Champion rep said don't use platinum plugs.

kgruber

kgruber

Final Approach
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At the Pacific NW Aviation trade show yesterday, the Champion rep had the new fused resistor spark plugs. They are the same basic design as their igniters which they've had for years.

But then he said I should not be using Champion fine wire platinum spark plugs in my engine. (RHM38P) Something about reacting with the lead in 100LL and breaking off the electrodes.

I'd never heard of this.
 
Considering the issues Champion has had of late with their defective plugs, I'm not sure I'd believe much of what was said.

Of course, then again, I wouldn't have walked up to his table in the first place!

Was Tempest at the next table with an ohm meter? :goofy:
 
I know Champion gets a lot of grief, but they took good care of me. I use their fine wires, and one of then went dead. No spark. I wrote to the head of the aviation division asking why I should be excited about spending $100+ per plug, only to have one fail over a .69 carbon-ceramic resistor.

I got an email back in 24 hours. They replaced the bad plug, and rebuilt the remaining 11 to bring them into new spec. Free of charge.
I got no complaints.
 
timwinters said:
Considering the issues Champion has had of late with their defective plugs, I'm not sure I'd believe much of what was said.

Of course, then again, I wouldn't have walked up to his table in the first place!

Was Tempest at the next table with an ohm meter? :goofy:
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100% :yes:
 
Chip Sylverne said:
I know Champion gets a lot of grief, but they took good care of me. I use their fine wires, and one of then went dead. No spark. I wrote to the head of the aviation division asking why I should be excited about spending $100+ per plug, only to have one fail over a .69 carbon-ceramic resistor.

I got an email back in 24 hours. They replaced the bad plug, and rebuilt the remaining 11 to bring them into new spec. Free of charge.
I got no complaints.
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Sorry Chip, that is silly. They should have never sold them to you. These go in airplanes not lawn movers. They have no conscience. The FAA should have banned them from airplanes until they FIXED the problems! I have drawers full of Champion plugs that don't meet OHM specs.
 
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Geico266 said:
Sorry Chip, that is silly. They should have never sold them to you. These go in airplanes not lawn movers. They have no conscience. The FAA should have banned them from airplanes until they FIXED the problems! I have drawers full of Champion plugs that don't meet OHM specs.
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If they're so bad that you removed them from an airplane, plus you think they should be banned, why do you have drawers full of junk spark plugs? :dunno:
 
mondtster said:
If they're so bad that you removed them from an airplane, plus you think they should be banned, why do you have drawers full of junk spark plugs? :dunno:
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I don't know about Larry, but I probably have (almost) every plug I ever bought in a coffe can in the hangar. Why? I have no freakin' idea but I do.
 
Champion very quietly changed the design of their spark plugs in spring 2014. They copied the Tempest design, using a fired in resistor instead of the carbon pile POS they had used previously.

They removed all reference to the earlier design, and when you read their material, it seems as though they've always made plugs this way. There is no "new and improved" information, no press release, nothing to indicate they've finally buried a bad design.

Anyway, iridium plugs are superior in HP generation, resistance to fouling, and generally last longer than your engine. If the rep discouraged you from buying them, he is an idiot.
 
Oh goody. A spark plug thread. I can't wait to see how this twists and turns....:rollercoaster:
 
mondtster said:
If they're so bad that you removed them from an airplane, plus you think they should be banned, why do you have drawers full of junk spark plugs? :dunno:
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You would rather I sold them to some poor sucker on eBay? :no:

I'm waiting for Champion to belly up to the bar and buy back the ones that don't pass the OHM their own testing standards. :mad2:
 
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philiplane said:
Champion very quietly changed the design of their spark plugs in spring 2014. They copied the Tempest design, using a fired in resistor instead of the carbon pile POS they had used previously.

They removed all reference to the earlier design, and when you read their material, it seems as though they've always made plugs this way. There is no "new and improved" information, no press release, nothing to indicate they've finally buried a bad design.

Anyway, iridium plugs are superior in HP generation, resistance to fouling, and generally last longer than your engine. If the rep discouraged you from buying them, he is an idiot.
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So why would anyone reward Champion with your hard earned aviation $$$ by buying their product knowing they (knowingly) sold defective spark plugs in the first place? :mad2: Aircraft owners should make them pay by NOT BUYING CHAMPION SPARK PLUGS for the next 25 years! They are junk that cost airplane owners tens of thousands of $$$ in unnecessary maintenance and down time.
 
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philiplane said:
Champion very quietly changed the design of their spark plugs in spring 2014. They copied the Tempest design, using a fired in resistor instead of the carbon pile POS they had used previously.

Not really. They used the same design as their igniter plugs that have been made that way for decades.

They removed all reference to the earlier design, and when you read their material, it seems as though they've always made plugs this way. There is no "new and improved" information, no press release, nothing to indicate they've finally buried a bad design.

Anyway, iridium plugs are superior in HP generation, resistance to fouling, and generally last longer than your engine. If the rep discouraged you from buying them, he is an idiot.

OP stated platinum.....not iridium. There are still PILES of platinum plugs available......NOS
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.....
 
My only experience with Champion was when I called them with a technical question about a plug they haven't made in at least 50 years. Probably longer. It was a shielded plug and I wanted to know if it had a resistor in it. Everything I read said all shielded plugs have resistors but I had my doubts about this one.

They transferred me around between a few people and finally started a conference bridge and started bringing more people in. Finally they brought in who was probably the oldest guy in the company and he was the first person that actually knew what PN I was talking about and answered all my questions. No resistor in my shielded plugs.

I replaced them with Tempest plugs which I felt a little bad about given how much they helped me with no charge on something they haven't sold in forever. Only reason I went Tempest is because someone gave me 8 of them for free.
 
Geico266 said:
You would rather I sold them to some poor sucker on eBay? :no:

I'm waiting for Champion to belly up to the bar and buy back the ones that don't pass the OHM their own testing standards. :mad2:
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:rofl::rofl::rofl: That's like the people on Hoarders who are waiting for the local newspaper to buy back 20 years of back issues.:rofl::rofl::rofl: How are they supposed to make a profit if they make a good product, or worse, give things away?
 
jesse said:
My only experience with Champion was when I called them with a technical question about a plug they haven't made in at least 50 years. Probably longer. It was a shielded plug and I wanted to know if it had a resistor in it. Everything I read said all shielded plugs have resistors but I had my doubts about this one.



They transferred me around between a few people and finally started a conference bridge and started bringing more people in. Finally they brought in who was probably the oldest guy in the company and he was the first person that actually knew what PN I was talking about and answered all my questions. No resistor in my shielded plugs.



I replaced them with Tempest plugs which I felt a little bad about given how much they helped me with no charge on something they haven't sold in forever. Only reason I went Tempest is because someone gave me 8 of them for free.
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That's impressive. Most companies nowadays have a clueless wonk answering the phone who'll give you a "ticket number" and hang up on you.
 
timwinters said:
I don't know about Larry, but I probably have (almost) every plug I ever bought in a coffe can in the hangar. Why? I have no freakin' idea but I do.
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Probably because that is what your dad did.

When my dad passed away, I found lots and lots of coffee cans full of old spark plugs and used nails in the garage.

Now they are taking up space in my garage.... :lol:
 
My "hording" saved the company I worked for $16,000 one day. I kept the old flame scanners after they went blind and were replaced on our gas turbines. I turned some of them into dumbbells with some couplings & pipe. Some just sat on the shelf.

Eventually I found out about a silent recall going on. I went back and checked the serial numbers on ours - bingo ... 16 of mine were covered. We got 16 new flame scanners for free... I lost my dumbbells, but it was worth it!
 
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