticed a smoother idle and maybe - just maybe - a bit better off-idle performance. But they definitely have always produced a smoother idle.
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 32,519
Likes: 1
From: central America
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
Platinum generally last longer (hence the reason why a lot of the new GM cars don't require new plugs until 100,000 miles). I'm not saying that those plugs won't last 100,000 miles in your vette, but the one thing about them is they don't lend themselves well to gapping. In fact, when I used to sell them, they came pre-gapped, and you weren't really supposed to touch them with a gapper. Platinum is hard, but can be brittle (if i remember right, my metallic chemistry is a little weak). Honestly, I'd run the R44TS or whatever the standard AC plug is for that year. They hold up just fine, can be regapped when necessary, and have always worked fine for me.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 29,745
Likes: 3
From: Exiled to Richmond, VA - Finally sold my house in Murfreesboro, TN ?? Corner of "Bumf*&k and 'You've got a purdy mouth'."
CI 6-7-8 Veteran
CI-VIII Burnout Champ
St. Jude Donor '06-'10, '13
another problem with platinums is when you run more voltage through them than they were intended for. From the experience we had with Bosch I was not happy. We had a hotter coil on a Shelby GLHS turbocharged engine and the plugs went to crap within 3000 miles. A call to their customer service group and a call back from a product rep. informed me that the additional power, the boost from the turbo, the higher heat environment caused more resistance in the "wire" that is normally a much larger electrode. This resistance with the additional power causes them to overheat and melt the wire or cause it to crack internally.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
