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I recently bought a 1974 Coupe that had been sitting for a number of years, it has 350 small block with an Edelbrock Performer intake & camshaft. Am installing a new Edelbrock AVS2 1906 650 carb next week and think I should also update plugs, are AC Delco Rapidfire Performance Paltinum Series plugs a good choice or is there a better plug? This car also has headers and dual exhaust just want a reliable plug, not looking to race or anything like that.Thanks in advance for any sage wisdom passed on.
68Topless
I prefer copper spark plugs.
copper conducts better than iridium and platinum. And significantly cheaper.
however, the iridium and platinum plugs last far longer. I use the rare metal spark plugs on engines that are a PITA to change the plugs on, so don’t have to do it often.
on most sbc’s, which are easy to change, I use copper plugs. Cheaper and better spark.
The thing is, it's not just that it's a 350 Chev.
As an example, I run a NGK BKR5E-11 plug in my 350.
With aftermarket aluminium heads that require gasketed style plugs and a very hot DUI distributor with compression a little over 10-1.
A engine with stock heads that require a tapper seat plug will definitely be different. Compression, cam and tune also affect which plug is optimal.
Just spoke with NGK tech the other day about this and he suggests UR6 plugs for mild street engine. The hotter UR4 and UR5 would be too hot for an iron head.
Just spoke with NGK tech the other day about this and he suggests UR6 plugs for mild street engine. The hotter UR4 and UR5 would be too hot for an iron head.
UR6? I think you'll find that to be too cold, at least at stock compression. 5 is kind of the sweet spot for street driving on a modified engine in the 10:1 CR range IMO. The more mild the engine the hotter you'll want the plug to keep it clean, in the range of 4 to 6. UR4 works well with the low compression stock engine specs in my experience.
Just spoke with NGK tech the other day about this and he suggests UR6 plugs for mild street engine. The hotter UR4 and UR5 would be too hot for an iron head.
I think he's just going by common cross-reference to factory recommendations – today's gas is different than when our cars were new. I use NGK plugs in both of my largely stock big blocks (iron heads) and both engines have either a 4 or a 5 heat range plug. If you have a mix of idling, town, and highway driving with the majority of the engine's run time spent between 0-45mph, then the 4 or 5 heat will serve you better. If you commonly run at highway speeds (or above) for most of your driving time then maybe a 6 heat would be better. A set of these copper plugs is less than half a tank of gas, so choose the UR5 and run that for a while. Examine them after a few hundred or thousand miles to see how they're doing – adjust as necessary.
As an aside, while the rare-metal plugs may last longer, that's kind of a non-starter with our cars. Are you really going to put 100,000 miles on the plugs to see the benefit of longer life? I doubt the plugs most of us have will ever see 30,000 miles!
Just curious if you have iron or aluminum heads as another user said that plug is too hot for iron heads.
I've never heard this aluminum vs. iron head statement before this thread. I'm of the thinking that it must not matter because in all the "what spark plug should I run" threads, folks aren't advising against one or the other depending on head material.
Well I'm not sure where your reading. But it does make a difference, old school iron heads flow differently and have vastly different, (less efficient) combustion chambers.
even the amount of total ign. Timing varies between iron and aluminium heads.
Most stock SBC iron heads require tapper seat plugs. Most aluminium heads require a gasket seat plug.
Lot's of differences.
differences in ports, combustion chamber design, compression and even cam timing all effect plug choice.
perhaps your only reading about people with factory stock engines.
Which in the world of 40-60 year old SBC engines is less common than much newer vehicles.
Well I'm not sure where your reading. But it does make a difference, old school iron heads flow differently and have vastly different, (less efficient) combustion chambers.
even the amount of total ign. Timing varies between iron and aluminium heads.
Most stock SBC iron heads require tapper seat plugs. Most aluminium heads require a gasket seat plug.
Lot's of differences.
differences in ports, combustion chamber design, compression and even cam timing all effect plug choice.
perhaps your only reading about people with factory stock engines.
Which in the world of 40-60 year old SBC engines is less common than much newer vehicles.
4-vettes, I think you're replying to me. If so I wasn't saying there is no difference between iron and aluminum heads, just that I've not seen anything relating to spark plug heat recommendations specifically calling out iron vs. aluminum - and your reply didn't either. Is there a generalization that can be made for plug heat depending for iron vs. aluminum?