e3 plugs on a 2.9?

[tsanderson7]

i just finished rebuilding my 2.9 liter in my 89 xlt, and we decided to put in some e3 plugs while we were at it cuz we heard they would help some with mpgs. i already have an electric fan as well as an MSD ignition system and got about 15 mpg before the rebuild. It has stock gears and 32 inch tires. can i expect to see an increase in gas mileage or overall performance? just curios

 

[Jason]

IF the electric fan is running on a thermostatic switch you can expect a modest increase. I don't think the rest will help much.

 

[RyanL]

i just finished rebuilding my 2.9 liter in my 89 xlt, and we decided to put in some e3 plugs while we were at it cuz we heard they would help some with mpgs. i already have an electric fan as well as an MSD ignition system and got about 15 mpg before the rebuild. It has stock gears and 32 inch tires. can i expect to see an increase in gas mileage or overall performance? just curios

I doubt it. If you're running 32" tires with stock gearing not matter what you do your mileage will be down in the gutter.

 

[Jason]

I doubt it. If you're running 32" tires with stock gearing not matter what you do your mileage will be down in the gutter.

I got the impression the tires are a constant before and after.

 

[BlackBII]

A spark is a spark. They won't do anything for you save for lighten your wallet.

If you want to increase your mileage, get some gearing to match the 32" tires and drive like a grandma.

 

[RyanL]

A spark is a spark. They won't do anything for you save for lighten your wallet.

If you want to increase your mileage, get some gearing to match the 32" tires and drive like a grandma.

THAT IS BY FAR THE BEST ARGUMENT I'VE EVER HEARD FOR INCREASED GAS MILEAGE FROM SPARK PLUGS EVER! You've made my day sir. Seriously, I'm laughing so hard I have tears in my eyes. I guess they really do work by way of weight reduction (lighten your wallet for better gas mileage). They should use that line in their advertisements. If anyone replaces ignition components and sees a gain in either power or economy, then replacement of those parts was long overdue. The only time upgrading ignition components in modern vehicles can show an increase is when increasing the compression with upgraded pistons or forced induction. Even then it might not do much (really depends on the vehicle).

 

[RustedRanger]

Upgraded ignition helps....just not a lot. If it didn't we wouldn't have seen the auto makers progress from points to electronic with hotter coil to eventually a coil for each cylinder with no distributer. tsanderson, when you drop the rpm's further down the torque curve it lugs the motor and kills the mpg's.

 

[RyanL]

Upgraded ignition helps....just not a lot. If it didn't we wouldn't have seen the auto makers progress from points to electronic with hotter coil to eventually a coil for each cylinder with no distributer. tsanderson, when you drop the rpm's further down the torque curve it lugs the motor and kills the mpg's.

I still stand by what I said above. I haven't dealt with points type ignition much and from what I remember it was kind of crappy, but we're not dealing with and upgrading one of those. Yes the newer coil on plug is better for not having as many moving parts in the system (less points of failure), but the spark is still same. If there's enough spark to ignite the fuel in the cylinders, having extra isn't going to do a whole lot. It's like shooting a dead pig. Like dude said above, "a spark is a spark". The argument could be made that some of these aftermarket ignition components are more durable or reliable than their OEM counterparts (the TFI would be good to upgrade), but that's a discussion for another day. E3 plugs = waste of $.

 

[RustedRanger]

The hotter the spark the more completely the mixture is burned...less emmissions more power less chance of detonation. Nearly every engine build up I have ever seen also upgrades the ignition...and that's been a lot since I started my car hobby in 1986. I have switched engines from points to HEI....hotter spark does make a difference in my experience and those of others who did the same. I will say that I wouldn't pay the money for the E3's....I have read numerous post about aftermarket plugs in the 2.9 not working well due to the heat range not being right since they make the plugs to fit so many different engines.

 

[4.0B2]

i just use what the OEM plug. i ran E3's in my 4.0 in my b2 for awhile. i won a set at a 4wps sale day raffle. they worked fine.. but didn't help anything


to the OP- if you wanna know if the E3's help, what you're gonna have to do is, get an average MPG over like 4 tanks of gas. then put regular OEM plugs on it and do the same thing; right now you've changed to much to compare your old 15 to the new ##. you may get 17 now-- but the plugs may not be the reason why, it could be the fan or fresh rebuild or something