Autolite 3923 sparkplug came apart!!(pics)

[lintlars]

Ok heres what happened I put these plugs in friday afternoon, Saturday afternoon I went racing I made 2 passes on the 1/4 mile and on the return lane it was missfiring and running like shit I knew something was wrong with the plugs so I got it home and changed the plugs and heres what I found the problem to be!


These pics are of the same plug the insulator is just bouncing around Im lucky my engine didnt eat this!!
I WILL NEVER USE AUTOLITES AGAIN!!

If anyone else has ever heard of this happening to them please post!

The plug looks perfect other than the insulator bouncing around Ive used these before on the same set up with no problems ??

 

[lagged]

at my job theres a champion plug (dont knwo the PN) that is broken the same way....send autolite a letter and request an explanation.

 

[suprana1990]

i can tell u one thing, when i went to a automotive training school
the autolite always went to one specific place instead of inside the engine.

i watch carefully out side the shop while a instructor practies his hurling skills.
autolite in hand and head looking up toward the roof.
get the picture?
we all had a chance at it whenever we find an autolite plug.

 

[shaeff]

i happen to like autolites, and never had a problem with them. perhaps dr. jonez will chime in to back me up. he loves them too! it was probably a fluke.

-shaeff

 

[Orion ZyGarian]

WTF?!?!! This is EXACTLY the reason I left Champions in favor of Autolites....

 

[supra90turbo]

my autolites didnt break, but the gap mysteriously closed up over time... i'm not sure why and it's actually a little disturbing to me wondering why it may have happened... i believe my autolite days are done... never really liked them anyhow, through other peoples experiences.

 

[JerzeySlowpra]

that happened to me before, when i first got my car, ive been running denso's ever since

 

[lintlars]

Thanks for all the responses My Autolite days are done as well I talked with the store and they said I will get a full refund or store credit.

 

[CPT Furious]

I had a Denso Iridium plug do that to me...I use the Autolite 3923's with no problem. They even made 8 runs on the dyno with no issues. I happen to like them right now.

 

[MKIIINA]

i recently swapped to autolites after enjoying my NGKs irids for some time. so far im not all that impressed and after this am seriously considereing going back. screw it ill pay the extra to get assembled copper NGKs if i dont need to worry about them.

 

[drjonez]

i've been running autolites for 4 yrs now.....NEVER had a problem with over 200+ passes @ the strip, 60+ dyno runs, etc. i'd say you got a defective plug or you had some detonation, though from the pix it doesn't look like it....

 

[lintlars]

Im going to agree with suprana1990 with his view of Autolite they are not very well made plugs you can tell just by looking at them they are a cheap plug I know you are a big advocate of the auto lite plugs dr. jones but in all honesty you can have them I have spent to much cash to have it go up in smoke from a crappy plug it might be an isolated incidnet but im not taking any chances

It seems if you own a supra the motto is what can go wrong will go wrong (I Still love my car though 12.6 quater mile and still kick ass at the auto-x whats not to like!)

 

[drjonez]

heh. whatever floats your boat....i'd encourage you to look further for other causes....

 

[Eriol]

I had a champion plug do something similar once. I was driving down the interstate, when I started hearing this huge chugging noise. Somehow, the entire middle part of the spark plug -- electrode, bit that the plug wire attaches to, and everything -- had disappeared, and there was a big hole in the middle of my spark plug.

 

[drjonez]

I had a champion plug do something similar once. I was driving down the interstate, when I started hearing this huge chugging noise. Somehow, the entire middle part of the spark plug -- electrode, bit that the plug wire attaches to, and everything -- had disappeared, and there was a big hole in the middle of my spark plug.

not the first time i've heard of a champion plug doing that....

 

[williamb82]

Ok heres what happened I put these plugs in friday afternoon, Saturday afternoon I went racing I made 2 passes on the 1/4 mile and on the return lane it was missfiring and running like shit I knew something was wrong with the plugs so I got it home and changed the plugs and heres what I found the problem to be!


These pics are of the same plug the insulator is just bouncing around Im lucky my engine didnt eat this!!
I WILL NEVER USE AUTOLITES AGAIN!!

If anyone else has ever heard of this happening to them please post!

The plug looks perfect other than the insulator bouncing around Ive used these before on the same set up with no problems ??

you had detonation. not the plugs fault. btdt(17deg base timing, 18psi, 93 octane fuel, stock mkiii i/c and 90deg wether. ALL MY FAULT!!should have known better). blew the mhg too. your lucky all you toasted was the plugs.

 

[MDCmotorsports]

Well I would write Autolite and tell them what happend. Chances are you will get free plugs for life.

The only thing I can think of that would make the plug do what it did to you:

-A freak of a plug, not made correctly
-An instant cooling of the plug when hot
-You dropping the plug before installation
-HUGE DETONATION

 

[Disced]

I would go with detonation on that one...

I run 3923's and have so since I got my car... Never had any problems

 

[lintlars]

Ive run these plugs before with the exact same set up and no there was no detonation I was running 50/50 c16 A/F 10-11 ish (LM-1) and 9 deg. timing with 18-20 psi 60 trim and it was 15 deg celcius and it was my first run so the intercooler was nice and cold It was probably a freak occurance but Im just saying it only takes one freak occurance to say good bye to a perfectly good engine.

And I have never heard of this happening to an NGK.

 

[williamb82]

And I have never heard of this happening to an NGK.

yet! freak occurance isnt gonna be limited to autolite.