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Will upgraded spark plugs make a difference?

22K views 18 replies 11 participants last post by  Hondafan 
#1 ·
I was looking to upgrade my spark plugs in my 04 wrx. It has about 64000 miles and is modded to about 300 hp. I guess id go with one step colder... Will there be a noticeable chanhe and is it worth it?
 
#6 ·
Any time you make an engine run more efficiently, it will yield more power (or require less input ie. fuel, air). It may not be terribly noticeable with a plug. When you put an exhaust or intake on, you are only allowing it to breath easier or expel spent exhaust easier, and the efficiency of the engine is increased as it doesn't have to work as hard as you've made it's job easier. Give it a better spark that will better ignite the cylinder contents, and you are going to get more power because you've made the process more efficient. Find the right plug for the right cylinder conditions, and it will make a difference.
 
#11 ·
IDK where ## stages are from butim stg 3 and thats turboback, uppipe, vf39, TMIC, Walbro, and injectors. Hmmmm..... either way im ###### gonna get my plugs done soon at 1 step colder.
 
#12 ·
Yeah, the stage standards have had me confused quite a few times when speaking with others in general, but what I came away with is the "Power Mods" thread is in general for full car power. Individually things are different like exhaust is stage 1 with a cat back, then stage 2 with the downpipe (turbo back) and maybe the up-pipe too, but I forget exactly... Regardless you have quite alot of mods Subieboo! You should be right there for 300whp I'd say (but then again I'm a noob so you have to prove it and disregard me, hahaha). I checked out those Iridium spark plugs by NGK and Denso though and just made me want to buy them with my drop in filter, downpipe, and STS, hahaha. Looks great and every bit of fuel efficiency & power I can pull bang for buck style is a bonus! Let us know how they run if you pick some up =D
 
#17 ·
I can say from personal experience that Pulstar Pulse Plugs are not worth the money. I spent almost 100 bucks on a set of four and I didn't notice a major improvement in horsepower or gas mileage over the stock plugs. Next time around I'll probably use NGK One Step Colder plugs.
 
#19 ·
Just to clarify stages, I think everyone can agree that the standard for stages has been pretty well set by Cobb. I'm just posting this to clarify what stages are what:

Stage 0: Stock
Stage 1: Otherwise stock vehicle with a STOCK INTAKE SYSTEM ONLY.
Stage 2: Otherwise stock vehicle with a STOCK INTAKE SYSTEM ONLY, tested with a Cobb Tuning turbo-back exhaust system with high-flow catalytic converter. An equivalent turbo-back exhaust
system could be used. If the turbo-back exhaust system relieves back-pressure to an excessive point boost creep is possible. If a lesser flowing turbo-back exhaust system is used then boost targets
may not be achievable.
To clarify that one: Exhaust and Downpipe.
Stage 3: (Cobb lists maps specific to common turbos, but doesn't actually list the map as "stage3")
Otherwise stock vehicle with a STOCK INTAKE SYSTEM OR COBB SF INTAKE ONLY, VF39 turbo, STi or equivalent TMIC, STi pink fuel injectors, and a Cobb turbo-back exhaust system with high-flow catalytic converter. An equivalent turbo-back exhaust system could be used. If the turbo-back exhaust system relieves back-pressure to an excessive point boost creep is possible. If a lesser flowing turbo-back exhaust system is used then boost targets may not be achievable.
To clarify: Exhaust, Downpipe, Larger intercooler (unless already an STi), larger higher output turbo, and larger injectors.

- I hope this helps to clarify what stages are considered in the WRX world. Go to other cars and people will say stages are different for those modifications.

Link to info: Cobb Maps and Stage Info
 
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