Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Zetec Performance Curious about ignition

A while ago, I bout an MSD coil and Ford Racing 9mm plug wires for my car from an ex-zx2 owner. I'm wondering though, are the Motorcraft DBL plat made for the stock Contour good enough? or should I get a differant (larger) kind of plug? I thought NGK, but I'm not looking for 7 bucks a pop.

The Autolite Double Platinums are great! (Isn't that what the Motorcrafts are?)

The part number is APP5364. Never had a problem.

BTW, I've gotta give you some crap about your cardomain site... There is no "h" in Zetec. And our Zetec is not Japanese. It was designed in the UK and is built in America. It has been used since '93 in the Mondeo and other European Ford models.


BP

I had my spark plugs replaced a few months ago with autolites, no problems so far. As long as you seat them right you shouldn't have a problem at all.

I had problems with a bad Accel coil. Caused misfires and other bad crap.

Never had a problem with the Autolites though.

The problems I had with autolites were:
I first put them in... Not problem, especially on a warm day. Weather got colder and I relized that the car was never warming up... heater didn't work, ran lean and sputtered,when I gave it gas to get on the interstate, then when I let off the gas, it mis-fired and CEL flashed saying it was lean and a mis-fire. After a while of that, I changed the coil and wires with Borg and Warner, the problem persisted. I changed the plugs for another set of Autolites... Same problem, only this time, rattling valves and rods.I bought the Ford Racing wires and MSD ignition, still the problem. Went to auto parts store, told them about the problem, changed the brand to Motorcraft DBL plat and it worked like a brand new, well oiled machine. I now hate Autolites...

What about NGK? worth the money?

NGK are some of the best spark plugs you can buy. They also make some of the best O2 sensors on the market. Get em. I had some Laser Platinums in my Merc($10 a peice ) and they ran about the same as the Autolites, but My Quarter mile time decreased. Don't ask me how. I'm not trying to be all ricer and all. Might have just been a better night for racing... Who knows...

Autolites are the best option hands down. you get great quality at a good price. If you pay more than $2 or $3 per plug you're wasting your money. There is nothing special a plug can do (or not do) to make car faster or get better mileage. Just make sure the plugs are double platinum and properly gapped.