I went to Autozone and bought my wires for my recent tune up. As some of you may know, I have been having a problems and bad parts galore.

The Latest: I had installed platinum plugs instead of standard plugs. I have read through these forums that if you are going to go to platinum plugs, then you need the sturdier walled wires. So, I told the guy I wanted an 8mm wire set. He sold me the Duralast and told me that's what they were.

I have had that slight tick problem. So, I called another Autozone and asked if those were absolutely 8mm. Guy checked and called back and said YUP.

Three days ago I wrote to Autozone headquarters. They finally got back to me today and told me that the Duralast are made to standard OE specs - 7mm!

If it doesn't say it on the box, or from the manufacturer, don't believe it. I am getting so ticked off at all of this. [sm=smiley35.gif]

 

Autozone doesn't stock 7mm wires for the Dodge Vans. They should've known that.

 

Per the corporate guy, they sell what the original stock wires are for that vehicle. He said, in my case, that is 7mm. The counter guy assumed they were 8mm, but they are not. Corporate guys says they are 7mm. I havehis email in my inbox.

 

There is a simple solution to this, check the wires with a caliper style thickness gauge.

 

Here's four sets to choose from. I think the MSD ones might not fit unless you have a MSD distributor.
http://store.summitracing.com/compar...4294839064+115

 

Autozone is the walmart of the part's industry and exists because of our perception that because another store might charge more we are being scammed. In reality, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!! Sure I wouldn't buy an $800 alternator from the dealer, but I'm not going to put one on 5 times because Autozone sells it for 129.99. Also, I'm not a big fan of aftermarket platinum plugs. I've sat through too many court cases against bosch and other manufacturer's who were being sued for the tips falling off and scoring the cylinder wall. Many times it's due to faulty installation etc, but it still leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Also, for the difference in price I just don't feel that it is worth it. We install Champion OE style plugs about every 50,000 miles with 7mm wires (on our fleet of dodge ram vans)and a full tune-up and seldom have any problems. In addition, most platinum plugs they claim will last 100,000 miles................good luck getting them out of the heads.......especially on a van. I would gladly change the plugs with stock ones every 30,000 with a smile on my face. Besides, it is a VAN afterall, your probably not trying to race too many supercharged Subaru's!!! The biggest issue we have is with the coil. It inherently rusts due to its location and cracks the plastic housing allowing water intrusion and ruining your day. The same coil is used on many other dodge products without the same failure rate, due to it being in a different location. We also dispose of the phillips head screws and replace them with standard cap screws and antiseize, which allows you to replace the coil without crawling underneath and removing the whole bracket. Dodge vans are an interesting beast, but if you learn about the various quirks and ways to remedy them, they really aren't all that bad! AS FOR THE COUNTERHELP, YOU CAN'T EXPECT MUCH FROM SOMEONE WHO PROBABLY WON'T MAKE MUCH OVER MINIMUM WAGE UNLESS THEY GO INTO MANAGEMENT!!!

 

Never made much sense to me either to spend 4 times as much on plugs that last twice as long without improving performance or gas mileage to any degree. Also when assuming that they actually last as long as claimed or you don't sell the vehicle within 50,000 miles of changing the plugs.