Bosch Super 4 Spark Plugs

HaX

HaX

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I've just been down the pub with mate who has just fitted some Bosch Super 4s to his Laguna. He reckons they have made a noticeable difference to performance and fuel economy.

He's also put magnetic oil into his car (Magnatex)?

'm already getting really good economy out of my car (500 miles for £50 in a 1.8 petrol Mondeo MK II), but obviously the more the better?

Are either of these products worth using?

Cheers

HaX
 
Soldato
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I've just been down the pub with mate

:D Fantastic!

Bosch Super 4 plugs are supposed to be crap. I had some in my old car and they were ok. I swapped them out for some NGK's and found it ran a little smoother from cold, but that's about it.

No extra horsepower, although if your current plugs are really old, fitting new plugs will give a cleaner burn helping the car to rev smoother.

Also, magnetic oil, I like that! It's been proven that Magnatec isn't as good as everyone thinks. You're best off with a high-quality oil. Something like Silkolene or Millers.
 
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As far as oils go, imo a good quality fully synthetic (like Motul 8100, Fuchs Titan or Silkolene Pro S) is much much better than Magnatec (or any other semi-synth).

Might just be me, but my Primera seems to run a lot smoother now it's had a decent fill of Silkolene Pro
 
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agw_01 said:
Also, magnetic oil, I like that! It's been proven that Magnatec isn't as good as everyone thinks. You're best off with a high-quality oil. Something like Silkolene or Millers.

Proven by who?

Magnatec used additives that are surface active and they really do 'cling liek a magnet'. Most good oils do to be honest but Castrol are the only ones who seem to have marketed this.
 
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Simon said:
Proven by who?

Magnatec used additives that are surface active and they really do 'cling liek a magnet'. Most good oils do to be honest but Castrol are the only ones who seem to have marketed this.

And, imo, when you buy Magnatex, you pay for all that clever marketing. I just think that it's a semi-synth, and from what i've heard, not a very good one at that. For the same price you can pick up a really good quality pao fully synth that's a better oil.
 
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Castrol Magnatec was originally developed as a semi synthetic to replace GTX so you can whack it into older engines like the one in my Anglia with no problems. In that type of engine it makes a big difference between cheap oil.

You really ought to check what type of oil you need before sticking in a fully synthetic. If the engine isn't designed for it you will cause damage due to the tolerances being wrong and it may glaze up the bores. Likewise if you put thick old oil in a modern engine you'll get no oil pressure and it'll be right down on power.

Those plugs are snake oil in my opinion, if your engine isn't designed to take advantage of that type of plug then how is it going to make any difference? You'd be better off putting in a new coil, leads and plugs as a set to see a difference, if your stuff is getting old, then you can be sure you're getting the spark the factory wanted you to have. By all means put monster leads, a killer coil and ultra cool plugs but it's unlikely to make any difference unless you've got a race engine.
 
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gobbo said:
And, imo, when you buy Magnatex, you pay for all that clever marketing. I just think that it's a semi-synth, and from what i've heard, not a very good one at that. For the same price you can pick up a really good quality pao fully synth that's a better oil.

Heard off who?

Fully sythetic is an overkill on some engines. My mate bought some to put in his 1.2 punto, starting peeing oil out after that. should have stuck with some cheaper stuff.
 
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I got some of those Bosch super 4 sparkplugs for free and if I’m honest I didn’t notice much difference at all, the only advantage I could see is that they didn’t need to be gapped. If your friend did see an advantage it was probably due to the state of the old spark plugs rather than any benefits of the new ones.

As for engine oils, stick to what the manufacturer recommends unless you’ve done huge mileage on an older engine, in which case a slightly thicker oil can help clear up those slight leaks that occur.
 
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Simon said:
Heard off who?

Fully sythetic is an overkill on some engines. My mate bought some to put in his 1.2 punto, starting peeing oil out after that. should have stuck with some cheaper stuff.

Mechanics, other Primera owners, garage owners. I will agree it does depend on the type of engine, but any engine built in the past 10 years shouldn't have any problems running with fully synth oil.
 
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gobbo said:
Mechanics, other Primera owners, garage owners.

So no one with with any knowledge then ? :p Why exactly makes them say it is rubbish

gobbo said:
I will agree it does depend on the type of engine, but any engine built in the past 10 years shouldn't have any problems running with fully synth oil.
Or any need on some engines. Fully synthetic detergents are often too good for high milage/worn engines and clean all the sludge out and cause leaks
 
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Simon said:
Proven by who?

Magnatec used additives that are surface active and they really do 'cling liek a magnet'. Most good oils do to be honest but Castrol are the only ones who seem to have marketed this.

so when your oil is 4000 miles old and you want to change it... it carries on sticking and you end up with dirty oil sticking to you engine.

i dont like the sound of that lol
 
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Matt82 said:
so when your oil is 4000 miles old and you want to change it... it carries on sticking and you end up with dirty oil sticking to you engine.

i dont like the sound of that lol

Would you prefer the oil not to stick then :confused:

Anything that is 'dirty' that is big enough to cause damage will be caught by the filter. As I said though most oils have surface active additives anyway.
 
Soldato
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millers is used by a lot of motorsport teams (not just sponsored by) i can remember seeing it in the padock at brands for their formula renault races.

a guy from another forum had a selection of octane boosters tested by an independant lab to see which ones did what they said they would. only the millers did. he had tests carried out on their gearbox oils too, the lab found they "did exactly what they said on the tin"

hence ive used millers in the cars ive cared about lol
 
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Simon said:
Would you prefer the oil not to stick then :confused:

Anything that is 'dirty' that is big enough to cause damage will be caught by the filter. As I said though most oils have surface active additives anyway.


ill prefer my oil to just be normal and to be flowed round the engine by the oil pump. i doubt magnatex even sticks anyway and i definately would not want dirty, used oil staying in my engine after i changed it for fresh stuff

wouldnt touch that over priced stuff with someone elses bargepole
 
Soldato
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I'm not saying Magnatex is rubbish, i'm saying that for how much it costs, there are much better oils on the market (both fully synth and semi-synth)
 
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