Sorry Tony, but mine have - well over 100,000 miles.  And when we
replaced them with new, there was no noticeable difference in fuel
economy or drivability.  That's one of the reasons I swear by the
tri-tip plugs, which, incidentally are the plugs VW specifies for my '85
Westy.

Karl Wolz

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of Anthony Polson
Sent: Saturday, June 12, 2004 11:58 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: vanagon single electrode plugs

Sorry Bruce,

We will have to disagree.

The Bosch, Beru and NGK multi-electrode plugs have a service life of
20,000
miles.  I don't know where you get 100,000 miles from, but here in
Europe,
no-one in their right mind would wait that long to replace their plugs.

I do high mileages in my vehicles and can assure you that the Bosch and
NGK
multi-electrode plugs definitely need replacing by 20,000 miles.  By
then,
the electrode gaps are begiining to get noticeably bigger, and poor
starting, misfiring and increased fuel consumptionare beginning to show
.
There is no way those plugs would last 100,000 miles and still work.

Tony

----   Original Message   -----
>Date:    Sat, 12 Jun 2004 11:54:41 -0500
>From:    Bruce Nadig <motorbruce@HOTMAIL.COM>
>Subject: Re: vanagon single electrode plugs
>
>Poor logic. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but this is driven by the
>vehicle
>manufacturers. I've been in the business, both inside and outside
>dealerships, for nearly ten years.
>
>In any dealership, you have 3 profit centers - vehicle sale, service,
and
>parts. Most manufacturers (domestic and foreign) have a dedicated
regional
>parts manager that will visit each dealership on, more or less, a
monthly
>basis. They meet with dealership's parts manager to review sales totals
and
>goals. They also review programs to promote additional sales. In some
>cases,
>parts managers are lavishly rewarded for producing high sales numbers.
>
>Manufacturers want to sell parts. That is how they make some of their
>money.
>Dealerships owners, likewise, want to sell parts. I have seen
situations
>where dealership owners/GMs place tremendous pressure on the parts
>department to meet parts sales goals that may or may not (more often
not)
>be
>realistic. Frequently, the pay of the parts department staff is based,
in
>part, on the total sales volume.
>
>You are saying that consumers want less frequent maintenance. I suggest
you
>read the archive and see some of the arguments about oil change
intervals.
>There is no way around it, oil must be changed every so often. Whether
dyno
>or synthetic, it has to be changed. There are people on this list
>(consumers) that rabidly change their oil more frequently than called
for
>by
>the manufacturer. This isn't just list members either.
>
>Manufacturers don't care about how often the vehicles come in for
service.
>In fact, each time a care comes in there is an opportunity for an
upsell.
>The consumer demand you say is there for less maintenance is actually
>manifested elsewhere. People just don't want to have to pay for the
>service.
>What we are seeing many manufacturers doing now is paying for the
required
>scheduled maintenance of the car for the first X number of miles and Y
>number of years. Service departments love this because they have a
customer
>locked in for a given time period. In addition, if they do a good job
in
>building a relationship, that customer will continue to come back after
the
>free period is over.
>
>Consumers, or at least the ones that buy the new cars, just don't want
the
>perceived cost of the service. Thus it is hidden in the selling price
of
>the
>car.
>
>Go to any new car dealership. Check on the emissions warranty. What do
you
>see? 100,000 miles. That is why manufacturers are making plugs that
last
>that long. They have to. Is everything warranted to 100,000 miles? On
the
>vast majority of cars, the answer is no. However, with emissions
components
>it is mandated by the government. Manufacturers have strong incentive
to
>sell parts at retail prices to the general public. This is how they
make
>their money.
>
>By the way, it would be very interesting to hear how often Vanagon
owners
>on
>this list change their spark plugs, regardless of what type is used.
I'd be
>shocked if anyone is waiting to do it every 100,000 miles.
>
>Cheers,
>Bruce
>motorbruce