Plugs / Wires

[tybardy]

man i love that, i was going to get wires with my pluggs but the didnt have the delphi coil... so i said f*ck it...

your not working on cars if things arent going wrong man! thats why i drink

 

[boostaholic]

Lol I guess I'm grateful to have the luxury of a shop. When I broke my autoride links and had to build some we had all kinds of stuff laying around not to mention it was on a rack which makes things 10x easier. Couple winters ago I lost the idler pulley on my obs tahoe limited in colorado springs, spent the day fixing it in a cold ass car wash after I got food poisoning from the waffle house. Murphy's Law I guess.

 

[Davco]

Man, I don't know but it seems like its going from bad to worse.

I get to NAPA and give my information: Z in the vin# and delphi coil. They decide (based of the computer) that my tahoe is a flex fuel...even though I don't see anything on it that says flex. They give me some wires that are 7mm....this seems small to me b/c I'm used to my old 88 Mustang GT that had 8.5mm.

Then I see that all of their plugs are supposed to be gapped at .060. I bought the ac delco plugs from Advanced Auto and they said to be gapped at .040. Every plug I pulled out of my truck were gapped at .060 but I thought maybe they had been worn down a little since they have 120k on it. I gapped all my new plugs at .040 and I really don't want to pull them out again so I drop by Advanced and double check. We pull up the 5.3 liter tahoe with the Z in the vin# that makes it a flex and it says to gap the ac delco plugs at .040. In fact all their plugs say to gap at .040 except for the autolites that are supposed to be gapped at .060.

What did you guys do?

 

[Davco]

AAAAHHHHHHHH.

I just started putting the new wires on and I couldn't get it to clip onto the plug. I look inside the wire and my new wire is broken.

Some more driving.:mad2:

 

[Davco]

Fellas, this has been one of the worst days of my life when it comes to working on a vehicle. I just switched out the wires but I've come to the conclusion that these wires suck. They have the hardest time clipping onto the coil and I cannot get it to clip on a few of the plugs. Instead of clipping, the clamps are getting pushed back into the boots. Maybe they are clipping but I cannot feel it and it is way too easy to pull them back off. Right now I have 4 new wires on the truck: 3 on the passenger side and 1 on the driver side.

One new wire is broken (from me pulling the clamp out) and I'm ready to just call it quits. Do you think that the truck will be ok with 4 new wires instead of 8?

 

[withac]

I haven't had near the experience as these other guys but FWIW, when I did my plugs and wires I had a hard time telling if the wires had snapped on or not. They were such a bugger to pull off I expected them to be harder to push on, they weren't. They were clipping on but you barely felt it. As far as the gap, the NGK's said not to adjust the factory gap because you could damage the fine center electrode. I forget which was which, but in these posts I've seen two different gaps mentioned. One was the same as what my owners manual said, the other is what the NGKs came from the factory gapped at. As I mentioned, the NGK website indicated a different gap than factory, that's what they came set at and that's where I left them. They've ran fine and as I mentioned, my mileage improved with the change of wires and plugs.

 

[tybardy]

I haven't had near the experience as these other guys but FWIW, when I did my plugs and wires I had a hard time telling if the wires had snapped on or not. They were such a bugger to pull off I expected them to be harder to push on, they weren't. They were clipping on but you barely felt it. As far as the gap, the NGK's said not to adjust the factory gap because you could damage the fine center electrode. I forget which was which, but in these posts I've seen two different gaps mentioned. One was the same as what my owners manual said, the other is what the NGKs came from the factory gapped at. As I mentioned, the NGK website indicated a different gap than factory, that's what they came set at and that's where I left them. They've ran fine and as I mentioned, my mileage improved with the change of wires and plugs.

yea i gapped them anyways.... everytning seems ok in my truck...

 

[RenegadeTahoe]

I got the NGK V-power's... which don't have the self-cleaning tip. They were all at .040, but I gapped 'em anyways to .060 because my stockers were at .060... and it's an old racer's trick to over-gap the plugs to get more spark, thus improving HP. I have not had ANY problems whatsoever.

As long as you've got GOOD wires, you should be OK just replacing 4 of them. I had a hard time with 7mm wires, but I didn't want to spend $100 on MSD 8.5's... nor did I want to wait for them to be shipped out, so I just kept the Duralast wires I got from Autozone... and they seem to be doing well.

 

[Davco]

I got the NGK V-power's... which don't have the self-cleaning tip. They were all at .040, but I gapped 'em anyways to .060 because my stockers were at .060... and it's an old racer's trick to over-gap the plugs to get more spark, thus improving HP. I have not had ANY problems whatsoever.

As long as you've got GOOD wires, you should be OK just replacing 4 of them. I had a hard time with 7mm wires, but I didn't want to spend $100 on MSD 8.5's... nor did I want to wait for them to be shipped out, so I just kept the Duralast wires I got from Autozone... and they seem to be doing well.

Unfortunately the wires I got from NAPA were $85. :mad2: I just stuck with .040 on the gap so I guess we'll see if I get any increase in gas mileage. The truck had 120k on it....I hope to see something for a full days worth of aggravation.

 

[RenegadeTahoe]

Unfortunately the wires I got from NAPA were $85. :mad2: I just stuck with .040 on the gap so I guess we'll see if I get any increase in gas mileage. The truck had 120k on it....I hope to see something for a full days worth of aggravation.

I saw a definite power improvement at half the mileage you have. I think I saw a HWY mileage increase.... but it's not a very good test. Here's my findings...

First time I took the 'hoe to work... (25 mi one way, 5-6 miles is city, rest HWY) I averaged 16.4 MPG w/ peaks at 16.8. That was with NO upgrades. Second test was after the exhaust, I drove 350 miles round trip 90% was HWY, 10-15% of that was pulling hills. I averaged 18.0 MPG with a peak at 31.5MPG coasting downhill. Drove from East Mesa to Surprise today (~125 miles round trip... 90-95%HWY) and averaged 18.7 MPG with peaks at 18.9 MPG. This was after exhaust, tune up, and cruise control for 75% of the trip at 68-72MPH.

As for city, I still get 11-12MPG, but that's because much of the tank is spent idling at various stores w/ A/C on.

 

[boostaholic]

The .40 gap is actually better for these trucks, more top end power and it burns better, I gapped mine to .35 and it made quite a bit of difference (also ready for 100shot or boost). Stock boots are fine unless you have a failure, otherwise buy good aftermarket wires (larger diameter if possible). Any plug with special coating or beyond a standard plug should be pre-gapped and could be damaged if attempted. There is also no reason to run anything but the $2 ngk vpower or similar plug, there is absolutely no performance, mileage, longevity, of any other benefit so save your loot (but platinum/iridium plugs are fine...and it makes you a baller yo). The change to a .40 gap recommendation is actually in a TSB at the dealers as a note selling the new part # on our spark plugs.

 

[Davco]

Sweet. I get to be a baller.


I'm looking into exhausts but I have to get the wife's approval (her vehicle).

If I got 18.9 on the hwy then I would be content. I've taken this truck on hwy trips (250 miles) before and I usually get 16.6-16.9 with the speed at 80.

 

[tybardy]

The .40 gap is actually better for these trucks, more top end power and it burns better, I gapped mine to .35 and it made quite a bit of difference (also ready for 100shot or boost). Stock boots are fine unless you have a failure, otherwise buy good aftermarket wires (larger diameter if possible). Any plug with special coating or beyond a standard plug should be pre-gapped and could be damaged if attempted. There is also no reason to run anything but the $2 ngk vpower or similar plug, there is absolutely no performance, mileage, longevity, of any other benefit so save your loot (but platinum/iridium plugs are fine...and it makes you a baller yo). The change to a .40 gap recommendation is actually in a TSB at the dealers as a note selling the new part # on our spark plugs.

do you mean .040?

 

[boostaholic]

ACDelco

BULLETIN: 03D-J-171
LINE: 41
SERVICE BULLETIN
TO: ALL DISTRIBUTORS DATE: DECEMBER 12, 2003
AND JOBBERS
FROM: S. D. CHRISTOPHERSEN, PRODUCT SERVICE & TRAINING
SUBJECT: INFORMATION ON NEW SPARK PLUGS AND GAPPING
MODELS AFFECTED:
2004 Buick Ranier
2002-2004 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade EXT
2003-2004 Cadillac Escalade ESV
2004 Cadillac CTS-V
1997-2004 Chevrolet Corvette
1998-2002 Chevrolet Camaro
1999-2004 Chevrolet Silverado
2000-2004 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe
2002-2004 Chevrolet Avalanche
2003-2004 Chevrolet Express, TrailBlazer
1999-2004 GMC Sierra
2000-2004 GMC Yukon, Yukon XL
2001-2004 GMC Yukon Denali, Yukon XL Denali
2002-2004 GMC Sierra Denali
2003-2004 GMC Envoy XL
1998-2002 Pontiac Firebird
2004 Pontiac GTO
2003-2004 Hummer H2
with 4.8L, 5.3L, 5.7L or 6.0L V-8 Engine (VINs V, P, T, Z, G, S, N, U -- RPOs LR4, LM4,
LM7, L59, LS1, LS6, LQ9, LQ4)
PARTS INFORMATION:
A new spark plug has been released for use in the above vehicles. The new spark plug has an
Iridium tip instead of the current Platinum tip. Due to the different tip design, the gap of the
spark plug has also changed. The new spark plug, ACDelco Part Number 41-985 (12571164), is
gapped to 1.01mm (0.040 inches) when the spark plug is made. The spark plug gap is set during
manufacturing and should not be changed to the gap required with the Platinum plug, or damage
to the spark plug may result.
ACDelco service bulletins are intended for use by professional technicians, NOT a "do-it-yourselfer." They are written to inform
these technicians of conditions that may occur on some vehicles, or to provide information that could assist in the proper service
of a vehicle. Properly trained technicians have the equipment, tools, safety instructions, and know-how to do a job properly and
safely.
© Copyright ACDelco/General Motors Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

 

[boostaholic]

WTF double post quick reply? :skep: