Do E3 spark plugs boost power, fuel economy? Nissan Frontier?

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Road test with Nissan Frontier didn't lift MPG, but truck sometimes felt like it had more oomph.
Larry Edsall / Special to The Detroit News

I admit that I'm skeptical any time I hear about an inexpensive aftermarket product that promises to improve fuel economy. But the prospect of more miles per gallon by simply changing spark plugs intrigued me.

And since I was about to do a 5,000-mile drive -- a distance long enough to show whether the plugs really made a difference -- I accepted an offer to install a set of E3 spark plugs in my personal vehicle and put them to the test.

Late each summer for the past three years, I've driven my 2000 Nissan Frontier pickup truck from Phoenix, Ariz., to Michigan. I have detailed records on each trip, often using the same roads and highways and with the vehicle carrying very similar loads.

In 2005, I averaged 20.11 miles per gallon. In 2006, that figure fell slightly, to 19.94.

Before leaving Phoenix this year, I had the oil changed, tire pressures checked, etc., but also had the original-equipment NGK spark plugs replaced with a set of the new E3s.

The result? I averaged 19.18 miles per gallon.

"Typically, what we are seeing is a 3-5 percent fuel economy improvement," said Steve Joiner, E3 vice president of sales and marketing.

He said only one other user ever reported no improvement in fuel economy with the plugs, which feature what E3 calls DiamondFire technology designed to enhance combustion and thus enhance efficiency, energy and ecology -- the three Es in E3.

Joiner said that when he put the plugs in his own vehicle, an Isuzu Rodeo, fuel economy improved from 17.5 to 19.0. Based on such results, it appears my truck should have improved to nearly 21 mpg, which it didn't.

For the record, my fuel economy figures for the recent trip ranged from a low of 15.8 while fighting a 40-mph wind in Nebraska to 23.0 while driving out of the Colorado Rockies and down across the Arizona desert to Phoenix on a cool day with the air conditioning turned off.

While I didn't get the fuel economy boost, there were times when it felt like the truck was making a bit more horsepower.

Joiner said the biggest factor in the creation of the new plugs was ecological: E3's primary effort wasn't for cars but for small engines such as those used on lawn mowers and snow blowers. Such engines don't benefit from catalytic converters and thus pump out a lot of pollution. The idea was to enhance combustion and thus reduce nasty exhaust.

Based in Ponte Vedra, Fla., E3 was founded 10 years ago. After its development, it worked with Georgia Tech, Michigan State and the Environmental Protection Agency on verification that its plugs helped fuel burn more efficiently. The plugs have a diamond-shaped electrode that doesn't extend like a hook directly over the center of ignition, thus providing what Joiner called a chimney effect to aid combustion and to reduce emissions, increase fuel efficiency and power output.

E3 plugs are available for small engine and automotive applications and are sold at a variety of retail outlets. They are generally priced in the $6-$7 range.



http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071017/AUTO03/710170429/1149/AUTO03  

My experience with the E3 Spark Plugs was a favorable one. I was driving a toyota camry and had a horrible mileage. I was not sure whether it was due to faulty factory fitted spark plugs or otherwise but when i changed to the e3 spark plugs , my mileage improved from a 16mpg to a 25mpg.

Actually I have read many mixed reviews about the e3 spark plugs and will also be testing it on another vehicle in the near future.  

I have used the E3 plugs for a while in my Sport Trac.  They work great.  I am getting about 1 to 2 MPG better.  I did a lot of research prior to buying and from what i found, the plugs definitely work.  just make sure when you buy them that you inspect them closely prior to purchase.  Make sure they are not cracked or off-line.  This seems to be the main issue with them.  

thatcrazyartguy:
I have used the E3 plugs for a while in my Sport Trac.  They work great.  I am getting about 1 to 2 MPG better.  I did a lot of research prior to buying and from what i found, the plugs definitely work.  just make sure when you buy them that you inspect them closely prior to purchase.  Make sure they are not cracked or off-line.  This seems to be the main issue with them.

I have had them installed in my 01 frontier SC for about a month now. These things never got past causing random misfires and poor gas mileage. I have pulled them twice to regap and clean them to no avail. Replacing them with the good old standby NGK's. My advice is not to waste your money on them.  

That's interesting. How did you gap the e3s? I didn't know it was even physically possible.  

I can't even find the darn things for my '01 dodge ram  

"I have pulled them twice to REGAP...".  'Regap' implies that you gapped them in the first place ... lol ...  that's why they're all messed up!  To physically gap the E3 is to bend it out of shape, and destroy the firing effect it was designed to create, causing it to fire off center, and hence ---- your misfires.

Buying these in store, and checking them for physical imperfections at the store, is the key.  If they look right, they work right.  I've installed these on my vehicle, as well as that of two family members.  Mileage has ranged from very slight improvement, to +2 mpg overall.  Subtle power improvements are apparent across the board.  No, the prior plugs were not worn & burned out.  I replaced functionally clean plugs.