[97TacoDude]

I just changed out my Denso plugs to Bosch Platinum +4 plugs after 30,000 miles on the Denso's. I almmost feel like I can sense a power increase after changing the plugs. Everybody at the Toyota dealer used to tell me that "you must use NGK plugs man nothing else works" and blah blah blah but the Bosch lugs seem to work great. The engine runs very smooth, develops good power, and I've seen no ill effects from the non-NGK plugs at all. Do people say that you must use NGK simply because that's what the Toyota manual says or does anyone have quantative data to prove it? I hate it when people speak from the wrong orifice!

 

[BMWTACO]

I just changed out my Denso plugs to Bosch Platinum +4 plugs after 30,000 miles on the Denso's. I almmost feel like I can sense a power increase after changing the plugs. Everybody at the Toyota dealer used to tell me that "you must use NGK plugs man nothing else works" and blah blah blah but the Bosch lugs seem to work great. The engine runs very smooth, develops good power, and I've seen no ill effects from the non-NGK plugs at all. Do people say that you must use NGK simply because that's what the Toyota manual says or does anyone have quantative data to prove it? I hate it when people speak from the wrong orifice!

Platinum 4's suck. They work great at first, then it just goes back to normal, or worse. I actually had one in my 95.5 tacoma v6 reg cab that kept getting loose. it would sound like an exhaust leak. So I tightened it up 4 or 5 times. The last few time I actually recall using a torque wrench. Well, it actually backed out again, broke the coil in half, and totally stripped out the threads in the head. Not to mention 3 of the four electrodes on the plug were nowhere to be found. So I retapped the head, and put stock plugs back in. Never a problem from that point forward. I also work for a parts company that sells these very plugs, we get lots of complaints of hard starting, rough idle, etc. after they've been installed for a while.

 

[TRDyota]

How often should you change the spark plugs? Owners manual says to change em after 30K, but that just seems too soon...

 

[3rdidvet]

How often should you change the spark plugs? Owners manual says to change em after 30K, but that just seems too soon...

I change about once every 3-4 months, just because I like overkill, and it's cheap and easy. the plug wires go, too. I got a set for $50 bones at AutoZone. I go in, buy a new set everytime, and take the old ones back. get my cash back on the new ones cuz of the lifetime warranty. I use Plat 2's, and have been for 2 or 3 years now. Stealer's feeding you a line. They work nicely for me. And I notice the power diff, too.

 

[97TacoDude]

I find it hard to believe that the prongs break off and the threads strip. If a head gets stripped out, it's the fauly of the mechanic, not the plug. Bosch is a respectable name, maybe you just got a bad set. As far as them working well at first then "going back to normal", I imagine that you *notice* the difference at first then it feels "normal" again.

 

[grillmasterp]

I just changed out my Denso plugs to Bosch Platinum +4 plugs after 30,000 miles on the Denso's. I almmost feel like I can sense a power increase after changing the plugs. Everybody at the Toyota dealer used to tell me that "you must use NGK plugs man nothing else works" and blah blah blah but the Bosch lugs seem to work great. The engine runs very smooth, develops good power, and I've seen no ill effects from the non-NGK plugs at all. Do people say that you must use NGK simply because that's what the Toyota manual says or does anyone have quantative data to prove it? I hate it when people speak from the wrong orifice!

I almmost feel like I can sense a power increase after changing the plugs.

Is "almost feel" the same as "Barely Notice"
So how much did you ACTUALLY pay for that "almost sensed" power increase?

Here are my main reasons for running OEM/ NGK/ densos in my 3.4
They are cheap (~$1.50) and work.

I've run Bosch' in my older Non-toyota vehicles in the past with out problem-
However- When my brother put some Bosch Platinum's in His truck - He would get intermittent CE Lights - During the few months that he ran them- His engine also was not running as smooth as before he changed the plugs.
When I suggested to Use the OEM / Densos OR NGK - The light went away and engine ran smoother. (Who knows may be he got a bad batch of Bosch or they weren't properly pre-gapped like they were suppose to be)

so my quantiative data :I've observed 100% CE Light triggering with use of Bosch Platinums in the Toyota 3.4L I've sampled-
Where as I have not noticed any negative effects with use of Denso plugs in 100% of the 3.4L's I've sampled- (Larger sample size too)

Personally - I like to stick with what works unless their is an alternative that offers signicant benefits, cost savings and/or has a high benifits : cost ratio

 

[Yeti]

In my opinion the 4 grounds are retarded, becuase the arc is only going to one, the easiest. So once it uses one for awhile and screws it up then it goes to the next and so on and it just gets harder and harder for it. Like that one guy said, 3 of the 4 were missing in hi engine! yeah i could see that, to me it sounds like more than needed, Id get the iridium ones whenever im gonna do my tuneup. PS does everyone else have the sticker on their 3.4 that says to use double ground plugs only?? im not likeing what the world is coming to with all the grounds on their plugs.

 

[97TacoDude]

I think the 4 grounds just mean that the plug runs "like new" for very long, especially with the platinum center electrode. I saw an ad for a plug with 6 grounds on it, that's getting to be a bit much.

 

[grillmasterp]

PS does everyone else have the sticker on their 3.4 that says to use double ground plugs only?? im not likeing what the world is coming to with all the grounds on their plugs.

Both my bro & I have the same warning lable on each of our timing belt covers.

A few years ago My Brother was sold single electrode platinum tipped plugs by Autozone- (He gave them correct the specs of his truck btw) -
Results were immediate CE light & rough idle

 

[TRDyota]

Both my bro & I have the same warning lable on each of our timing belt covers.

A few years ago My Brother was sold single electrode platinum tipped plugs by Autozone- (He gave them correct the specs of his truck btw) -
Results were immediate CE light & rough idle

How often you change yours out?

 

[grillmasterp]

How often you change yours out?

I try to change them out every 30K-
It gives me an incentive to clean my air intake & throttle body

 

[DToon]

I used bosch platinum+4 for about 4 weeks. Seemed normal at first after the install. idled a bit funny getting used to the plugs for a few days. Then my truck died in the fast lane of I-285 in Atlanta with an ignition error code. It started back up after a few minutes. I have used denso or NGK since then. I currenlty am using NGK, part numbe rout of my owners manual, and I paid $2-3 each. Runs nice, excpet all the cooling crap going south at 135,000miles.

I also have not been impressed with Bosch plugs in my jeeps, but oil is a consumable there, and the tiny electrode doesn't like sludge build up on it. Go figure.

Lots o people have been happy with bosch, lots have not.

I won't use them again, but a lot of that is price. I didn't find any justification of the price.

Later,

Daniel

 

[BMWTACO]

In my opinion the 4 grounds are retarded, becuase the arc is only going to one, the easiest. So once it uses one for awhile and screws it up then it goes to the next and so on and it just gets harder and harder for it. Like that one guy said, 3 of the 4 were missing in hi engine! yeah i could see that, to me it sounds like more than needed, Id get the iridium ones whenever im gonna do my tuneup. PS does everyone else have the sticker on their 3.4 that says to use double ground plugs only?? im not likeing what the world is coming to with all the grounds on their plugs.

Yeah, i'm the guy that had the horrible experience with platinum 4's in my 95.5 tacoma. Thankfully after putting stock plugs back in, putting a plug insert in the damaged cylinder, and replacing the coil that broke in half, the truck was fine. But i'll never use them again. As far as the double grounds are concerned, it seems that pretty much every direct ignition vehicle is using at least a dual electrode plug. Some of the new bmw's come with 4 electrode plugs stock. I'm not exactly sure why, i'm not an engineer, but I bet it has a lot to do with these ignition systems putting out LOTS more voltage than the old style cap/rotor/distributor/plug wires setup.

 

[eric496]

I also have not been impressed with Bosch plugs in my jeeps, but oil is a consumable there, and the tiny electrode doesn't like sludge build up on it. Go figure.

Lots o people have been happy with bosch, lots have not.

I put them in my stock 4.0 Jeep Wrangler (burns no oil) and it ran great. About a month later, it was barely drivable and it was not safe to pull out in traffic. It seems that they fuel-foul slightly if you start the engine and don't warm it up fully. Do that a few times and the plugs are done and they'll never clean out no matter how hard you run down the highway or how much you try to clean them. Bring them back and get some normal plugs when this happens! I'm not going to try them in the Tacoma.

 

[rojodiablo]

Platinum 4's suck. They work great at first, then it just goes back to normal, or worse. I actually had one in my 95.5 tacoma v6 reg cab that kept getting loose. it would sound like an exhaust leak. So I tightened it up 4 or 5 times. The last few time I actually recall using a torque wrench. Well, it actually backed out again, broke the coil in half, and totally stripped out the threads in the head. Not to mention 3 of the four electrodes on the plug were nowhere to be found. So I retapped the head, and put stock plugs back in. Never a problem from that point forward. I also work for a parts company that sells these very plugs, we get lots of complaints of hard starting, rough idle, etc. after they've been installed for a while.

You'll shit a kitten when you see how those plugs melt away the electrode into ??? somewhere downstream. Stick with the stockers.

 

[ShowStop]

I ran the Bosch Platinum +4s before and they were good for a while (same as Denso), then they started to run like crap. I sent them back to Bosch for a refund and I've used the Denso plugs ever since.

 

[LavosTRD]

I just changed out my Denso plugs to Bosch Platinum +4 plugs after 30,000 miles on the Denso's. I almmost feel like I can sense a power increase after changing the plugs. Everybody at the Toyota dealer used to tell me that "you must use NGK plugs man nothing else works" and blah blah blah but the Bosch lugs seem to work great. The engine runs very smooth, develops good power, and I've seen no ill effects from the non-NGK plugs at all. Do people say that you must use NGK simply because that's what the Toyota manual says or does anyone have quantative data to prove it? I hate it when people speak from the wrong orifice!

see a trend developing here?

 

[elliot_irwin]

i talked to the Bosch guys at a trade show and they were playing dumb. i guess the advertising reaches enough people that they don't need repeat customers....

 

[HappyPills]

Both my bro & I have the same warning lable on each of our timing belt covers.

A few years ago My Brother was sold single electrode platinum tipped plugs by Autozone- (He gave them correct the specs of his truck btw) -
Results were immediate CE light & rough idle

Its basicly telling you not to put single electrode spark plugs in. I'm using 4 and haven't had a single problem.

 

[bray]

Just from years of experience with Toyota trucks, the Bosch have sucked. They initially felt smooth but with loss of power. I have tried a set of Denso Irridiums in my 3.4 and had good results but through cleaning my intake (Seafoam) they have'nt lived up to their expectations. So, I'm back to oem denso's & NGK's. Economy rules and sometimes the dealer is right. They were this time anyway.