Bosch Spark Plug (Platinum +4)

Hi,

My friend just called and asked me what plugs should he get for his
2002 Civic Lx (5 Speed). He seems to be very inclined for Bosch Spark
Plugs (Platinum +4).

I am not very knowledgeable person in cars but keep reading this group.
And he knows that

Any suggestions for this Platinum +4 plugs please.
http://aa.bosch.de/advastaboschaa/Product.jsp?prod_id=76&ccat_id=26&language=en-GB&publication=1

http://www.boschusa.com/AutoParts/SparkPlugs/PlatinumPlus4/

Thank you.

 

Avoid Bosch plugs and get OEM plugs. I think the OEM maker is NGK.

 

Why?

nb

 

There is a body of anecdotal evidence that says that Bosch plugs don't work
well in Hondas. Since I've never used Bosch, I can't say one way or the
other.

However, Honda specifies ND or NGK plugs, and since I trust Honda more than
I trust myself, I use NGK.

 

I'm not aware of any "body of anecdotal evidence", but concede it
may exist. I use Bosch Platinum2's in my Honda and my Harley. The
suckers last forever.

All Japanese motor vehicles use ND or NGK. I'm not familiar with how
good they are these days, but they used to be crap. High performance
motorcycle engines ate them like candy and the best thing you could do
was replace them with ...anything. Since I'm no longer a m/c wrench,
I'm not up on their current reliability, but do realize they may have
improved.

nb

 

Google for it. It might be one of those things like the FRAM oil filter
evidence, which I'm personally skeptical about.

NGK platinums wear from a .043" gap to .050" in 30K miles in my B18A1. Mind
you it also spends about 75% of its drive time at 4,000 rpm or more.

Life was improved once I moved down one heat range. Gap wear used to be
worse.

 

I put non-NGK plugs (I can't remember which brand it was) in my wife's
92 Acura Legend, and it ran rough. When I replaced them with the
recommended NGKs ($12 each!), it ran much better.

 

why not? theyre good enough that honda recommends them (and ND). id only
use bosch in a VW.

 

so you never change them? or does "forever" mean "until the recommended
change interval"?

 

When did Honda start recommending them? They don't in the manuals on any of
my Hondas and Acuras.

 

My 99 Prelude Service Manual only lists NGK and Denso plugs, but my 84
Prelude manual (I'm a pack rat) lists NGK: BPR6EY-11 and ND: W20EXR-U11.
Although I no longer have the 90 manual, I seem to recall NGK and ND.

J.

 

(Mike Iglesias) wrote in

I had something called "Splitfires" for a while in my 'Teg years ago, and
experienced the same thing. Replacement with NGKs made the rough idle go
away.

I don't see how the two are really related, and I don't know if the symptom
was psychosomatic, but that's what I felt at the time.

 

The +2s have been working great in my '87 Accord for several months now.
I can't say they're significantly better or worse than any others,
because they replaced some fairly dirty Motomaster (Canadian Tire brand)
plugs and I haven't done any kind of comparison testing other than
empirical comparison to a variety of "standard" type plugs used on my
previous two Accords... but they haven't showed any signs of fouling so
far and seem to be working as well now as when I put them in.

But that's just anecdotal evidence as well - YMMV (no pun intended).

 

Listing them and recommending them are two different things. If they
were to list every brand and model of plug that would work, it would
probably take several pages, and probably become more inaccurate over
time as brands come and go. Listing the ones they THEY supply in the
car seems a reasonable assumption, without necessarily saying they
"recommend" them (unless they DO use the word "recommend" in your manual
- AFAICR they don't in my '87 Accord manual).

 

OK, the 84 Service Manual listed only the NGK and ND part numbers in both
the Maintenance Schedule and in the Engine section, without stating
"Recommended" or otherwise. Any reasonable person would assume that IS a
recommendation since that's what Honda was supplying.

However, my 99 manual flat out states, "NOTE: Use only the spark plugs
listed below:", (one NGK and one Denso - both are platinum). Again, this is
what Honda supplied and I interpret this to also mean "Recommended".

J,

 

He ended up buying platinum +4 plugs and so far he is happy. Lets see
how it goes in long run.

 

Bosch plugs seem to loosen. Had two do that in my BMW--one totally
popped out. (Should probably check the other two.) And I always use a
torque wrench and anti-seize.