Honda Car Forum

jim beam wrote:
> Tegger wrote:
> <snip crap>

<snip>

> why did you respond? that guy is either a fruit loop or a troll. either
> way, he's beyond help and should only be ignored.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killfile



marco

marco <marco@no.spam> wrote in news:13fcbi64nmqkue8@news.supernews.com:

>
> I got most of it from a mechanic who preached on about the hazards of
> using platinum plugs,



He's not too knowledgeable if he's preaching that.



> and the only reason I believed the guy is
> because he solved my problem by replacing my platinum plugs with OEM
> plugs.



Spark strength is a function of the coil, not of the platinum in the
plugs. Platinum plugs cannot make a big fat spark from a weak coil
signal.

If the platinum plugs were NOT of OEM specification, there arises the
possibility that they were of the wrong heat range. If they were too hot
for the combustion chamber's characteristics, they may begin to glow,
causing pre-ignition and excessive pressures.


>
> I had spent a couple hundred bucks replacing plug wires, distributor,
> etc.. to no avail. I even replaced the platinum plugs with new
> platinum plugs.
>
> Same symptoms as the OP, but in my case, the engine would occasionally
> stop so hard that I went through 2 timing belts, and the
> timing(distributor and belt) were exactly where they were supposed to
> be.. If the fuel mixture in the cylinder fires early, before the
> piston reaches the top... you tell me?



Timing was way off, I'll bet. Did you check the timing with a timing
light? A visual inspection of the distributor is not accurate enough.
Just a few degrees excessive advance can cause severe engine problems.



>
> So, I got fed up and took it to the mechanic..
>
>
> At any rate.. Even if I guilty of passing an urban myth,



You are, unfortunately. I could not let this nonsense pass, lest others
be tempted to believe it.



I do know
> that $4.50 worth of spark plugs (plus $25 labor) saved my engine and
> my sanity. Apparently, I don't know *exactly* why that is.
>


Likely because you replaced plugs that were the wrong heat range with
ones that were correct, plus the timing probably was reset properly with
a timing light.

--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

jim beam <spamvortex@bad.example.net> wrote in
news:1KadnRprGrXDbmjbnZ2dnUVZ_g2dnZ2d@speakeasy.ne t:

> Tegger wrote:
> <snip crap>
>>
>> I have no idea where you got all this from, but it's all nonsense.
>>
>> Platinum is used on spark plug electrodes primarily because it resists
>> erosion, thus leading to longer electrode life.
>>
>> It is NOT used on plugs for the purposes of combusting hydrocarbons.
>>
>> You are confusing the functions of platinum on spark plugs with the
>> platinum used in catalytic converters. Same metal, different operating
>> environment and different effects.
>>
>> If you put holes in your pistons at some point, you had /major/
>> detonation problems that were due to excessively advanced ignition
>> timing, or a very lean mixture. The plugs had zero to do with it.
>>
> why did you respond? that guy is either a fruit loop or a troll.
> either way, he's beyond help and should only be ignored.


I responded in the hopes of preventing anybody from believing such
silliness.

--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/