[oldeguy]

Went to my local CT store, in town. Asked for a price on spark plugs for a Zetec 2.0L. $18.00 each was the reply.

[darkpuppet]

hmm... I wonder if that's the going price for platinum plugs these days....

considering they should last you a 100,000km, that's not a bad price.

compared to the $12 for the full set of one step colder copper plugs I had in my focus which are supposed to be replaced every 30K.

[NOS2Go4Me]

It was nowhere near that for the SPI... I think I spent $40 all told and that was from the dealer for Motorcraft double-platinums!

CT appears to be in the business of hosing folks badly of late.

[S2]

Seems high to me last time I checked.....

Man at that price, you could get them at the dealership..... LOL and we all know how they hose ya there.

[Oscar The Grouch]

go to ford and get the motorcraft ones.

[ANTHONYD]

Goto the dealer.

I've heard the Focus runs like s*** on aftermarket plugs.

Replace them with the Motorcraft ones.

[ZX5focused]

ya thats about right, were those the laser platinum plugs?? i think those are the only one CT carries. im running them, and i havent had any issues. but i got to use my old discount when i bought them :D

[oldeguy]

ZX5focused,Sep 27 2006, 11:03 AM Wrote:ya thats about right, were those the laser platinum plugs?? i think those are the only one CT carries.  im running them, and i havent had any issues. but i got to use my old discount when i bought them  :D
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That was the laser platinum. might be worth the money?

[darkpuppet]

^^--- to be honest, if you're running a stock engine, the OEM replacements are your best bet.

Unless someone can post documented performance or mileage gains (dyno graph), I'm sticking to that answer..

[NikiterZTS]

i payed $13 or $15 for my platinum plugs

nothing special...maybe works a lil bit better on the milege

[S2]

I agree with Darkpuppet, I've always heard and used stock plugs, even on a modded engine (no internals) and it seems it's the best bet. I'm not to impressed with alot of the aftermarket pieces, a bunch are made alot cheaper then OEM and although it may benefit the car, of which alot don't, your still loosing in the end. Aftermarket tends to wear out ALOT faster then OEM..... this is almost always a given.......

[Casper]

Motorcraft plugs have been found time and again to be the best choice for all Foci. My last set of double plats from the local dealer cost me $40 for the set.

[Focus man. Focus.]

Doesn't Canadian tire sell plugs in pairs? If so isn't that a good price on platinums?

[Drivesthebeast]

Go OEM for plugs, that's what I do, and I replace them about every 60,000 (just coz I don't beleive in the 100K interval...). I tried some aftermarket plugs (bosch platinum) and I took them out and replaced them with OEM ones again after only a week...my car ran weird on different plugs, even when they were seated and gapped properly.

I also preffer to run Motorcraft 5W20 full synthetic, and FRPP 9mm ignition wires. The car runs great with this stuff!

[oldeguy]

Okay. While reading the replies to my post, (Thanks to everyone ), I have noticed that if I don't make any modifications, ie, turbo, exhaust, throttle body, etc, I'm being told that it's best not to do any small modifications. like putting in better plugs, or better wires. Is this because the modifications or changes won't make a difference to fuel economy or performance? I can't afford to put in a turbocharger, or change the exhaust. I would like to, as things need to be replaced, replace the parts with better equipment, to improve performance or fuel economy.

[NikiterZTS]

honestly with all my mods, my fuel economy went to shot.

even after changin my plugs, ugraded 9.3mm wires , puttin a new fuel filter, its still not good

i think in my case all my mods make me wanna go faster, take off from the light quicker......more stuff i put in my engine the s***tier milege i get.

wait till i get my header with flex in 2 months.....oh boy

[NOS2Go4Me]

if you're running a UDP set along with the rest, your fuel economy shouldn't suffer THAT much unless you're running a super-aggressive tune and wild cams, etc. My economy is largely the same in town and a tad better on the highway than earlier on thanks to the 50% UDP and good maintenance.

I still get about 400-450KMs around town before the light comes on. It could be better, but I love the sound of intake and exhaust too much :)

[ANTHONYD]

Clear Cut:

RUN FORD PLUGS!

Aftermarket plugs DO NOT work well in our engines.

I'VE HAD A MACHANIC TELL ME THIS.

[ZX5focused]

Focus man, Focus.,Sep 27 2006, 06:23 PM Wrote:Doesn't Canadian tire sell plugs in pairs?  If so isn't that a good price on platinums?
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nope. those ones come as singles.

[darkpuppet]

oldeguy,Sep 28 2006, 09:10 AM Wrote:Okay. While reading the replies to my post, (Thanks to everyone ), I have noticed that if I don't make any modifications, ie, turbo, exhaust, throttle body, etc, I'm being told that it's best not to do any small modifications. like putting in better plugs,  or better wires. Is this because the modifications or changes won't make a difference to fuel economy or performance? I can't afford to put in a turbocharger, or change the exhaust. I would like to, as things need to be replaced, replace the parts with better equipment, to improve performance or fuel economy.
[right][snapback]208963[/snapback][/right]

there are 'small' mods you can do that'll increase the performance of your car... in accordingly small increments.

Plugs and wires are one of those mods that really, nobody really needs to do, and swapping to aftermarket 'performance' parts can be more detrimental than helpful.

If you want to do some small things that'll make a bit of a difference, a cold air intake (a true CAI, not shorty or 'ram air') will help.. an exhaust will help a little. Porting the throttle body will give a bit more tip-in response. ... then moving on to the intake manifold, tune, and driveline components will offer some more gains.

So all we're saying is just do your research (which you're doing now), and you'll be able to do some mods that are both cheap and make a difference... sparkplugs and wires on an otherwise stock engine don't have any benefit.