[SolNine]

The IR5Y the others are short and I do not believe would work... They are in the same boat as the mislabeled autolite plugs for the 2.4 I don't know why they are all messed up. Here's a pic of all 3

 

[SolNine]

The MSD construction us clearly superior in almost every way. The way the top is cut is almost like it's side gapped, stock gap is. 040 on these and I don't intend on changing it, called MSD and they said to leave it alone and I'm going to agree with that due to the way it's set up. Their spark if you watch YouTube videos is already much more significant to begin with.

 

[SolNine]

Msd plugs are in torque to spec per the package I went with the low end of 18ft/lb just in case I went a little past the clock! Gave me a perfect opportunity to test out my new USA made gear wrench... Damn I love well made tools!

Runs great no issues so far after a 20 min test drive.

 

[youngsmith53]

Msd plugs are in torque to spec per the package I went with the low end of 18ft/lb just in case I went a little past the clock! Gave me a perfect opportunity to test out my new USA made gear wrench... Damn I love well made tools!

Runs great no issues so far after a 20 min test drive.

How do you compare the MSD's to the Autolite straight coppers?

 

[SolNine]

How do you compare the MSD's to the Autolite straight coppers?

Well here's the deal man there is SOOOO much conflicting information on spark plugs and gapping I honestly don't know what to believe. Some people say that bigger gap is more power, some say smaller gap is more power, some say it doesn't matter... About the only thing I've read that really makes sense to me is that if your gap is to big at higher compression ratios your spark can be blown out and not fire. I've also read other things that say spark is spark and as long as it's igniting the fuel it doesn't matter. I can't recall which website I read it on but basically for higher RPM applications it's desirable to have a smaller than factory gap but for a daily driver having a bigger than factory gap is good, because often times the cars come gapped to start in any condition even after the plugs are worn down over time. YouTube MSD spark plugs and you will see a video of them comparing it to a champion and clearly the MSD is much better. Honestly out of all 3 plugs the champion is the cheapest looking one.

I can tell you this after running autolites coppers after 1500 miles there was little to no carbon build up anywhere on the plug, I couldn't believe how clean they were to be honest. I was moderately concerned they may not be in the right heat range but that wasn't an issue gapped at .045. Can't say anything bad about them and they show no signs of wear.

From what I can tell the gap size on these particular plugs is fine to run at .040 which is what they come gapped at because the spark they create is massive, I believe this is due to the fact that they are almost side gapped. What I mean by that is the ground electrode is lined up so it does not have the center electrode below it, but rather the ground electrode only covers about half of the center electrode, so it's not as extreme as a true side gapped plug but some where in the middle. I think this yields a slightly bigger and stronger spark, so it propagates better. I feel much more comfortable having these in my car than the autolites as they simply are more robust than either the champs or autolites.

I'll fill you in more as I test over time!

 

[SolNine]

Here's a link to the comparison

 

[youngsmith53]

I'll fill you in more as I test over time!

Awesome, observations and I appreciate the lack of opinion... more knowledge makes us better as a whole. I appreciate you testing these out and I'll stick with my Autolites and we'll go from there... Maybe we'll get some good compare/contrast data from this after all. much obliged @SolNine!

 

[SolNine]

Awesome, observations and I appreciate the lack of opinion... more knowledge makes us better as a whole. I appreciate you testing these out and I'll stick with my Autolites and we'll go from there... Maybe we'll get some good compare/contrast data from this after all. much obliged @SolNine!

Absolutely anytime I can help!... Hey so I've got a question for you, I've seen various statements that iridium plugs are better performing, due to the fact that a finer wire electrode results in a stronger spark and with iridium it is also hotter because there is some what more resistance. Have you heard anything of this sort and how that compares to a spark that is easier to jump from the lower resistance copper? Because I was under the impression that only the core of copper plugs is copper and that the tip is some kind of aluminum coated alloy? Also there is varying info about whether more surface area of the center electrode is a good or bad thing lol.

 

[Bullfrog]

@SolNine
thanks for adding to the pool of information on spark plugs.

 

[youngsmith53]

@SolNine I'm happy you brought up this topic again, as I dug a lot more deeper into this. Hopefully this will help provide more understanding of the different types of spark plugs metals.

By definition the conductivity of a metal is a material's ability to conduct an electric current.
As far as conductivity here is what you are looking for (thermal conductivity of some commonly used metals (Watts / centimeter*Kelvin)):

Zinc = 1.16
Aluminum = 2.37
Copper = 4.01
Steel = 0.70 - 0.82
Platinum = 0.716
Iridium = 1.47

By definition the Restiveness of a metal is an intrinsic property that quantifies how strongly a given material opposes the flow of electric current.
In regards to restiveness of metals (Resistivity at 20 °C (Ω.m)):

Zinc = 5.92 x 10-8
Aluminum = 2.82 x 10-8
Copper = 1.7 x 10-8
Steel = ??? (reason being there are many variations of steel out there)
Platinum = 1.1 x 10-7
Iridium = 5.3 x 10-8

Now that we have the Electrical resistivity and conductivity of the above metals, lets put those two together...

Conductivity Of Metals Sorted By Resistivity​

credit: Conductivity Of Metals Sorted By Resistivity | Eddy Current Technology​

We measure the Conductivity of Metals by Resistivity, we use the IACS resistivity percentage standard. IACS is an acronym for International Annealed Copper Standard, which was established by the 1913 International Electrochemical Commission. The conductivity of the annealed copper (5.8001 x 107S/m) is defined to be 100% IACS at 20°C . All other conductivity values are related back to this conductivity of annealed copper. (An interesting side note is that commercially pure copper products now often have IACS conductivity values greater than 100% IACS because processing techniques have improved since the adoption of the standard in 1913 and more impurities can now be removed from the metal.) (credit: https://www.nde-ed.org/EducationRes.../EducationResources/CommunityCollege/Materials/Physical_Chemical/Electrical.htm)

Conductivity Of Metals Sorted By Resistivity (sorted by IACS % where higher percentage equals higher Conductivity & Resistivity = better spark for plugs)

Zinc = 29.00%
Aluminum = 64.94% to 24.00% (all depends on the quality/composite)
Copper = 103.60% to 85% (all depends on the quality/composite)
Steel = 2.90% to 2.30% (all depends on the quality/composite (10.70% is "cast steel" which we would not use))
Platinum = 16.28% (9.10% Platinum & Iridium Alloys)
Iridium = 32.60% (9.10% Iridium & Platinum Alloys)

With the new information I was able to find, I still believe that the Copper core plugs are best for the 2.0/2.4 engine thus producing a higher and more efficient spark and this has been backed by science. Even on the low end of the scale of copper it is still 52.40 percentage points ahead of Iridium and 68.62 percentage points ahead of Platinum. Granted there is the pay off of having to swap them out sooner rather than later with the platinum/iridium plugs. No, Coppers won't unleash gobs of HP and it might not show up on a Dyno, but the difference is there and backed by science. BUT, the spark you are getting from the copper is both more conductive and resistive thus giving a more powerful spark equaling a better response from the engine, which again is backed by science...

 

[805moparkid]

Anyone who daily drives with the coppers notice an mpg increase? Forget what you think it's doing, mpg and time slips are the only true tells without some serious time with any platform. I'm not sure why everyone is talking about life span when it's time to swap them at 30k anyways on the stockers

 

[youngsmith53]

I'm not sure why everyone is talking about life span when it's time to swap them at 30k anyways on the stockers

I believe you are thinking the 30k lifespan is for the 1.4t OEM plugs. The 2.0/2.4 NA's per the manual can run the stock OEM plugs for 100k:

Coppers on the other hand have been known to have a much shorter life span this is why the 30k mile mark for coppers was brought up in a prior post.

 

[805moparkid]

I believe you are thinking the 30k lifespan is for the 1.4t OEM plugs. The 2.0/2.4 NA's per the manual can run the stock OEM plugs for 100k: <img src="http://www.dodge-dart.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=50429"/> Coppers on the other hand have been known to have a much shorter life span this is why the 30k mile mark for coppers was brought up in a prior post.

Yea it probably was the 1.4 plugs, and the reality is it's a good idea to pop those plugs and look at how it's running a little more often than every 100k lol

 

[805moparkid]

Slow day so I have been looking at plugs again. The "stock" plug you guys claim to fit, the re16mc / #443 is a taper seat not gasket style. I have a list of plugs that are gasket style. Only copper I can confirm is the auto lite 5325 but unknown hear range, I think it's a 4 or 5 ngk. For a long lasting plug I would be looking at the 4469 (1 step colder) or the 4458 (2 steps).

Can anyone pull their plugs and get a pic of the thread so we can see how they are doing and what to adjust?

 

[805moparkid]

Found a ngk copper!!!
Lfr5a-11
6376
Heat range 5

 

[pbflash]

I installed the tapered Champion re16mc last night. I read someone else used them without the gasket and has not had any issues yet. I am going to pull mine in a few days to make sure all looks OK. I'll try to post a pic of the stock ones that I pulled at 26,700 miles later.

 

[805moparkid]

Another one!!!

Ngk 3672
LFR6A-11
Heat range 6

 

[805moparkid]

I installed the tapered Champion re16mc last night. I read someone else used them without the gasket and has not had any issues yet. I am going to pull mine in a few days to make sure all looks OK. I'll try to post a pic of the stock ones that I pulled at 26,700 miles later.

Everything I have found is these heads are designed for gasket seat plugs, so that's what you want to run. Besides that those plugs are way hot

 

[pbflash]

Everything I have found is these heads are designed for gasket seat plugs, so that's what you want to run. Besides that those plugs are way hot

In YoungSmith53's build thread, 2 users mentioned that they installed the Champions without issues. I've read a few places online that if the plug is beveled, you don't need the gasket. I'm not sure how true this is and will check the plugs in a few days.

 

[805moparkid]

My updated list