Bosch Platinum +4 spark plugs

[m411b]

I just installed some Bosch Platinum +4 spark plugs and some MSD 8.5mm wires on my 04GAGT and OMG I cannot believe the difference in performance I gained just from these items.Has anyone else had this experience?I am installing a stage 3 CAI from Doctor speed in a week or so and can't wait to see how much more of a gain I will get from the CAI combined with the new plugs and wires.It seems as though Doctor speed is a very slow shipper and they said it would take approx.2-3 weeks for me to recieve my CAI.Whats up with that?:D

[phantom505]

Yeah, it was OMG alright. They'll cause misfires after being on the road a few hundred miles.

If I where you I would yank them out and send them to Bosch, get your money back and then go buy some NGK TR55 or TR55IX plugs.

[m411b]

Originally posted by phantom505
Yeah, it was OMG alright. They'll cause misfires after being on the road a few hundred miles.

If I where you I would yank them out and send them to Bosch, get your money back and then go buy some NGK TR55 or TR55IX plugs.

Yeah The engine already had some misfires and I figured I would see if I could help it out with new plugs and wires but it still has misfires so I think I am going to take it to the dealer and have them look at it because it could be a sensor out of wack or something and I don't want to end up paying for it.

[phantom505]

It's under warranty. If you saved the stock plugs and wires then you should put them back in and have them look at it.

[m411b]

Y would I need to put the old plugs and wires back in it.Thats a maintainence Item.The engine should still not misfire.It only has 10000 miles on it.

[eblend]

Originally posted by m411b
Y would I need to put the old plugs and wires back in it.Thats a maintainence Item.The engine should still not misfire.It only has 10000 miles on it.

because the dealership will blame ur new wires for the misfires and will void the warranty on that part of the car

[phantom505]

They can't void it, but if they change your plugs and wires and it works, then they'll charge you for the cost of labor and parts because they just proved what you did was the cause of the problem.

[SilverStreak]

Bosch Platinum anything= JUNK

[phantom505]

They aren't junk, it's just the 3x00 hates them. Now that I have a set of ported heads to look at I think I know why.

The angle that the plug sits in the head is very slight with regaurd to the valves. With the +4 at least one electrode ground has very poor access to the valves. So in effect you get very poor combustion causing a misfire.

The other possibility is we are blowing the spark out. I think this is less likely.

As I understand it nobody seems to have problem with the +2, probably becasue the access to the grounds is better with respect to the valves.

In a Ford 2.0 Zetec they are friggen awesome....

[biggnome]

It's the waste spark ignition system that causes the problem with the +4s.

[phantom505]

Nah, I don't think the waste spark style should make much of difference. I think's more fundamental.... but all of this is academic.

Point is, don't use 'em.

[USMCspy]

well if you talk to mechanics that have been around for more than 5 days they will tell you that Bosch sucks period. NGK is the way to go. Hell even champions are better than Bosch. And just as a reminder change the plugs at 50K not 100K or you'll have to replace the whole damn system. Even at 60K I had more than three times the gap that should be.

[SilverStreak]

Here is my bosch +2 I had in. #3 cylinder was missing & I found out why. The electrode broke off 1/2 way up in the plug. At $4-$5 a piece these things are pure sh*t!!!! They were only in for no more than 6 months or 5,000 miles.

http://community.webshots.com/s/image9/4/22/13/120542213ofuAXx_ph.jpg

[m411b]

I had these spark plugs in my Grand Prix(91)LE 3.1V6 for the longest time and had not even a hent of a problem.But for some reason they just don't like the 3.4V6.I have noticed a real bad miss at low idle in OD at about 55-60 mph already and they haven't even been in for 200 miles yet.Does anyone have a web address for Bosch so I can give them a peice of mind?These spark plugs really do suck in this car and I think I am going to give the NGK plugs a shot,I'm sure they will do alot better then this crap.The miss I am noticing is only intermittent though,anyone have any suggestions Y?

[SilverStreak]

Does anyone have a web address for Bosch so I can give them a peice of mind?These spark plugs really do suck

I tried looking for an e-mail address or something on their website so I could send them a picture of their piece of crap plugs but it looks like they know their stuff is junk, since they have no e-mail link or phone # to contact them



Also check the laws of electricity. It flows in the path of least resistance so actually it is unlikely you would get spark to more than one prong on a spark plug.

[m411b]

makes since.Here is the link for the web page needed to return these plugs if anyone is interested.http://www.boschusa.com/AutoParts/SparkPlugs/PlatinumPlus4/
There will be a link on the page that says Performance Gurantee Form,hit that link and it will give you a form to fill out to return the crappy plugs.

[phantom505]

Originally posted by SilverStreak
I tried looking for an e-mail address or something on their website so I could send them a picture of their piece of crap plugs but it looks like they know their stuff is junk, since they have no e-mail link or phone # to contact them



Also check the laws of electricity. It flows in the path of least resistance so actually it is unlikely you would get spark to more than one prong on a spark plug.

Guess you better brush up on the laws of electricty. The reason for mulitple grounds for the electrode to fire to is due to the fact electrons flow from the ground to the center conductor... if the electrons in a local area are depleted it takes "longer" for them to travel or it can cause a response time like a capacitor.

[m411b]

Hey Phantom your HP and Tourqe went up Congrats..I've been following your post's for awhile now on these forums and on GAGT.com forums.Got any new dyno slips?
Congrats!!!!

[phantom505]

Yeah, the printouts look like crap. The HP curve not so bad, but they goofed the torque curve big time. The A/F jumps a bit, but it is 12 +/-1.

I'm going to try to get the source file and use the free reader to get better ones.

[SilverStreak]

Guess you better brush up on the laws of electricty. The reason for mulitple grounds for the electrode to fire to is due to the fact electrons flow from the ground to the center conductor... if the electrons in a local area are depleted it takes "longer" for them to travel or it can cause a response time like a capacitor

Thanks for the update on the electronics I'm a little out of date, but anyways they are still an expensive piece of SH*T.

[m411b]

Well, I changed those crappy plugs out and put NGK Iridium plugs in their place and OMFG, the difference is unbelievably apperhent.In a week or so I am expecting my CAI from Doctor Speed and I am sure to see a difference in performance after I install it.I would like to post a good pic of the car but for some reason I can't post it because it is too large of a picture and it looks like crap if I try to make it smaller.If anyone has any ideas on how I can post this pic, let me Know.The pic pixels are 1280x1024 and the file size is 395kb.Help me too post this pic !!

[99GrandAMSE]

... e-mail the picture to me and I'll take care of it for you :)

99grandamse@gaownersclub.com

[m411b]

Originally posted by 99grandamse
... e-mail the picture to me and I'll take care of it for you :)

99grandamse@gaownersclub.com


OK I e-mailed the pic to ya,I hope you get it. Thanks alot...........:)

[white04ecoGA]

I am going to have to agree with most of you that bosch products are not good at all. My roommate works at the R&D center in farmington Hills and he will be the first to say that Bosch has some seious Quality Issues. Aside from some of their Diesel products, they really seem to have problems bringing quality products to the market.

[m411b]

Yeah I've heard of these problems from Bosch,I've had problems with products from them in the past,I don't know why I tried them agin.I guess I was just an idiot that day or something because I went aginst intuition and bought those pieces of crap anyhow.I have made it a vandeta aginst Bosch though that I will never buy another product of theirs no matter if it is a microwave or a stuffed doll agin and so should everyone else if we want to get them off the market because of their shi**y craftmenship.

[SilverStreak]

I know I'm never buying from them again!!!!

[Eldaron]

I love their wiper blades.

[98GrandAm]

Their wiper blades piss me off so much. It took me like 45 minutes to figure out how to take them off. Damn pieces of shit.

[KSGrandAm]

It's not Bosch's fault that they're wiper blades are smarter than you are.

[white04ecoGA]

Bosch wiper blades are pretty good, just a lil pricey. They are factory equipment on most cars too. They test those things like crazy.

[bbechtel16]

Originally posted by Eldaron
I love their wiper blades.
That's what I was gonna say! I had one on my driver's side (Micro Edge Excel) for about a day (oversized at 21") They lied to me though and said all their blades support small pin arms but they don't. So it wasn't attatched very securely lol. The 21"+ blades only have large pin holes. So I had to get a Trico? Teflon 22" (They suck in comparison, but they allowed me to go up to 22" with a small pin arm.) In a couple minutes I'm gonna see if Bosch refills will fit my Trico. Maybe that will improve it. Problem could lie in the blade framing though...

[30thAnnGAGT]

I'm no electrical expert, but its the +4's that just run too stinking hot for our cars. Heck even the factory platinum tips run hotter than they should. Copper tips are what I used in the 00 and now the '03. I even buy them 2 degrees colder than stock and they run like champs! :) No knock or misfires here :)