Baystate Jeepers

Ok, so you may or may not have heard of E3 spark plugs, but the idea is that by using a different type of tip on the spark plug it is able to produce a "larger flame front" and project a more powerful spark with more surface area, thus meaning more points of ignition per spark in the cylinder, ultimately meaning more complete combustion, more power, and better fuel economy. The average MPG increase is about 0.5 mpg.

Here is the official web site for E3: http://www.e3sparkplugs.com/

I purchased 12 of these plugs to do both my Jeep's this weekend. Out of the 12, 3 were defective. No joke... 25% of the plugs I bought were duds. I was getting all sorts of misfires and problems. My CEL came on pulling P 0300 (random misfires) as well as P 0302 and P 0304 (specifically cylinders 2 and 4).

Before you ask, they are designed to be pre-gaped. No Gaping required. It even says on their site and advance auto parts site.

After returning the duds for another 3, I was able to put them in and had no problems. I actually did notice the difference in performance more in my automatic Wrangler (2002 4.0L 3-speed w/o overdrive) than my 6-speed Rubicon.

So my review of these:
They are definitely a good plug, especially for a sluggish automatic. My Rubicon does feel a little more peppy as well.

If you are going to shell out the extra money and buy them, make sure you buy extras with a plan to return them in case you get a few duds. I mean what are the odds that 3 out of 12 plugs would be defective?

RLVRSK wrote:So my review of these:
They are definitely a good plug, especially for a sluggish automatic. My Rubicon does feel a little more peppy as well.

If you are going to shell out the extra money and buy them, make sure you buy extras with a plan to return them in case you get a few duds. I mean what are the odds that 3 out of 12 plugs would be defective?

If 3 out of 12 are junk, those aren't good plugs, IMO. I've heard stories of the electrode breaking apart. If they're junk in the package, what's going to happen in a combustion chamber.

I'll stick to my cheap Autolites. Pull a couple out around 10K miles on them and let us know how they look!

i have heard that the more expensize spark plugs can do more damage then good. that you are better off sticking with factory plugs.

If 3 out of 12 are junk, those aren't good plugs, IMO.

They're great (when you don't get duds). I think they designed a good product, but their quality control is worse than Ford's when they made the exploding pinto. I think that's also why there are so many mixed reviews out there. I've never heard anybody say that they didn't notice anything when installing them. It's always been they're really really good or really really bad. I'm guessing the latter of the two are people who had similar experiences with duds.

I don't have a picture because I already returned them, but when I pulled the duds out after a test drive of chitty chitty bang banging around town it was like somebody took a can of black spray paint to the ends of the plugs. The guys at advance auto were very surprised when I showed them the plugs, saying that I was the first person they've seen with this problem. Then again, they asked if they were gaped properly, and their own stores' website says DO NOT GAP on the product page.

So far I'm happy with the ones that worked. I Could have lived without the extra trip to the store though.

I had them in a couple years ago at 25K miles. I pulled them out in less than a month. They are not a good match for the waste fire (distributorless) ignition system on the later 4.0s and started to cause hesitation and sluggish acceleration. They are fine for the distributor versions though. I did not see a QC issue with them back then. I've been running the Champion double platinums for the last couple changes (50K and 75K) without issue.

My opinion - they are expensive gimicks, just like the splitfire plugs. I don't care what you do with an electrode, how may you add, or how you shape it. Electricity always behaves the same, and one of the behaviors is that it takes the path or least resistance. If you add electrodes, or add surface area to electrodes, it won't matter. The spark will jump only one path, the shortest path. As the electrodes burn and change shape, the spark will move to the next closest path. You can't change that.

DDewar53 wrote:My opinion - they are expensive gimicks, just like the splitfire plugs. I don't care what you do with an electrode, how may you add, or how you shape it. Electricity always behaves the same, and one of the behaviors is that it takes the path or least resistance. If you add electrodes, or add surface area to electrodes, it won't matter. The spark will jump only one path, the shortest path. As the electrodes burn and change shape, the spark will move to the next closest path. You can't change that.

Don't start adding science to the discussion. You have no proof to back it up

Don't start adding science to the discussion. You have no proof to back it up

LOL. We'll just have to wait and see. I'll pull them out in 10k to take pics.