Bosch Platinum + 4 spark plugs---opinions?

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: nleksan
...

I refuse to put Bosch in anything now, they even made my Honda lawnmower struggle and sputter (to the point of stalling), yet replaced with a Denso and I can now cut grass an inch taller than what made the Bosch plug stall, without issue. And no, no other changes, not even the gasoline.


I've got a Bosch Super in my Chonda Champion generator. It's the second Bosch Super. (changed at 100 hrs) I probably would have used a Denso or NGK but the only catalog that would cross-reference Nanjing-Huade OE plug was the Bosch catalog. (no suprise there, Nanjing-Huade is Chinese Bosch) The worked really well so I saw no point in changing it. No stuttering, no sputtering, starts first pull.

 

[Cujet]

I've used the Platinum +4's with excellent results. I installed them in an F150 at 85,000 miles and they are still in there at 255,000 miles! Last time I pulled them, they were perfect.

 

[ueberooo]

I've tried the bosch +2's in my subie; they're still in there, it's been maybe 30k? or 40k? no idea; but it's running well enough; I can't really compare it to anything and say it definitely stands out.

I say you can always try them out on 2 cylinder and see if the engine runs smooth (like, put a s'set of bosch +4 on the left or right cylinder bank and see how it runs).

 

[Silk]

I used the non plat +4's when they first came out, and had no problems. I used them in my shop when difficult access plugs had no plat recommendation - they last as long as plat, and much cheaper. I took some out of a car I sold and have been using them in my motorcycle for 4 years - they work just the same as normal plugs, just last longer. Used Bosch plugs in customer's cars for 10 years,never a problem or complaint. However, it's possible our plugs come from different manufacturers, as the Bosch plats I see posted in US forums are nothing like the ones we get here.

 

[cchase]

I had Platinum +4's in my truck for a number of years with no issue. However, the added cost wasn't worth it so I'm back to OEM copper plugs.

 

[meep]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
I ran them for years when they first came out. Worked great in a variety of cars and trucks.

But there's enough anecdotal squealing out there to be careful. Some cars are fussy.


^^^agreed^^^

 

[nleksan]

To be fair, there seems to be a pretty strong consensus among BMW people that Bosch plugs are a bad idea, with most people I know having problems with them in their BMWs. I simply replaced with the "proper" NGK and put the Bosch in my Camry, where they lived for 70k miles until they were replaced while doing a "full tune up" (plugs/wires/oil/air+oil+fuel filters/tranny flush+fill/PS flush+fill/coolant flush+fill/belts/battery/PCV/etc, as well as Seafoam via TB/PCV/BrakeBooster/Crankcase). They did come out looking like they had varnish on them which was weird considering the car consumes literally zero oil (I have used the same container to measure how much comes out during OC for the past 140k miles and it has always been within 2mm of the same line on a 5qt clear jug that looks identical to a Pennzoil Plat 5qt jug). It could have been any number of things, but the Denso Iridiums I put in after have shown no odd wear at all, and that car gets healthy doses of Seafoam often enough.

 

[Vikas]

I do not have any latest experience with Bosch but a decade ago, it was a nightmare on a Honda. This was the time Bosch had just came out with their platinum plugs in the fancy silver packages. When I did side by side comparison to OEM NGK, the Bosch "looked" impressive! Alas, it took me a while before I was able to realize that all my troubles with the car vanished when I swapped the newer Bosch platinums with the older NGKs.

Doing research over internet will confirm similar issues with other Japanese car owners.

- Vikas