TheSamba.com :: View topic - Newbie: What kind of sparkplugs do you use in your 1500cc?

Thu Oct 18, 2007 5:05 pm

Okay, so maybe it's just because I am a woman in an automotive store and the guy behind the counter with no teeth figures I have no idea about cars.....

I know I want to run Bosch spark plugs, and according to the Bosch website I should go with the Platinum Plus -- I have a 1967 1500cc. Well, I went into Kragen (which carries Bosch), and the guy behind the counter smugly looked up in his computer and told me that's not what I should be running "because they didn't have platinum back then". I'm assuming he knows that platinum metal was, in fact, in existence, although they hadn't figured out that using in on a spark plug would give better results. And then he told me "it's a special order that takes 3 days, and they want like $5 each", insinuating that spending a whopping $20 on a set of plugs was just a waste for a VW. Needless to say, I left that shop and won't be returning.

Back to my initial question -- what type of spark plug do you run in your 1500cc engine?

Thanks for your help!
Lori

Thu Oct 18, 2007 5:08 pm

Not neccassarily a 1500, but BOSVHE supers, or Bosche Plantnium is what I run, I like the platnium better

Thu Oct 18, 2007 5:10 pm

Bosch W8 - AC supers....

Thu Oct 18, 2007 5:19 pm

same as above.

Thu Oct 18, 2007 5:32 pm

Don't bother with the platinum, they are for people that don't open there hoods for 100,000 miles, plus platinum is a terrible conductor of electricity. Go with the Bosch Super, they are cheaper and work better.

Fri Oct 19, 2007 6:14 am

having worked at Robert Bosch from 4/69-4/99 i was racing a 56 beetle and driving a 61 ragtop beetle as my daily driver. we were offered free platinum plugs to test in our air cooled beetles if we would give them feed back. after using them for a month i told them to install them where the sun don't shine. use the bosch W8AC plugs- gap and clean them every 10,000 miles. i lost mileage,fouled easy,lost time in the quarter mile and other problems. they work great in water cooled. but then again maybe you should buy some and do a retest of platinum plugs in a vw aircooled engine. :shock:

Fri Oct 19, 2007 7:19 am

Thanks for all your help! I'm definitely going to trust you on the air cooled engine test with the platinum, and go with the other recommendation. :lol:

Lori

Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:12 am

I won't use W8AP (platinum) ever again either. I've always ran Bosch Super W8AC copper plugs. Note this though, Bosch has recently introduced a new "Super Plus" series of spark plugs, and the old plain Supers are getting hard to find. (these Super Plus have a Copper/Yttrium alloy for the core.) I've yet to see the new W8AC+ plugs (7902 alternate part number) But I know that some auto part chain stores, such as Autozone, that used to carry the W8AC/7502 plugs, no longer do so.

Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:26 am

I had great luck with plats, but this was on a fresh fuel injected T3 motor. Fewer plug removals meant less chance of stripped head threads, and my mileage went up about 2mpg.

But as the engine aged things went less well. RIchness and some oil blowby meant they fouled easier and they didn't run as smoothly. Now I'm back to the copper (W8AC) and probably won't go back, at least until after another rebuild.

Use a (very) light coat of anti-sieze on the threads in either case.

Fri Oct 19, 2007 2:03 pm

KTPhil wrote Fewer plug removals meant less chance of stripped head threads. Sometimes this just means the plugs stay in longer and more time to weld themselves to the head so you pull the threads anyway.

Fri Oct 19, 2007 2:10 pm

I never had them weld, just wear out and increase the chance of cross threading. The car had inserts and these are always troublwsome, so leaving them alone seemed a good idea. Anti-sieze seemed to keep them from welding.

But after about 50K miles they just didn't run well and I am back to the stock copper plugs, even with replaced heads.

Fri Oct 19, 2007 4:21 pm

nobody uses Bosch silbers? My BMW (hold your comments) runs like crap with any other plugs. I have to order them, but it's worth it.

Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:42 pm

Crazy people sometimes prefer NGK.

The tired 40HP that came with my '63 had B6HSs in it. I put some B5HSs in my new 1385, but it's only got 300 miles on it so far. We'll see what happens.

Fri Oct 19, 2007 11:08 pm

My '67 currently has some low-mileage NGKs in it (from the previous owner), but it's getting Bosch W8AC's next. :twisted:

Sat Oct 20, 2007 10:48 am

would it be the same for DP 1600 to use the super w8ac ?

Sat Oct 20, 2007 2:56 pm

Yes, the W8AC is good for all the stock aircooled engines 1200-1600.

Sat Oct 20, 2007 3:12 pm

Platinums were meant for cars with sophisticated electronic engine management systems. The little tip fouls too easy for a points and carb engine.

I like the NGKs better because they are electroplated and do not rust up like I have seen Bosch do. Japanese fasteners are almost always plated and are much less likely to rust themselves up. Bosch and NGK performance seems to be the same to me, though.

Sat Oct 20, 2007 3:31 pm

we run the bosch supers in all stock head rebuilds and customer cars, then the NGK's are run in the high performance builds and our race car.

SAY NO TO PLATINUM!!!