Best Spark Plugs for Performance! 

What is your preferred spark plugs?

NGK Iridium spark plugs are the best in my 35 years of mechanic experience. I will use nothing less.

Good job man. Thanks for all the time you put into this it is appreciated

I swapped out my stock plugs with iridium several yrs ago I notice slight improvement with gas mileage. Performance wise well good firing I lay into it too . Thanks again for this presentation nate

I've been using the original Lancia spark plugs manufactured by champion for my Fiat Coupe. Recently I've swapped to Bosch and NGK. Didn't notice any difference but most probably by chance the NGK condition seemed to be better when removed. By the way all were copper spark plugs didn't uprage to any irridium or so.

Build a compression chamber use an inert gas, pressurize and see which one fails to fire as you increase the pressure.

Your video of the sparking is amazing and tells me a lot!! Thank you.

NGK sparks looked more consistent and not jumping all over the place

I run NGK iridium plugs. I can’t say I get more horse power but they went 100,000 miles and look brand new.

I've been using E3 for the past few years. Totally dependable

I’ve been using NGK Iridium plugs for years, they’re very good plugs. I’ve also tried those Bosch Platinum Plus 4 plugs that were crazy expensive at the time and I ended up having trouble with them very shortly after. I didn’t notice any performance gains from either one tbh. My last two sports cars used the Iridium plugs straight from the factory.

I have used the E3 plugs and they are very good plugs. They perform real good. They are very good on gas mileage and they are hard to flood and they just crank right backup and keep going.

Ok, here's the deal, copper is the best sparking plug but the center electrode wears quite fast. Platinum and Iridium are harder and more temp resistant. That's why they are used, to extend the service time. It can be extremely difficult to replace spark plugs in newer cars, especially V-6 front wheel drive cars. The cylinders facing the front are easy but the ones facing the rear are a pain, usually requiring removal of the intake manifold and cowl (where the wipers are) you don't want to have to do that every 30,000 miles.

nice video！ can't wait to see your test the LED headlight!

Always had good luck with ac delco copper plugs. Cool video would like to see more like this!

I've had my old school plugs for three years and still going strong

I love your honesty;)

Great test mate

I've used E3s on two different 350 V8 Chevrolet Gen 1 engines, which work very well and are pre-gapped! The others are mediocre, in my opinion, and experience with all of these. Thanks for the video!

I don't think this type of testing really proves the performance of brand new spark plugs. That can only be done with actual performance testing in an engine. My newly rebuilt ( last August ) 2.7 liter ( 4 cyl ) 3RZ-FE engine ( Tacoma 4x4 ) ran excellent with the regular NGK Iridium plugs. With only 12,000 miles on my engine & these plugs, I decided to switch over to the newer NGK Iridium IX plugs, that feature the tapered tip on the strap. NGK claims this new design decreases quench in the combustion chambers. My regular NGK Iridium plugs revealed perfect, normal wear on all 4 plugs, they looked identical. So I know my engine/ignition/timing is dead-on. But even so, I noticed a slight performance gain after switching to the NGK Iridium IX plugs. I had also installed a set of Magnecor 8.5mm ( KV85 ) plug wires, which definitely delivers 100% of the energy produced from your coils. TIP: to ensure the best performance & durability from plug wires, NEVER pull plug wires loose, unless it's a roadside emergency, or you are replacing plugs or plug wires themselves. And even then, ALWAYS pull plug wires when your engine is totally cold. Pulling good plug wires loose when the engine is at or near running temperature, will wallow out the plug wire connectors because both spark plug end connectors and plug wire connectors expand with heat. This causes the plug wire connectors to have a poor fit to the spark plug, and performance & fuel economy suffers. Pulling plug wires when the engine is totally cold minimizes the risk of wallowed-out plug wire connectors. ALSO: Really good plug wires are just as important as good spark plugs.

Wow cool video Nate. I appreciate your information and studies.

I have always had good luck using the factory replacement AC Delco spark plugs in my vehicles. I tried a set of E3 in my '79 Cadillac. They didn't last at all. Number 8 cyl kept fouling the plug out every few weeks. I put AC Delco back in the car and drove it another 2 years before I parked it for good and the plug didn't foul out. I wouldn't use an E3 spark plug in my lawnmower. I have also had good luck with NGK.

i would like to see an autolite vs ngk video with the pressure raising and raising until one fails and the other wins

NFL plugs are for performance!!! Tried them in different applications(personal vehicles) . They are hands down a quality plug.

I bought some E3's for my 06 trailblazer i felt the difference. The olds were just 3 1/2 years olds. The truck ran just. But i felt the difference 👍

Love the video but especially love the voice!!😅

Replaced my AC Delco spark plugs on my 2005 Colorado with some NGK iridium with new boots. Noticed the difference immediately on startup and driving. Just hoping my truck stops burning gas so fast

My 1.8t Audi engine tuned to 250 whp loves the brisk silver racing plugs.

For my sbc 350 circle track engine using cheap copper plugs and cheap cap and rotor i file the ground straps to a point. I do the same on the rotor button. I first did these mods on my stock daily driven truck and noticed a difference and after several months i inspected inside of distributor cap and found no arc trails commonly seen on stock caps. Plugs wore fine and any fuel mixture issues were easily visible. Thats all folks.

Ac delco in all my cars and trucks. Champion in my small engines.

For maximum economy, the copper plugs are the way to go. When I had my Focus, the OEM plugs were platinum, but replacing them copper plugs delivered a constant improvement of 1 mpg city, 2 mpg highway. The copper plugs can deliver a hotter spark due to less resistance to voltage loss. Yeah, they needed replacement between 12 to 15k miles, but if your thrifty or looking for better economy and/or performance that's the way to go. D

Its all marketing, someone is always trying to sell you something. In my opinion, Copper Core are inferior to the competition. With today’s EFI and electronic ignition systems, copper core will last 100k miles, I’ve done it personally. The only reason copper core gets a bad rap is back in the carburetor days, lots of cars ran rich on fuel, quality of the oil was also not as good as today. This caused fouling of the plugs. Hence the premature failure.

In non turbo app bosch platinum plus yttrrium with 2-4 electrodes outperform and cost 4-6 dollars. If you have turbo an irridium or ruthenium plug is necessary with ruthenium out boosting and lasting irridium for a boost in cost also!

I run those E3 plugs in my 06 mustang did definitely notice a performance increase with those plugs. I had quicker throttle response and the car actually gained a little bit of extra power I was impressed.

One of the NGK with 3 something exploded in my 93 Audi C4 Quattro 2.6. I changed back to the oldstyle, change them once a year and work's fine. Next is the oil by an old Audi V6, keep by 10w40. My young mechanic filled 5w30 in with the words; it's much better for your engine. After 500 km the engine starts a clicking noise, I changed the oil back to 10w40 and it stops after 50 km. Old Cars dosent like fancy mondern stuff I learned from that. Regards from Denmark.

Just started using the E3 plugs in a 77 cj5 with a DUI distributor upgrade. HUGE difference!

Can't tell you how many E3 plugs I've pulled from customers Camaros, Firebirds and Truck 4.8,5.3 an 6.0 LS engines that made them run like crap just to throw a set of NGKs back in and they run fine. But so far I've haven't had to change them out of a Mustang. Just seems odd the chevys didn't like em.

I would have turned down the voltage until each plug stopped firing. Other that that, all this was was a pretty light demonstration.

Best plugs I ever ran were Pulstars, at first. They have major reliability issues. Longest I had a set last was 10k miles before the ceramic insulator broke apart. NGK Ruthenium HX comes in a close second and is crazy reliable.

Call me crazy, lazy or busy, but I have a 2006 4.8 with over 220, 000 miles all on the OEM plugs. Maybe I have been lulled into thinking I have not lost any performance by it being my daily driver for 16 years. I am sure I have lost something yet my truck still has good throttle response and I have in the past towed a 30ft RV. Engine idles very smoothly. I am the sole maintenance guy on this truck but for the life of me, why I have not changed the OEM plugs or wires is beyond me. Maybe because I am not feeling any degradation in power. Not sure about the MPG from new.

I noticed the difference with the NGK iridium plugs compared to bosch; Champion; AC Delco and other brands is when used on a high performance engine mostly with some engine modifications.. When your using it on standard engines all of them seems the same and no significant difference... But once you advanced the timing or increase the boost pressure on turbo engine or run a high octane fuel... There is where NGK shines... The engine never bogs down or misfire on a dyno where other spark plugs does... BTW the car is a heavily modified Honda turbo civic I used it with... Running Hondata S300... You can see clearly on the dyno graph how each of those spark plugs behaves under intense boost

I have use E3 plugs in all my engines right now they’re installed in a 92 V-8 Dakota 95 v8 jeep And in my Buick Park Avenue v6 and I just changed a three-year old with 45,000 miles on them out of my 87 Dodge V8 and they looked pretty good still

would love to see the same plug with and without resistor built in tested side by side in the tester you have

I’ve had issues with e3 spark plugs. Never a firing problem with the NGKs

Great video. Actually, i have two police cars, Crown Victoria and an interceptor utility that i need to remove the intake manifold to charge the plugs,They used Motorcraft platinum plugs, and the performance is excellent .

Run E3 plugs in most of are atv,dirt bikes and three wheelers. They are more foul resistant. We street ride two Honda Dax 50’s hundreds of miles a summer. We would foul spark plugs probably every two trips with regular NGK or Champion plugs. Converted both bikes to take E3.24 small engine plugs only used two plugs total since the conversion. They also foul a lot less in 2 stroke engines when trail riding.

I stick with NGK or Denso platinum or iridium depending on budget.

My idea of testing would be….. Run 4 different plugs in a vehicle then bring them back to the bench to see how the spark and temps are with carbon build up on them. I personally feel an spark plug will spark and do it’s job, but how’s does it react to carbon build up and exposure to engine heat. I also feel the plus with the needle like core might prematurely fail quicker due to lack of surface area and carbon building up on the tiny needle like core. Just my thoughts. And maybe that’s why E3 is confident giving the warranty they give on their products. I race motorcycles in endurance races. I’ve always been parcial to NGK in anything made in Japan. But I have a KTM (Austrian) dirt bike and I have had NGK prematurely fail leaving me changing a plug miles out in the woods. I tried E3 and I haven’t had a single plug fail YET. I’m running the trails, same fuel, same jetting on the carburetor. I would have no issue sending you a NGK and E3 that I’ve ran in my bike for you to test on the bench if you would like. They would both be run on the same track for the same amount of time so it would be a fair test.

Remember the plugs from JC witney and claimed to fire in oil?

Running a honda 4T trail bike single on NGK standard plug all was well but I tried the NGK iridium plug. On the standard plug huge bright blue spark. The iridium plug couldn't see the spark but bike started easier ticked over better came off choke quicker and ran more smoothly. There wasn't any problems with the standard plug but the iridium was better. TL 125. If anyone's is interested the engine is quite and tighter sounding. Difference between a Timex watch and a Rolex.. both work but one is better. Plug cost £10 apposed to £4 on eBay.

I’ve been using E3’s almost since they first came out. Personally I think for NA set ups they work great. Always noticed a better throttle response for sure and increase MPG by around 5 miles per gallon. Mostly 4 cylinder engines and 1 6 cylinder.

I've experimented with many different plugs in my 11' Audi A4 quattro 2.0 tfsi b8 . This car is known for carbon buildup due to direct injection amidst other things, therefore I've found that iridium doesn't carbon up like the factory "Double Platinum" does. I've tried NGK & Denso in copper, Platinum, double Platinum and Iridium. I personally like the Denso Iridium power the best. They seem to burn off the carbon due to extreme heat range. Just IMO..

My spark plugs are about $2.50 a piece... I have a custom turbocharger set up that I did so I run a one step cooler (than stock) plug and change them frequently... don't get taken in by expensive spark plugs... all you need is for it to light off... a flame kernel will burn everything in the cylinder....been running them for ~15years no issues

My choice is E3 for my beefed up Honda Ej8 coupe and AC Delco for my GM car

I tried all the plug types in my 95 tbird. Super ez to put plugs in. For the money? Copper. I had a msd system on it and I could open the gap

I would like to see a 1 ohm spark plug vs a 5k ohm spark plug

Best is to stay with identical OEM, or risk problems…speaking from experience with many cars.

E3 plugs are absolutely the worst plugs on the market. Especially under boost where they would break up before 3500RPM. We tried, we tested, they failed.

When we clean spark plug using sand paper, will the remains of the sand on the spark plug affect the engine any way like damaging internal parts?

Think copper plugs are going to give you the best performance but they won't last as long.

Hi, any recommendations between Bosch double iridium and NGK laser iridium for the best power performance? (Im using Mercedes A class w176 petrol)? Thanks

Now is this best performance as In how does the plug performan and last I'm an oe application. Or is it which plug is best for a high performance application? Cause alot of time iridium isn't the best option for a turbo application along with platinum because it holds heat and causes detonation.

Would you test champion plugs

I've used e3 plugs on my lawn mower to see what the difference would be. It had more power and better mileage . Its easier to determine how much gas you use with a lawn mover because i use it the same every time. Anyway the plugs did not last one season..

In my 4.3 l V6 I put NGK iridium spark plugs in it it ran okay and then while on a delivery only 2 months later it was missing obviously I thought it was something else took the spark plugs out sure enough I have never seen a weaker spark put the old copper ones in after a little cleanup I'm sure I can go a hundred thousand miles on it and it's stronger than ever

What about using a multi meter to check the resistance?

Where do I get a tool like that let me know,

On a raptor 786 motor with 11:1 compression piston running on premium pump gas what plug heat range do you reccomend? Go with the *9 or the *8?

I appreciate the “good ol’ boy” accent. Great video and keep testing.

Hello my friend, what is the best type of spark plug, NGK or Bosch?

Yeah but they may act different under compression. And heat.

I am using E3 in my heavy duty mowers. Never had a problem.

Rare metal plugs last longer but Copper plugs Burn fuel better and more properly due to larger stronger spark.

what do the results indicate?

I have a 2007 E550 with 150k miles and stock plugs still inside I think. I was wondering What would be better choice. Denso iridium power 5353 ixuh 22 plugs or ngk 5353 iridium ix plugs?

Where can i buy one of those testers? And how much???

I saw the show power nation simply install the E3 plugs on a Dyno and the engine picked up about 9HP just by changing plugs over a good quality plug but at $10 a plug not sure I want to do that.

Denso iridium vs NGK iridium. Which one is better?

I feel like i would run the ngks in my quad but still putting og Motorcraft pluggs in my cyote

If i put an iridium plug in a 2 strokes, what are the gains?

I preferred iridium, more last longeeeeeeer and low maintenance.... Actually, you can save more money, even though it was more expensive in the first place.

I desperately need some spark plugs for a 2013 Jaguar XF 5.0 Supercharged. Which plug would be better for longevity & performance? Help...

IRIDIUM Centre electrode is only for car manufacturers warranty. Silver is the best material but I use Pulstar Pulse Plugs with Inconel centre Electrode. A spark plug on gives 50 Watts per spark. A pulse plug gives 5 million Watts for 2 billionth of a second.

What was the best?

Hi my friend please telling me what spark plug I can use for my BMW 2003 325 xi

Back then (last year) I was a crackhead of a driver sliding and racing in my 150hp 1998 honda odyssey across the land. Still ended up with 30highway and 26combined with e3 spark plugs. Also installed a full custom exhaust to the cat and short ram at the same time so I'm not sure how much the spark plugs contributed to fuel economy but I do know that the odyssey was supposed to do 24highway and 21combined.

I've ran the E3 spark plugs before on motorcycles and they didn't last maybe a year at best, and they weren't as good as Ngk spark plugs. And the E3 spark plugs cost almost as much as the Ngk iridium spark plugs.

Just so you know there isn't a plug made with an actual copper electrode, all spark plugs that I know of do however use a copper core. The copper plugs as everyone calls them actually use a nickel alloy electrode

I only use the good old champion copper core plugs....

I've seen real-world testing, and e3 came out on top, with ngk in second

It is easier to see on the E3 plug, and the Copper AC Plug, You can see the Spark jumping to or from the Sharp Edge of the Center Electrode, and it is still visible on the Smaller Electrode Plugs. Sparks do like a Nice Sharp Edge. All Plugs new, but I wonder how each will perform as the Electrode Wears? I will put my Money on the much smaller Platinum/Iridium Center Electrodes

So far E3 seems to have larger / stronger current output, compared to the NGK. The Black Ac Delco spark plug seems to have larger / stronger current output, compared to the Silver Ac Delco spark plug. Overall it seems the E3 takes the 1st place. Black AC Delco takes 2nd place. Silver AC Delco and Ngk takes 3rd place.

Try checking the ohms

Does switching to iridium spark plugs improve engine smoothness and better throttle response in lower gears?

Copper is the best performing spark plug. Platinum and iridium just last longer. Both platinum and iridium sacrifice conductivity for longevity.

Can you test nitrode spark plugs 🔌

Can u make video in how a defective spark plug will look like on ur device. ?

Technically the plug doin what it’s supposed to from the point you switch them out is better performance. That’s just a pretty way of saying so.

I put 24 NGZk iridium in my V8 Benz. Ran smoother and better gas mileage, plus won't have to change them more than every 100,000 miles

No pulstar?? No ruthenium?