I have 101,000 miles on it, and am told I should put new plugs in. Of course the recommendation is Motorcraft. Is there a better choice for hotter spark, better fuel efficiency, etc?
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Best spark plugs for 2013 F 150 5.0
- Thread starter Milkman
- Start date
transfixer
Senior Member
You can't go wrong using the same thing the factory does, I have tried all the " new and improved" spark plugs in the past, never could tell a difference, if you were running a modified engine with more compression, or more fuel, there might be an advantage to some of them, but not with a stock engine.
Eudora
Senior Member
Since there are no Motorcraft factories anywhere (they source all their products and then brand them) I would also recommend NGK Iridium plugs. NGK are easier to find at the retailers than Motorcraft. The Iridium (internal metals) are what was most likely in the OE plug and will last 80K+ miles. I assume you will be replacing the wires too as these have most likely seen their better days too.
bullfrog79
Senior Member
no wires on these, they are coil on plug. Motorcraft on the plugs.
This truck doesn’t have conventional plug wires. It has small wires plugging by a connector onto the coil assembly thing.
the owners manual doesn’t even give a motorcraft part number. It says “see dealer”
transfixer
Senior Member
Whether motorcraft or Autolite are made in a Ford factory is irrelevant, they are made to Ford's specifications, certain resistance, certain heat range, NGK are good plugs and OE for many foreign car makers, I would still use Motorcraft or Autolite in a Ford, just as I use GM Delco in my GM trucks,
Thanks.
What would your shop charge to furnish and install a set of Motorcraft irridium plugs in that truck?
Semi-Pro
Full-Pro
X2 on the iridium. I have almost 220k on a set of plugs
tr21
Senior Member
pull a plug, get the number off it and google the number. I bet it comes up. IMO run what the factory uses, especially in newer computerized engines. my mother had a Chrysler LHS. after a few years we decided it was time to change the plugs, at the time I believe it was the bosch platinum's were all the rage. well we spent about $100 for a new set and installed them. car didn't get driven much it was mainly our Biloxi limo. about 2 months later it started running like crap. we took it to the dealer and it took them 3 days and us $500 to figure out these plugs were driving the computer crazy. they put factory plugs in and it ran like a top. unless your 18 and think that 1/2 h.p. is going to make your tires squeal louder, use factory plugs
tr21
Senior Member
if you are 18 y.o. you really need to use the split fire plugs. man your truck will go 0 to 60 mph before you even put your foot on the gas pedal. but let me warn ya, you got to hold both feet on the brake pedal at red lights because its hard to hold back that extra 1000 h.p. these plugs add. and increase your gas mileage, buddy let me tell you, installed mine 50k miles ago, filled up the tank and haven't had to put gas in it yet !
Well I am 18 years old. 18x3 plus 10. 
tr21
Senior Member
especially these days. they spend hours in a wind tunnel and on a dyno trying to squeeze every bit of power and economy out of vehicles/engines. if they could spend $5 more per plug to get a extra 1mpg or few h.p. they would. these days you really cant get more without spending lots of money. in the old days you could tweak them to get more. have a 96 bronco w 351 that was getting 15. at tune up time I read where you could put a hot coil, bigger plug wires, different plugs and adjust the timing for more. got 18mpg out of it but that was before all the computer stuff
transfixer
Senior Member
The shop I work with only does transmission work, but I have a friend that owns a general repair shop , I do his transmissions for him, I'll ask what he normally would charge.
transfixer
Senior Member
If Milkman's truck has the 6spd transmission in it, a different plug than factory could mess with the programming on it as well, the 6spd Ford uses is a version of a ZF6hp26 transmission, which is used by BMW and Jaguar, I know for a fact if you don't use the same spark plugs Jaguar runs in those cars it will affect the way the transmission works, I personally know of one shop that put 2 different transmissions in a Jaguar and it still wouldn't work right, then they found out the customer had aftermarket plugs installed in it shortly before bringing the car to them for transmission problems,
Most vehicles in the last 10/12 years use a CAN system, Controller area network, where all the computers on the vehicle interact with each other, plugs that are the wrong resistance can interfere with the communications, causing various issues.
tr21
Senior Member
ok old manWell I am 18 years old. 18x3 plus 10.
ya got me beat at the plus 10 pretty much these days the only way to get more is mess with the computer $$$ it aint like when we were younger. headers, duals, intake, timing and 
bullfrog79
Senior Member
Motorcraft sp548. Job shouldn’t cost more than 200-250 total, depending on labor rates in your area. Those plugs are pretty easy to access.
transfixer
Senior Member
Checked with my friend this morning, he said he usually gets about $250 total, parts and labor
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