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Spark plugs???

2416 Views 16 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  AlexGS, 
alfaal164l
I am needing to replace my plugs in my 92 164l not sure what to use. Any ideas???
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http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/showthread.php?t=37113
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Alfisto Steve
Disclaimer: I don't do S engines so don't know much about correct plugs for them.

However, for the 164B/L engines I use the one heat range hotter Champion, RN9YC Automotive Spark Plug, Stock #415 or Autolite AP64. I don't pay those big bucks for sparkplugs.

I found RN7YC plugs to cold for my high mileage cold natured engine but I don't boy race it too much anymore with both my advancing age and that of my car.

Note: That the higher the number, the hotter the plug with Bosch and Champion. The reverse is the case with NGK.
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AlexGS
Alfisto Steve said:
Disclaimer: I don't do S engines so don't know much about correct plugs for them.

However, for the 164B/L engines I use the one heat range hotter Champion, RN9YC Automotive Spark Plug, Stock #415 or Autolite AP64. I don't pay those big bucks for sparkplugs.

I found RN7YC plugs to cold for my high mileage cold natured engine but I don't boy race it too much anymore with both my advancing age and that of my car.

Note: That the higher the number, the hotter the plug with Bosch and Champion. The reverse is the case with NGK.
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Good old Champion N9Y (or RN9Y with resistor) - what the old FIAT 128 1116cc saloon used to use, over 20 years ago :) Yes, the one you see beside me in 1989, jacked up on tyres in the driveway.

So - special small-point platinum plugs don't give a better spark? Wouldn't four-electrode plugs last longer?

Cheers!
-Alex
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Alfisto Steve
AlexGS said:
Good old Champion N9Y (or RN9Y with resistor) - what the old FIAT 128 1116cc saloon used to use, over 20 years ago :) Yes, the one you see beside me in 1989, jacked up on tyres in the driveway.

So - special small-point platinum plugs don't give a better spark? Wouldn't four-electrode plugs last longer?

Cheers!
-Alex
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The AP64 plugs are single platinum tipped I believe. I don't believe 4-tipped plugs much better. It seems with unleaded gas plugs last me a long time.

Lodge plugs are nice but pricey and to cold for my engine. Think I still have a set of new ones with HL-USA spec number on box. that maybe a hotter heat range over HL or 2HL not sure.
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lowmileage
AlexGS said:
Wouldn't four-electrode plugs last longer?
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Hocus Pocus IMO. Double plat's last the longest but don't deliver the hottest spark from what I've read.
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Alfissimo Int.
lowmileage said:
Hocus Pocus IMO. Double plat's last the longest but don't deliver the hottest spark from what I've read.
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I agree. NGK/Champion for the L model is fine to use. Equivalant to Champion number.
Go for the iridium, they seem to work well and last a long time. # BPR7EIX
I felt the +4's to be a waste of money. I no longer use Bosch plugs at all.

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/showthread.php?t=37113


Jason
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D
4 electrode plugs can last longer, if they are the correct ones for the heat range of the engine, but I do think the center electrode design is critical for a long life. The trouble with them in the S is that they get too hot for that engine, as compared to the B/L, in my experience. I think Bosch just missed this one. The Bosch Plus 4's in my wife's Milano do continue to work nicely, however.

What we do know is that the problem of misapplied plugs is that they are either so cold that they are susceptible to oil/fuel fouling, or, they run too hot, burn the electrodes, esp the center, and then fail to initiate a spark under certain conditions, causing a miss.

My own opinion, from what I've read through the years, and esp with the new generations of computer designed and controlled/fuel injected engines, is that a spark is just a spark as far as the engine is compared. It takes only a certain spark to start the ignition process, and a "hotter" spark doesn't affect the initiation of the flame front.

I do like the NGK double plats for a long unattended life, even though they cost a little more. They amortize nicely over their extended lifetime.
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MrT
I have 12 of the BPR6EIX iridium NGK's on the table top ready to go ingo the son's '91S and the other son's Milano when we re-do its engine. And the other son is the one with the daughter's former '93L (175k miles) that we still have out from last Saturday doing all the things mentioned in the "picture support for roller bearing replacement" thread.

Michael
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AlfaTango1
About 10-12 months ago I was drunk bidding on Ebay (similar to drunk dialing an ex) and purchased a set of plugs from England that were in OEM Alfa orange boxes that I thought were Lodge. So I get them in the mail and realize they are Champion. I go back to the listing and sure enough it says Champion somewhere in the little print. Now I've raced many an American muscle car in my day and would never use Champion for those apps. We had a saying "The ABC's of spark plugs, Anything But Champion" What is the word on these plugs for a 164? For the life of me a don't know where I put them, but swear I saw them about a month ago. I cannot tell you the part number but I could have purchased the same ones here for like two bucks each.
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Alfisto Steve
Champion plugs are listed in some 164 shop manuals and owners manuals as alternate plug for Lodge. My 91L salvage car came to me with 6096 miles on it with Champion plugs installed. I have used them for years without any trouble. I AM A CHAMPION MAN HEAR ME ROAR!
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AlfaTango1
I know there are some apps where Champion is supposed to work real well and I'm glad to hear that they are fine. I think the L may be the next inline for plugs but that may be a year out. I think they have Bosch single platinums and the S has standard Bosch.
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C
When did Harry Reddy join the bulletin board ?
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Alfisto Steve
cfishkin said:
When did Harry Reddy join the bulletin board ?
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Right after Happy Hour!
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gt601
About 10-12 months ago I was drunk bidding on Ebay
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That's pretty funny! A guy that lives next door to my ex father in law bid and won a 60 foot self propelled cherry picker on ebay once. The shipping was murder because it had to come on a semi. I asked him if he bought it to look down his chimneys:D.

Back on topic... I have always used the NGK plugs except in the Alfetta where I use the Volvo 850/S70 non turbo three electrode plugs. That way they don't foul up in the big valve head. They really seem to work better than anything I have used so far.

Paul
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AlfaTango1
Yeah I try to refrain from bidding on anything too expensive late at night since the chances are decent that I've had a glass or three. I probably shouldn't say this since the seller may be on this board but I once bid and won a Milano that I thought was L.A. but it turned out to be LA as in Louisiana. He was understanding and I'm sure he got more than the few hundred bucks I bid on it.
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AlexGS
For what it's worth

Oddly enough, yesterday I bought spark plugs for my 164. I pulled out a plug and discovered it was a Golden Lodge 2HL - the previous owner must have cared! - however, it was (they are) very dirty and the gap(s) look huge.

I went in search of the BPR6EIX and did not find them in stock at either of three automotive parts stores. One had the BPR7EIX (1.1mm gap), but I decided not to chance it when I was told the price ($27 each, about US$21)

While I was looking for the spark plug listed in the catalogue (BPR7ES I think it was), the knowledgable parts assistant (who I know quite well) had already found an NGK cross-reference for the 2HL: the B7ES.

I asked about the lack of the 'P' in the code and was told that means 'projected nose' - the B7ES does not project into the cylinder, as the 2HL plugs did not. The Iridium plug in contrast stuck out a mile, so either I was looking at the wrong Iridium plug, or they would hit something...

Anyway, all six of the B7ES plugs cost less than a single Iridium plug, so if they work, I'll be happy.

-Alex
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