plug suggestions..

[pat julian]

quick question..time to replace the plugs on my '93 2.3 five speed..with the Mazda engine...my driving is 95% highway at 70-75 mph...last time I put the basic motorcraft plug in..the cheapest available..have no complaints..about 80K on them now...and get 26-28 mpg under these driving conditions...is there a better plug for the way I drive ??/ thanks...

 

[XLTsplash]

I would stick with the Motorcraft plugs. They work well in the 2.3L I tried the top of the line Autolites in my Ranger and the only difference I noticed was ignition noise in my radio. So I changed back to Motorcraft.
The Mazda 2.3L wasn't installed in Rangers until 2001. Your 2.3L should be the good old American cast iron Lima 2.3L That was first used in 1974 Mustangs and Pintos.

 

[Mikel89us]

Agreed ^^

 

[scotts90ranger]

Autolite and Motorcraft are the same plugs with different logos on them (Autolite is to Ford like AC Delco is to GM, Ford is Autolite's parent company or atleast used to be)... I've been running Autolite 764's for the last 15 years (gone through a few sets...) with no complaints

 

[tomw]

If you google around, you'll find that autolite is part of "FRAM Group", which I do not think is related to FoMoCo. See here:

http://ca.autolite.framautogroup.com/enca/products/spark_plugs/product_list

I am pretty sure Motorcraft is a FoMoCo subsidiary. Se here:

https://www.fordparts.com/Products/SparkPlugs.aspx

Search by VIN application or part number:

https://www.fordparts.com/default.aspx

My first choice is Motorcraft. Second is Autolite, 3rd, A/C Delco, with Champion coming in last. Back when leaded gasoline eroded the electrodes in about 20K miles, Champions wore out the quickest. Motorcraft & Autolite & GM lasted a lot longer & I was lazy.
tom

 

[buckshotmudder]

China now makes plugs for all the major brands including Autolite and Motorcraft.
So the chances are any brand you buy is made by the same company, made in China.

state of the art spark plug factory in China
http://www.curezone.org/forums/am.asp?i=1063782

If you google around, you'll find that autolite is part of "FRAM Group", which I do not think is related to FoMoCo. See here:

http://ca.autolite.framautogroup.com/enca/products/spark_plugs/product_list

I am pretty sure Motorcraft is a FoMoCo subsidiary. Se here:

https://www.fordparts.com/Products/SparkPlugs.aspx

Search by VIN application or part number:

https://www.fordparts.com/default.aspx

My first choice is Motorcraft. Second is Autolite, 3rd, A/C Delco, with Champion coming in last. Back when leaded gasoline eroded the electrodes in about 20K miles, Champions wore out the quickest. Motorcraft & Autolite & GM lasted a lot longer & I was lazy.
tom

 

[pat julian]

Thanks for the suggestions..I work for an AC/DELCO/MOTORCRAFT distributor..and can get any of them..good to know it's not the Mazda engine..I knew at some point Mazda engines were installed in rangers..so...same as a Pinto ??? That explains why it's so dang slow..lol My '96 Ranger 2.3 would run off and leave this one...

 

[Mikel89us]

Your 96 ranger also had the same motor. It wasn't till mid 2001 they started using the duratech 2.3

 

[pat julian]

If that's the case...then the '96 must have had a bit more horsepower..nothing mechanically wrong with this '93..220K on it..smooth and quiet..but just doesnt have the power the '96 had when it had 598K on it...but it does get better mileage..if I keep it around 60 mph..it gets 32 mpg...even running at 75 mph on interstate..I get 26-27 mpg...thanks for the info...

 

[Mark_88]

I used the Bosch +4 in my 4 plug head carbureted engine for about 14 years and they never let me down...although they were harder to clean than other plugs with all those thingys sticking out of the end...

I tried a few times to go with other brands but for some reason the truck would not run right with single electrode plugs. They were less expensive than the Bosch and I was tempted to try them for this reason...considering the +4's were $18 for two...so a set would set me back nearly $40...

One of the last things I noticed as a very good indication that my engine was worn out was the number 2 plug was getting some flack from the pistons and bending one of the electrodes in a bit...just enough to make me realize that the bearings or something was loose enough to allow some serious play...but the plugs still fired because they had three other trodes to work with...