E3 Spark Plugs

I first came across this when I was browsing through youtube and came across a show called "GearzTV". I was immediately hooked on the show.. Basically the guy showed how to do custom work on cars...i.e putting a Ford V8 into a Mazda MX-5 (Miata) and new body work and stuff.
Anyways, the host endorsed these spark plugs called E3 Spark Plugs (http://www.e3sparkplugs.com/).

Here's the youtube video....

GearzTV - E3 Spark Plugs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTRy_pVtE1g)

There are other videos out there where he visits a major research institute and discusses the plugs in detail... but from what I can gather, these plugs are pretty good.

There are mixed reviews online about and basically one or two bad experiences which makes me wonder if anyone over here has tried them...

So... has anyone tried them???

I've read several reviews from people that have them and I don't remember any that were particularly positive. As is the case with pretty much any aftermarket spark plug, many people seem to have issues with them in modern (last 10 years or so) computerized stock cars. If you're running a carbureted performance engine, you might have good luck with them.

-Rod

Stick with the OEM recommended spark plugs.

http://www.clubhummeroffroad.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7799
http://www.clubhummeroffroad.com/forum/showthread.php?p=174008&highlight=deserth3+spark+plugs#post174008
http://www.kfx450hq.com/forums/general-discussion/7623-e3-spark-plug-warning.html
http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2729767

I've noticed that most of the complaints have come from owners of GM or Honda vehicles...
A few theories floating around on the web about this;

GM uses a particular plug design when designing the engine that makes it hard to use anything other than OEM. Use something other than OEM and you'd run into trouble.
They didn't choose the right plugs with the correct gap measurement.
The plugs work better with carburated engines rather than ones with Fuel injection.

Stick with what came in the engine! If "designer" plugs were so good they would come from the factory installed in your engine. We have had numerous customers install their own plugs only to have issues shortly down the road. After finding the "designer" plugs we recommend switching to oem stuff. Guess what? Problem fixed!

Stick with what came in the engine! If "designer" plugs were so good they would come from the factory installed in your engine.


This sum it up :icon16:


Spark plugs have been around for over 100 years, yet the basic design has not changed very much in that time.

Over the last 20 years however, people have come up with all sorts of "new" designs, all claiming to make your car run better but with out any evidence to back it up.
Every single magic idea lasts a few years months or years in the market place, then vanishes.

Yet the manufacturers, who spend billions of dollars researching these things, keep using the same basic plug design.
Why? Because it works, and it is the best, most efficient design for the job.

If GM, or BMW, or Honda, start making noise about a new plug design, then you know there is something in it that is more than a marketing gimmick.

For my turbo cars, I just throw in some Irridium (NDs or NGKs) plugs and call it a day. The irridium is just for durability.
For my non-turbo car, I just use---whatever. It doesn't matter.
As long as you get the heat range right, it's golden.

I was browsing www.sparkplugs.com (http://www.sparkplugs.com) for the recommended plug that would fit my car and came across this....
NGK PFR6B - http://www.sparkplugs.com/more_info.asp?AAIA=&pid=2327
E3 3.20 - http://www.sparkplugs.com/more_info.asp?AAIA=&pid=27094

I know the NGK PFR6B is recommended for my car based on the site screenshot attached... In my conversation with someone from E3, I was told that there wasn't a E3 plug that had the Gap 0.7mm ....
Now based on the data provided in the links above, these two plugs look identical in terms of thread size, reach, etc.... So I could assume that the E3 plug should work fine in my engine... Or am I missing another detail that isn't mentioned.... ? :confused:

So, out of curiosity, based on all the information above (from E3 as well as opinions from responders), why are you still looking to go with an E3 plug? While I have never tried E3 plugs, I have used iridium plugs in cars and SUVs, both normally aspirated and turbo charged, and had very good luck with them. Of course I switched to iridium plugs after several thousand miles were on the original plugs, so I cannot quantify the improvement from the switch. But, I have not experienced misfire or other driveability issues often associated with non-OEM style plugs.

-Rod

So, out of curiosity, based on all the information above (from E3 as well as opinions from responders), why are you still looking to go with an E3 plug? While I have never tried E3 plugs, I have used iridium plugs in cars and SUVs, both normally aspirated and turbo charged, and had very good luck with them. Of course I switched to iridium plugs after several thousand miles were on the original plugs, so I cannot quantify the improvement from the switch. But, I have not experienced misfire or other driveability issues often associated with non-OEM style plugs.

-Rod
I'm a nut who likes trying new stuff... :runaround:
I'm the kind of guy who looks at something different and says, "Yeah it could work."
Basically I wanted to give them a shot and see if it is worth all the hype. Frankly, just following the ref-PDF on the E3 site, you'll easily get mistaken in choosing the wrong plug. I found out that by consulting with someone from E3 itself. The gentleman was very helpful. Anyways, I found a plug that has the same specs and gap and seems to be a perfect fit compared to my normal plugs (which frankly are premium double platinum plugs and cost bit more :2cents:)..
I wanted to see if the E3 plugs, which are cheaper could give me the performance as advertised. From the few reviews I've read, they can. :smile:

That's a perfectly fair response. Good luck, and please follow up on this thread with your review after you get a few miles on them.

-Rod

I queried with the guy from E3 about the plug I found, he said that it wouldn't wok on my engine. Although all the other specs are the same, the heat range of the E3.20 is far hotter than the NGK's.
Sadly there isn't a plug in their lineup where are all 5 specs (thread, reach, heat range, hex and gap) match the NGK's and therefore nothing that would fit my engine.

Was so hoping to give them a try... :crying:

Hello everyone, E3 plugs seem to do good in my push mower!

I put E3 plugs in my truck and my car at the same time, the parts guy said I'd be sorry. Well my car is an 93 Mustang and right now it will barely even run. Back firing, missing and runs very roughf. My truck is an 02 F150 and since I pulled my car 400mi round trip, I have a intermittent miss in the engine. Sometimes it will miss once or twice or it will miss constantly under load.
I wonder what it could be?
Im pulling the pluge ASAP and I'll let you know. It sure is a coincidence.

I put E3 plugs in my truck and my car at the same time, the parts guy said I'd be sorry. Well my car is an 93 Mustang and right now it will barely even run. Back firing, missing and runs very roughf. My truck is an 02 F150 and since I pulled my car 400mi round trip, I have a intermittent miss in the engine. Sometimes it will miss once or twice or it will miss constantly under load.
I wonder what it could be?
Im pulling the pluge ASAP and I'll let you know. It sure is a coincidence.
I still wanna give the plugs a try. :P

I put E3 plugs in my truck and my car at the same time, the parts guy said I'd be sorry. Well my car is an 93 Mustang and right now it will barely even run. Back firing, missing and runs very roughf. My truck is an 02 F150 and since I pulled my car 400mi round trip, I have a intermittent miss in the engine. Sometimes it will miss once or twice or it will miss constantly under load.
I wonder what it could be?
Im pulling the pluge ASAP and I'll let you know. It sure is a coincidence.
It's not the E3 plugs- you have other issues

OP- always has been and always will- one's who market something as better- simple truth- in 30 years have never seen or known one of the nuts to back up their better product in a head to head test- where the one that is known to not provide any proof ove standard

quite simple actually- you get a product/salesman to state their's is so much better- you say-

"if it isn't as you say and so much better you will pay time and effort in testing that proved such"

name one- I mean one- who well step up to the challenge where they will lost money wehen their- so called better than- proves up

in the early 80's I could never find any who would stand behind their so called "better than what the manuafature had"

always been willing to see what salesman have- always been up to a real terst

fools beware- someone is there to take your money

I put E3 plugs in my truck and my car at the same time, the parts guy said I'd be sorry. Well my car is an 93 Mustang and right now it will barely even run. Back firing, missing and runs very rough. My truck is an 02 F150 and since I pulled my car 400mi round trip, I have a intermittent miss in the engine. Sometimes it will miss once or twice or it will miss constantly under load.
I wonder what it could be?
Im pulling the pluge ASAP and I'll let you know. It sure is a coincidence.
My husband is almost home with our car that was in need of repair due to those spark plugs. I have not seen the sheet on it yet, so I can't tell you exactly what the problem was. I do know that it is something to do with cylinder #4. I will post again once I know the details on it. One thing is for sure. I will NEVER use an E3 plug again.

EDIT: It turns out that the plugs caused the cylinder to misfire. The technician was NOT impressed with our choice of aftermarket plugs.

I bought an 03 Toyota pick-up about two weeks ago. The plugs were in bad shape so I bought some E3 plugs to put in, mainly as an experiment. I have to say they made a difference, better idle and gas mileage so far so I have no complaints. They may not be the be all end all for plugs but they work out ok.

I bought an 03 Toyota pick-up about two weeks ago. The plugs were in bad shape so I bought some E3 plugs to put in, mainly as an experiment. I have to say they made a difference, better idle and gas mileage so far so I have no complaints. They may not be the be all end all for plugs but they work out ok.
Its nice to see that someone had a good experience with them. I haven't heard anything about them supporting my engine yet.

As a professional tech, I say go right on ahead. They are great plugs until they ruin your gas mileage, and you come to my shop looking for answers as to why your only getting 200 miles out of a full tank of gas. I pull a spark plug, and BAM...there is the E3 logo staring me right in the face.

I've done plenty of tune ups on Ford F-150s that the owner thought E3s were a good deal. They were new, had a different packaging, and were on the shelf where they could put their hands on it. I think I'll grab 8 of'em.

Reminds me of the days of the Splitfire spark plugs. Witch got sued by the FTC and was basically taken off the market.

So yes, get them. I need money for my Christmas presents.

I had them, they did work great, but there apears to be manufacturer defects in them. IE nipple ends not punched they would loosen and cause misfires all 6 of them. Second set, one just wanted to randomly misfire. ... They did give me my money back though, so atleast they stand behind their product.

Why all the hype about these E3 plugs? I've never really shopped around for plugs as NGK/ Bosch are cheap enough. In Australia you're paying between $20 for a set of coppers to $100ish for platinums that last 100,000kms on an n/a or properly tuned turbo motor.

I tried these in my 1969 SS Camaro and I had two foul out after 200 miles. These are nothing but a copper core plug with a gimmick side wire. I am going back to NGK Iridium's and would never put in any of my cars. Remember Split Fire? Those of us old enough to remember saw them come and go. Didn't work either just like Slick 50 another gimmick. If it's not OE there is a reason!

I had them, they did work great, but there apears to be manufacturer defects in them. IE nipple ends not punched they would loosen and cause misfires all 6 of them. Second set, one just wanted to randomly misfire. ... They did give me my money back though, so atleast they stand behind their product.
Perhaps there is something to them, but its always a chance that you're taking. I'd never try them on a new car engine like my 2014 Ram. I'd think that's just asking for trouble. Besides, I don't want to mess with the warranty...

Properly gapped and correct rated spark plugs should not void warranty from a regular/reputable brand. In any case, spark plugs will never be a cause of catastrophic failure, even running rough without 1-2 cylinders. Still, check the fine print of your warranty papers and run properly gapped plugs on your beloved engine.
It sparks the fuel-air mix that begins the combustion process, therefore poor spark = poor/no bang.
Spark plugs can give indication of engine trouble - eg carbon build up = running rich.

Properly gapped and correct rated spark plugs should not void warranty from a regular/reputable brand. In any case, spark plugs will never be a cause of catastrophic failure, even running rough without 1-2 cylinders. Still, check the fine print of your warranty papers and run properly gapped plugs on your beloved engine.
It sparks the fuel-air mix that begins the combustion process, therefore poor spark = poor/no bang.
Spark plugs can give indication of engine trouble - eg carbon build up = running rich.

There are no aftermarket spark plugs that will void the warranty. There have been several guys having issues with the E3 plugs fouling because they consolidate heat ranges to consolidate part numbers. Thus the lack of heat ranges. They have also been known to turn on check engine lights and to short out coils in the applications that have coils for each plug. These are facts. In the case of my engine an old 350 single coil running perfectly with NGK plugs and no fouling issues. I changed to E3 because of horsepower and fuel economy claims. 200 miles later two plugs fouled. I put back in old NGK'S and it runs like new again. For the record you can't gap an E3 plug. The combustion process is not complicated. You basically blow up gas. Platinum and Iridium don't enhance performance they simply make the plug work longer in terms of hours. Remember Split Fire, all hype and basically shut down by FTC because of false ad claims with no proof. Plugs for the most part are same design for over 120 years. They are not a complicated part and there have been no significant real advancements such as fuel injection over the carburetor. With that said, copper is the best choice for performance and conducting electricity. Plain old $.99 Champion will perform better than an iridium or platinum just won't last.

Any spark plug that has a very sharp or pointed end on the center or side electrode will have a lower voltage requirement to fire the plug. This is where the irridium spark plugs score. They have a very fine wire center electrode and usually have a tapered to a point side electrode. Since irridium is a very hard metal and is corrosion resistant, it will last a long time and the volts required to fire the plug should remain lower than a conventional plug for a longer time.
Since an irridium type plug takes a lower voltage to fire at a given plug gap, you can widen the plug gap a bit and possibly help the low speed drivability, or run a leaner mixture, and the plug will still fire the mixture.
Sometimes a super or turbocharged engine will require quite a narrow plug gap from the factory, with an aftermarket irridium plug you can open the gap a bit and possibly (possibly!) help the drivability.
Changing the gap in an irridium plug is simply a matter of using a gapping tool. You just want to make sure you don't break the fine wire center electrode.
In both my turbo cars, I installed irridium plugs with a bit wider gap, and pretty much forgot about them.
This is also a matter of degree, and shades of gray, so what works in one application may not work in another.

Any spark plug that has a very sharp or pointed end on the center or side electrode will have a lower voltage requirement to fire the plug. This is where the irridium spark plugs score. They have a very fine wire center electrode and usually have a tapered to a point side electrode. Since irridium is a very hard metal and is corrosion resistant, it will last a long time and the volts required to fire the plug should remain lower than a conventional plug for a longer time.
Since an irridium type plug takes a lower voltage to fire at a given plug gap, you can widen the plug gap a bit and possibly help the low speed drivability, or run a leaner mixture, and the plug will still fire the mixture.
Sometimes a super or turbocharged engine will require quite a narrow plug gap from the factory, with an aftermarket irridium plug you can open the gap a bit and possibly (possibly!) help the drivability.
Changing the gap in an irridium plug is simply a matter of using a gapping tool. You just want to make sure you don't break the fine wire center electrode.
In both my turbo cars, I installed irridium plugs with a bit wider gap, and pretty much forgot about them.
This is also a matter of degree, and shades of gray, so what works in one application may not work in another.

It is the fine wire that makes a difference. However the Iridium does nothing for the performance. The iridium in an iridium plug is so small that it is almost insignificant. It is merely a touch of the precious metal just as the platinum plugs. The focus here and my comments were specific to E3 were that the plugs did not last. Sparks take the paths of least resistance. The E3 plug offers multiple sharp edges that the spark may land. With these and a copper center electrode and no precious metal the plug in theory should perform better than any platinum or iridium as it exposes the flame front with it's open configuration the flame front should get to the most robust air and fuel mixture rather than a plug with a standard j wire configuration that causes the flame to create a mushroom. Thus carbon in center of piston on an old engine when torn down to rebuild. It is quite strange that the E3 plugs fouled at 200 miles. For a long lasting plug iridium or platinum will do the job. For horsepower gains they do nothing. Have spent countless hours in dyno rooms on cars and motorcycles to see a .99 Champion outperform all platinum and iridium plugs. Also platinum is around $1100.00 per ounce and iridium is around 600.00 per ounce which warrants the question of how much of a precious metal is really in a 6.99 spark plug? Until someone makes a plug that exposes center electrode or increases watts to plug a standard j wire plug of any flavor will not increase horsepower any more than a copper core plug it will only last longer.

Has anyone tried the new Pulstar PlasmaCore plug? Sort of expensive and say they have a capacitor.