Platinum Plugs vs. Regular In Your Daily Driver?
 

Hey all,
I'm getting ready to do some maintenance on my wife's '03 Liberty Limited since we'll be taking it on a little road trip next week. She bought it new in September of '02 and it currently has just over 31K miles on it. I figure after 7 years it's due for new plugs even though the miles are so low.

So, here's the question - Is there any advantage to using platinum over regular plugs on newer cars? IIRC, it comes with regular plugs. Will we see any sort of fuel mileage improvement with platinum? And, which plugs would you guys recommend?

Thanks in advance!

I think the only real advantage is that manufacturers can claim you don't need a tune up for 100K miles because the platinum's don't erode as quickly. I don't think it will really matter in your situation. My 99 Tacoma had 126K miles and the original non platinum plugs when I got it a month and a half ago. I put in some NGK platinums and it runs fine but doesn't really need them. I think if you're running some sort of aftermarket ignition then you don't want platinum.

Steve, the stock copper plugs would be fine for her car. Since the lack of milage, no need to spend the extra dough on something that wont be needed.

Thanks guys! I think I'll get some good 'ol Autolites for it and call it a day.

meh i heard that the platinum tips wear off in the first few thousand miles anyway leaving you with a regular plug anyway



i just regular old delco coppers

Im surprised the car doesnt come with Plats from the factory?

Yea most newer cars come with plainum plugs from the factory...check out the owners manual. Replacing them at 31K may be a waste.

I thought the same thing, but after doing some research over at jeepkj.com it seems the Liberty comes with cheapo NGK plugs off the assembly line. And most have reported them being overgapped by 30K miles, so it's probably a good idea to change them. I wonder if the coil-on-plug system has anything to do with that? The same thing happens to my Cherokee as well.

Ive heard of some problems with COP, but yeah regular coppers dont seem to hold up to the hotter COP systems.

Heh.....well, I don't know if the JF.com guys claim the same on the 3.7s as they do the 4.0s, but everyone seems to swear that nothing works as well in the 4.0s as regular Champion copper plugs.

I would say standard Autolight / AC Delco is just fine. I have AC Delcos in my XJ.

- Justin

I'd stay with NGKs.

Autolites work best when knocked over the fence with baseball bats and replaced with a good brand. :)

:lol: Nice!

I think I'll call my local guy tomorrow and ask if he has regular AC Delcos that will fit the Libby. Gotta order up a serpentine belt and Wix oil filter too since it just hit the 3K mile mark and the stupid reminder chime goes off every time we start it up. ;)

That was true of the old AC Delco platinum plugs that had those pucks on them. The newer ones don't have the puck so it's not a problem. I used to like the AC Rapidfire before they changed them to platinum otherwise I like the NGK regular plugs.

Weird, I ran NGKs for a while, pulled em, and now run autolites. They have not fouled up as bad as the NGKs did...

As with anything, particular application may alter performance. Brand X may work well for car A but not car B. NGKs were the first plugs I hit in my T/A that did not foul easily. We stocked autolite plugs and based on my experience I'll pass, especially in japanese cars. Mileage may vary.

So is there any advantage to platnium plugs besides not changing them more frequantly? Any performance or milage gains?

NGK's FTW