Ok wanted to let everybody know that I have been getting 14-15mpg w/the a/c on and pulling a 16 ft flatbed trailer. The only thing I have done is a K&N filter, removed the intake resonator and replaced it with a tube (left oe airbox), removed clutch fan and I have it set to 'performance' using my superchip programmer, I run low octane and add 6oz of Xylol (same as Xylene) and have noticed a 2-4 mpg increase. With gas prices where they are that saves me about $15 a tank. Doesn't sound like much but that is around $75 amn and $900 a yr, so I would say the mods will easily pay for themselves.

I know the spark plug issue has been beat to death, but1 more question. Everybody (mostly) is against the platinum plugs from what I have read. Has anybody ever used the Autolite double-plat's? They say the have a solid copper core and the part # is AAPP5224DP2.
Thanks I appreciate whatever input I get.
Ron

 

Oh yeah, I also went synthetic in the diffs & tranny, use a quality high mileage oil and had to replace the O2 sensor.

 

When i put plats in my truck, I lost about 3 mpg on average. It was very noticeable when I replaced them with champion plugs that it went back up

 

The only reason why people use platinum's is because they "Last longer" But doesn't mean it is better. Platinum is less conductive than copper. Copper is one of the best conducts, and to compromise that with platinum, doesn't matter if it's coated. There will be more resistance creating less spark, not allowing your fuel to be burned completely. Unless you can apply more amps, to create that extra current, but than other stuff might go wrong other than the plugs. So best to stay away, I would even say in newer vehicles, unless the plug was designed to be put in with plats, because they needed the less spark.

 

That's why I'm asking. The specs say these plugs have 2 platinum tips to resist wear, but the core is solid copper. They basically, from what I understand take a copper core autolite, put platinum tips and there ya go. So my ? is do reg. plats have a different core? If this is really copper cored will the platinum tips really hurt the performance? If somebody has an old post that covers these specific plugs, just give me a link. I searched and couldn't find anything on these exact plugs.

 

Not sure about the core on others but it will hurt at first... More that likely, but over time a plate will come off with electricity running through it and you will have just a plain copper plug...

 

The main advantage of the platinum plugs is the platinum tips on the electrodes. I do believe the core is still copper. My old '97 Cadillac had the original ACDelco dual plat plugs at 140,000 miles, when I changed them. By that time, most of the platinum pads had worn off, but the gaps had not widened much. Considering these plugs were 40,000 miles BEYOND their stated service interval, and were still 100% serviceable, that sold me on the dual plat plug design. I put new plugs in and didn't notice a lick of difference, in economy or power or anything. The old plugs were still 100%, in terms of actual spark performance. My current '01 Cadillac has almost 70k miles, and I haven't even pulled the plugs on it to check them out. I'm sure they're a-okay.

Our old '03 Grand Caravan had 75k miles when we sold it, and it still had the factory Champion dual plat plugs in it. I never even pulled them to check, but the van ran like new. We traded it on an '07 Chrysler Town & Country, and it's got the same plugs in it that the '03 had.

I'm surprised to hear that dual plat plugs cause such a mileage reduction. I'm thinking that something else has got to be going on. Maybe the coil is already weak, or worn, and the increased resistance of the platinum plug design reduces the spark? I don't know. This must not be an issue on cars that were designed with dual plat plugs in mind, because I guarantee that if Chrysler could get EPA ratings of 21/28 ontheir minivans, instead of 17/25, just by using a cheaper plug, they'd do it.

I probably never will put platinum plugs in my Dakota, simply because the factory called for standard copper plugs, and the rest of the system wasn't designed for the platinum performance.

 

Well after doing another search I found a thread where a couple guys were satting that they had very good results w/ double plat, but the reg plat weren't that good. Does anyone have knowledge of how the d-plat plugs are constructed compared to the reg plats? Like someone else stated if they are copper core and the only platinum is on the tips why would it hurt performance?

What sparked this whole thing is I was at wally-world and they were clearancing off a bunch of plugs and these autolite d-plats were in the mix so I bought a bunch ($1.75 a plug), but will take them back if they won't work good. So then I started reading about the platinums, but haven't found anything that actually compares the 2.

 

Check here:
http://www.autolite.com/products/doublePlatinum.php

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