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[grc]

Throughout the history of internal combustion engines there have been attempts to either improve the ignition process through plug design, or at least increase profits for those who promote such improvements, real or imagined.  I remember the bad old days of two stroke motorcycles and weak ignition systems, when removing and cleaning/replacing plugs was often a monthly maintenace item.  All sorts of plugs were introduced to supposedly deal with the shortcomings of the ignition system, but ultimately it wasn't the plugs that were the problem, it was the anemic output of the coils.  These days even stock coils are more than aequate (thanks to things like EPA regulations that force manufacturers to certify compliance with standards over a minimum period of time).  But in an era when the plugs a manufacturer installs at the plant can easily go 50k to 100k miles, plug companies have to try much harder to find ways to sell more product to meet corporate objectives for ever increasing sales and profits.  Thus you get the ridiculous claims for what amounts to snake oil from the folks like Pulstar(sp?), or the equally ridiculous products like the Bosch with four ground electrodes. 

Once you get your 12% increase from Pulstar, then get one of those vanes you install at the throttle body intake for another 10%, throw a Fitch calalyst pellet in the fuel tank for another 5 to 10%, etc.  Pretty soon you will be getting nose bleeds from the G forces when you whack the throttle.  Or more likely you'll just have a lighter wallet which will translate into a better power to weight ratio.

The real advantage of premium plugs with platinum or iridium electrodes is longevity.  Thanks to the erosion resistance of those materials, the electrodes will remain sharp longer, which reduces the amount of energy required to produce a spark.  So you can say that they maintain the level of performance longer than standard plugs.  But they don't add performance when compared to a new standard plug.  As Twolanerider mentioned, a tiny difference on an inertia dyno does not mean anything. 

Anyhow, as long as there are believers out there the spark plug folks will be happy to sell them plenty of snake oil.  It is, after all, what makes our economy run, consumers wasting money on stuff they don't need. 

Jerry

[Charlie]

Throughout the history of internal combustion engines there have been attempts to either improve the ignition process through plug design, or at least increase profits for those who promote such improvements, real or imagined.  I remember the bad old days of two stroke motorcycles and weak ignition systems, when removing and cleaning/replacing plugs was often a monthly maintenace item.  All sorts of plugs were introduced to supposedly deal with the shortcomings of the ignition system, but ultimately it wasn't the plugs that were the problem, it was the anemic output of the coils.  These days even stock coils are more than aequate (thanks to things like EPA regulations that force manufacturers to certify compliance with standards over a minimum period of time).  But in an era when the plugs a manufacturer installs at the plant can easily go 50k to 100k miles, plug companies have to try much harder to find ways to sell more product to meet corporate objectives for ever increasing sales and profits.  Thus you get the ridiculous claims for what amounts to snake oil from the folks like Pulstar(sp?), or the equally ridiculous products like the Bosch with four ground electrodes. 

Once you get your 12% increase from Pulstar, then get one of those vanes you install at the throttle body intake for another 10%, throw a Fitch calalyst pellet in the fuel tank for another 5 to 10%, etc.  Pretty soon you will be getting nose bleeds from the G forces when you whack the throttle.  Or more likely you'll just have a lighter wallet which will translate into a better power to weight ratio.

The real advantage of premium plugs with platinum or iridium electrodes is longevity.  Thanks to the erosion resistance of those materials, the electrodes will remain sharp longer, which reduces the amount of energy required to produce a spark.  So you can say that they maintain the level of performance longer than standard plugs.  But they don't add performance when compared to a new standard plug.  As Twolanerider mentioned, a tiny difference on an inertia dyno does not mean anything. 

Anyhow, as long as there are believers out there the spark plug folks will be happy to sell them plenty of snake oil.  It is, after all, what makes our economy run, consumers wasting money on stuff they don't need. 

Jerry

Very Good! 

[dayne66]

...then there is the warranty issue to consider....you just never know what the MOCO will try to pull to reject a claim.

[fastfreddy]

how about the screaming eagle plugs?  i installed them cause they look cool & im sure it runs better. 

[grc]

how about the screaming eagle plugs?  i installed them cause they look cool & im sure it runs better. 

$16 versus $4 for standard plugs, so unless they last four times as long you got screwed.  Some might think what a plug looks like is important, but folks who just ride their bikes couldn't care less I would imagine.  Now if they came in cool colors and the insulator flashed each time the plug fired they might be worth $16 just as conversation starters.

Jerry

[senorjeem]

Throughout the history of internal combustion engines there have been attempts to either improve the ignition process through plug design, or at least increase profits for those who promote such improvements, real or imagined.  I remember the bad old days of two stroke motorcycles and weak ignition systems, when removing and cleaning/replacing plugs was often a monthly maintenace item.  All sorts of plugs were introduced to supposedly deal with the shortcomings of the ignition system, but ultimately it wasn't the plugs that were the problem, it was the anemic output of the coils.  These days even stock coils are more than aequate (thanks to things like EPA regulations that force manufacturers to certify compliance with standards over a minimum period of time).  But in an era when the plugs a manufacturer installs at the plant can easily go 50k to 100k miles, plug companies have to try much harder to find ways to sell more product to meet corporate objectives for ever increasing sales and profits.  Thus you get the ridiculous claims for what amounts to snake oil from the folks like Pulstar(sp?), or the equally ridiculous products like the Bosch with four ground electrodes. 

Once you get your 12% increase from Pulstar, then get one of those vanes you install at the throttle body intake for another 10%, throw a Fitch calalyst pellet in the fuel tank for another 5 to 10%, etc.  Pretty soon you will be getting nose bleeds from the G forces when you whack the throttle.  Or more likely you'll just have a lighter wallet which will translate into a better power to weight ratio.

The real advantage of premium plugs with platinum or iridium electrodes is longevity.  Thanks to the erosion resistance of those materials, the electrodes will remain sharp longer, which reduces the amount of energy required to produce a spark.  So you can say that they maintain the level of performance longer than standard plugs.  But they don't add performance when compared to a new standard plug.  As Twolanerider mentioned, a tiny difference on an inertia dyno does not mean anything. 

Anyhow, as long as there are believers out there the spark plug folks will be happy to sell them plenty of snake oil.  It is, after all, what makes our economy run, consumers wasting money on stuff they don't need. 

Jerry

Very well said brother!

[fastfreddy]

$16 versus $4 for standard plugs, so unless they last four times as long you got screwed.  Some might think what a plug looks like is important, but folks who just ride their bikes couldn't care less I would imagine.  Now if they came in cool colors and the insulator flashed each time the plug fired they might be worth $16 just as conversation starters.

Jerry

if it was about saving money i wouldnt be riding a CVO...just saying

[dlaws01]

I got loads of horsepower from installing my plugs.  Before putting them in I couldn't even get the darn thing started. 

[North Georgia Hawg]

I got loads of horsepower from installing my plugs.  Before putting them in I couldn't even get the darn thing started. 

ROTFL! We have a WINNER!

[1sharprdkg]

ROTFL! We have a WINNER!

X2 Now that's funny!

[cracker]

This is explainable to a degree... and yet there is something that no one is talking about.
NGK plugs have a resistance rating of around 5K ohms... Harley plugs on the other hand are in the 20K to 50K ohms of resistance range.
The higher the resistance... the later in the advance cycle it's going to fire. It needs more compression force to fire a higher resistance plug. Another words... a higher resistance plug will fire later and a lower resistance plug will fire earlier in the spark advance cycle... which will create more power as long as it doesn't pre-detonate.

So the long short of this is... the NGK plug is advancing the spark timing slightly... producing more power because it has a lower resistance value.

What nobody is talking about here is... that your ECM module will eventually figure this out... and compensate for the different "stoch" reading and re-adjust the timing... and "correct" it after about 4 minutes at about 3000 RPM.

So…  Yes these spark plugs will produce more power … but only for a few minutes, till the ECM module figures it out and compensates for it.

One other  thing… is your ECM module upon start up… is trying to figure out where number 1 cylinder is in what  position (compression or exhaust)…  and is looking for a Harley spark plug resistance level. The NGK plugs are not at this level and will (in a worn state) find it harder and will not start your bike as easily.
The ECM module is looking for a specific range of resistance… Higher resistance will be “fire position” and lower resistance will be “exhaust position”. The NGK plug throws everything off.
 

[silverone]

Stick with NGK's just my 02's the platinum plugs last forever about $7.00 a pair I think.

[silverone]

if it was about saving money i wouldnt be riding a CVO...just saying

I sure can't disagree with that statement, just say saying