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Is it true that the champion spark plugs from dealer are better?

K

kemarsh

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Calgary Alberta Canada
I bought champion plugs from a local parts store and I have a bit of stumble at idle (misfire). Is it true that these plugs could be garbage unless they are from the dealer? I'm thinking about buying champion truck plugs from the local part store or should I go to the dealer?
 
If everything else was useless garbage then why would they sell it? Obviously somthing from the parts store will work just as well if not better than the OEM solution.

Actually, correct me if I'm wrong but I believe champion also makes the OEM plugs, though it could be bosch. Good luck.
 
kemarsh said:
I bought champion plugs from a local parts store and I have a bit of stumble at idle (misfire). Is it true that these plugs could be garbage unless they are from the dealer? I'm thinking about buying champion truck plugs from the local part store or should I go to the dealer?
Click to expand...
Why sure, they sell the good ones to the dealer and the bad ones to the parts stores.:confused1
 
I have tried 3 other brands and they did ok for a bit but went flat on me lost gap or something. Went back to champ. and got back the pep and GM. I'm going to stick with them.
 
Champion plugs are Champion plugs. I have had the best luck with the truck plugs. I have also had a new plug that was bad, you talk about a pain in the butt! It was the last thing I checked because they were brand new! Put a temp gauge on each exhaust outlet and check the temp to see if they are all firing. (I used a laser one).
 
The dealer OEM ones are different plugs, seen it first hand with my own eyeballs. Back 5 years ago I bought the last 4 that the dealer had in stock and stopped by the parts store to pick up 2 more, got them home and the next day when I did my tune up I checked the plug gap, SOB two of the 6 were different from the 4 OEM's, same plug number but the electrode was thinner on the part store ones. I never had to gap the dealer ones but the part stores ones I did.
The only thing I can attribute it to is the OEM ones are required to meet tighter specs then the general supply ones. I always thought the anti-freeze was the same way, it alway seemed the people I knew ended up with a leaky water pump after changing their factory coolant with prestone or zerex or whatever, the Jeep specified a specific mix with very specific additives, anecdotal for sure but as for the plugs, NOPE, seen it myself in person, up close and personal.
Somebody here said that the dealers don't stock Champions anymore and are using NGK or Bosch, have not bought any since january but I have 14 champions on the shelf for later this month when all the jeeps get their annual tune ups... so I don't know for sure.
 
RichP said:
The dealer OEM ones are different plugs, seen it first hand with my own eyeballs. Back 5 years ago I bought the last 4 that the dealer had in stock and stopped by the parts store to pick up 2 more, got them home and the next day when I did my tune up I checked the plug gap, SOB two of the 6 were different from the 4 OEM's, same plug number but the electrode was thinner on the part store ones.
Click to expand...


there is one possible explanation to your experience...........dealerships often stock large volumes of certain commonly used parts........you might have gotten lucky and purchased your during a "parts update".......champion may have re-designed their plugs and you got a set of "new" and a set of "old" version.

i have seen that personally with other parts, but don't know for a fact if that was/is the case with the plugs.
 
I can say that Mopar Lift Struts that are made by Motermite are better then the ones in the motermite package from Autozoo... crazy but true... did not beleive it !!

I think its a QC thing
 
Dealer plugs are different, no doubt about it.

Notice I said different, not necessarily better.

I use Bosch Platinum +2's. IMHO, they give me a smoother idle and better performance and mileage than dealer Champs or NGK's
 
I'm running the NGK V-Power, They work better with the Firepower ignition I'm using. I'm getting 15-16 mpg city with 4.0, AW4, 4.10 gears and 30" tires
 
I'am running a different heat range champion plug 3x colder plug then stock, will this give me the poor idle that i 'am having and rich condition? The reason i tried these is I have a 4.6L stroker and could never get the idle to smooth out even at a .050 gap.
 
i put champion platinum plugs in my 99' and the truck slowly started to fall apart, rough idle, hesitation, and spitting black crap from exhaust. replaced plugs w/ autolite copper plugs after 1 week w/ improvement.
 
What plug should I use in my 4.6L stroker?

kemarsh said:
I bought champion plugs from a local parts store and I have a bit of stumble at idle (misfire). Is it true that these plugs could be garbage unless they are from the dealer? I'm thinking about buying champion truck plugs from the local part store or should I go to the dealer?
Click to expand...
kemarsh said:
I'am running a different heat range champion plug 3x colder plug then stock, will this give me the poor idle that i 'am having and rich condition? The reason i tried these is I have a 4.6L stroker and could never get the idle to smooth out even at a .050 gap.
Click to expand...

Another missleading post in OEM...
Who cares about whether an OEM Champion plug is better than the ones at Pepboys when your playing around with heat range and gaps?

Perhaps this post should be in MOD under the title of "What plug should I use in my 4.6L stroker"
 
This plug controversy has been going on for a while, but I've had similar findings to what folks are reporting. My son put a set of plugs in his '95, and a few weeks later, it was hard to start and mis-firing. I asked what brand, and he said whatever Advance Auto gave him ; not Champs, though. I bet him a paycheck that if he could find Champs, that they would solve the problem. Well, he owes me some money........ They actually cured the problem. Although, I changed mine recently, ('92, 186K), and the Autolite Platinums (two bucks apiece, Wally World) were like brand new with 50K on them. Never a hint of a stumble. So, IMHO, either choice here is fine.
 
I think you are seeing a difference in whether various plugs are gapped correctly out of the box.
 
I bought a set of Champion Truck Plugs 4412 today from the local parts store and then went to the dealer to compare them to there OEM stock plugs RC12LYC. They are the same, the electrode size is the same. Therefore this concludes that the RC12LYC at the local parts store have a smaller electrode then the RC12LYC at the dealer but the truck plugs 4412 are the same as dealer plugs.
 
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