Will these spark plugs help or hurt?

Question:

I presently have a 2004 Chevrolet SSR Convertible Pickup with the 5.3-liter LT1 V-8 engine, and do as much mechanical/maintenance work on this vehicle as I can. I change the oil and filter, check the tire pressure each week, check all fluids and replace when needed. I was going to replace the spark plugs with E3 plugs and recently have been advised that I should not use these spark plugs in this vehicle. Have you heard of any problems such as causing damage or poor results from using these spark plugs on any model automobiles?

I certainly do not want to install these spark plugs if that will cause any problems or damage to my vehicle, and am hoping that you can clear up this matter before I install them. I really would appreciate any information/help you can give me in this situation.

Answer:

I don’t know of any instances where the E3 spark plugs caused damage to the vehicle but have read a fair number of complaints on various Internet sites about them delivering poor results.

I don’t have any personal experience with them, however, so I can’t offer an opinion based on firsthand knowledge, and we all know that we can’t entirely trust much of what we read on the Internet. I tend to be very skeptical, however, of anything that claims to measurably improve fuel economy and reduce emissions with a bolt on (or in the case of engine additives, pour in) part that is relatively inexpensive.

The reason why I am generally skeptical is because with tremendous pressure to decrease both fuel consumption and exhaust emissions coming from the government, and to some extent, from market forces as well, the auto manufacturers are spending immense sums of money and technical resources trying to find any improvements.

If they could measurably improve fuel economy while “drastically cutting toxic emissions” while also increasing power output and lengthening engine life (all claims found on the E3 Spark plug Web site) by simply switching to a different spark plug, I think they would and as far as I know none of them have.

Of course, this is just my opinion and as I said before I don’t have any firsthand experience, so you may want to take a chance and see if they work for you.

If you decide to take a chance and install E3 plugs please let us know what results you get.