SP542 Thread

[zombiekiller]

I think that part of the reasoning for the hotter plugs is to attempt to prevent some oil fouling, especially in the absence of a factory catch can and/or Ford Performance catch can offering.

While my plugs were saying " I'm too hot", They actually looked like "i'm running too rich" to the novice based on some oil fouling.

I hadnt installed my catch can until about 5,000 miles, so I'll be interested to see what the plugs look like when i check them after a couple thousand miles.

 

[VSTOLG4]

I have zero doubt that when I swapped mine it ran smoother and was quieter. I likened it to the same sound you get when you change your oil and first start it up...you can just hear its smoother. Didn't notice a performance gain but I do have a tune and small performance changes aren't that noticeable anyway at this point.

 

[zombiekiller]

well, I'm completely baffled.

I switched the plugs and drove around for a few miles and my stumbling got way way worse.

I pulled the plugs and re-checked the gap ( which i set to .026).

Put everything back together and started getting cylinder 6 misfires. Pulled the #6 plug and it was WET and REAKED of gas. I luckily ordered some spare plugs and changed out the wet plug with a fresh one.

I did a bunch of research and thought I maybe just had a bad coil. I ended up postponing my road trip until I could get the truck to the dealer.

The truck was missing badly, would barely stay running after the initial high idle, lots of backfiring, and overall badness. In all honesty, it led me to the belief that I had a dead hole (which scared the shit out of me).

Fast forward to today and I figure, let me confirm that the coil is problematic by switching one that I know is good with the suspect coil and see if the problem follows the coil.

So I swap coil 1 and coil 6.

What do I get? Truck purrs like a kitten at idle now.

what in the ever living hell?

It would be one thing if by changing the wet plug in Cyl 6 fixed the issue. ( bad plug) BUT, Just swapping the plug did nothing to improve things. Only when i swapped the coils did things improve.

I'm going to drive it around to test, but if swapping the coils is what "fixes" the issue, I'll continue to be baffled.


For reference, all of this is with the stock tune.

Net/net, I'm sure that switching to these plugs will be "great" for some, but they aren't the magical "upgrade" that they've been made out to be.

I'd dare to guess that by simply taking the stock plugs out, re-gapping them to a consistent .028-.030 would provide a pretty similar result.

The color of my stock plugs wasn't awful. I'll still be interested to see what the color looks like on these plugs after I get more miles on them.

 

[eclou]

well, I'm completely baffled.

I switched the plugs and drove around for a few miles and my stumbling got way way worse.

I pulled the plugs and re-checked the gap ( which i set to .026).

Put everything back together and started getting cylinder 6 misfires. Pulled the #6 plug and it was WET and REAKED of gas. I luckily ordered some spare plugs and changed out the wet plug with a fresh one.

I did a bunch of research and thought I maybe just had a bad coil. I ended up postponing my road trip until I could get the truck to the dealer.

The truck was missing badly, would barely stay running after the initial high idle, lots of backfiring, and overall badness. In all honesty, it led me to the belief that I had a dead hole (which scared the shit out of me).

Fast forward to today and I figure, let me confirm that the coil is problematic by switching one that I know is good with the suspect coil and see if the problem follows the coil.

So I swap coil 1 and coil 6.

What do I get? Truck purrs like a kitten at idle now.

what in the ever living hell?

It would be one thing if by changing the wet plug in Cyl 6 fixed the issue. ( bad plug) BUT, Just swapping the plug did nothing to improve things. Only when i swapped the coils did things improve.

I'm going to drive it around to test, but if swapping the coils is what "fixes" the issue, I'll continue to be baffled.


For reference, all of this is with the stock tune.

Net/net, I'm sure that switching to these plugs will be "great" for some, but they aren't the magical "upgrade" that they've been made out to be.

I'd dare to guess that by simply taking the stock plugs out, re-gapping them to a consistent .028-.030 would provide a pretty similar result.

The color of my stock plugs wasn't awful. I'll still be interested to see what the color looks like on these plugs after I get more miles on them.

Perhaps your plug torque was off, or the coil boot wasn't fully seated, or you didn't have good contact (use dielectric grease)?

 

[zombiekiller]

Perhaps your plug torque was off, or the coil boot wasn't fully seated, or you didn't have good contact (use dielectric grease)?

nope to all of the above.

Drove my truck about 20 miles.

Something is up with Cylinder 6. Problem stayed at the cylinder.

It isn't the plugs. The swapped the stockers back in and the problem persists.

Truck is going to the dealer in the AM.

 

[rtmozingo]

I'd dare to guess that by simply taking the stock plugs out, re-gapping them to a consistent .028-.030 would provide a pretty similar result.

The color of my stock plugs wasn't awful. I'll still be interested to see what the color looks like on these plugs after I get more miles on them.

Sorry to hear about your issues, but thanks for the feedback. I actually spoke with my service manager and a master tech at my dealer, and the tech advised to stick with the factory plugs, but regap if I was noticing issues. I'm thinking that's what I'll do, if anything.

 

[zombiekiller]

Sorry to hear about your issues, but thanks for the feedback. I actually spoke with my service manager and a master tech at my dealer, and the tech advised to stick with the factory plugs, but regap if I was noticing issues. I'm thinking that's what I'll do, if anything.

yeah, there is something else going on with the truck outside of the plugs.

I was getting misfire DTCs for cyls 4, 5 and 6 as well as the multiple random misfire dtc and the misfire within first 1000 revolutions dtc.

I swapped the plugs in hopes that it would smooth out the shuddering and that the dtcs would stop.

No dice. It has only gotten progressively worse.

so, roadside assistance is on the way to get it.

 

[Gargamel]

Are you running a catch can by chance?

 

[zombiekiller]

Are you running a catch can by chance?

I am.

Running a UPR catch can.

 

[OPT PRIME]

Does an aftermarket BOV offer the same benefits as the weep hole? I only have a 1” drill bit so haven’t quite yet had the courage


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