spark plug and gaps

["Livolsi, Stephane" <livols1@investorsgroup.com>]

  I have had the car (86 5KTQ) for about a year and a half, it is
totally stock and I have put on about 20,000 km since purchased
(odometer reads 249000 km).  Dist cap, rotor, plug wires are all new.
Hunted down and killed a couple of vac leaks.  I have looked at each
plug and they are a nice even tan color and electrodes visually appear
in good shape, but I did not measure the plug gap (at the time I thought
it would be too much of a PITA).  I can hit 1.4 bar but there is a mild
missing under heavy load (read as WOT!!) which goes away at higher rpm.
I will be visiting a city that has a VW/Audi dealer this week and want
to pick up some new spark plugs.

Questions:

1. Are the Bosch tri-electrodes really the only suitable plug for this
car?  Has anyone tried anything else? (I seem to recall a post from a
lister who used the Platinum +4 plugs with no adverse results, even
though the 10v turbo is specifically excluded)

2. Are the tri-electrode plugs reliably gapped from the factory, or do
you have to gap them yourself?

Thanks gang

Stephane Livolsi
180 Yorston St
Williams Lake, BC, V2G 3Z1
ph 250-392-2637
fax 250-392-2693

'86 5KTQ stock (if you don't know what it means, you aren't in the club)