Iridium plugs

[mazduh30]

Has anyone tried or using these plugs? Kinda put the cart in front of the horse. I just replaced my OEM wire and plugs with NGK Iridium plugs and wire set.

 

[badtlc]

My mazda6 came stock with NGK iridium plugs. They are supposed to be the best plugs on the market. I think the only thing about iridiums is they aren't as "hot" of a plug, but I'm not sure about that.

 

[m2200b]

Sounds like your ok for 50 to 75k miles and then you pull the plugs to make sure they don't freeze and you still gain useful info on whether one of the plugs is oil fouled or coolant white.
I'm where you were- on harder applications I'm using the same setup on simple 4 cylinder paickups I still use copper ngk v power.

 

[ITSMR2U]

The center electrode on an iridium plug can be made of smaller gauge wire than platinum. Electrical charge concentrates on a point, and the iridium plugs will ionize and fire at lower voltages and/or a larger gap. Coil on plug setups do well with iridium plugs.

 

[Merkava_4]

Keep in mind that there's double Iridium too. That means there's Iridium on the ground electrode as well as the centre electrode.

 

[mazduh30]

I'll just keep checking the plugs 10k, just to see how they are doing. Might just be my imagination, truck seems to have abit more pick up. Thanks all for the inputs.

 

[Cicero17]

Isn't it bad to keep removing and reinstalling the same plugs? Won't there get to be a problems since the first installation crushes the washer?

This is a serious question so don't be too hard on me for being ignorant.

Don

 

[m2200b]

10K is anal unless you saw damage on the one or more of the plugs you removed.

 

[sprintman]

Best mod ever on my turbo Mazda. 90,000kms on 'em and still going strong. Worth every cent.

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

Think I'll stick to the specc'd copper NGKs for my Hyundai 4-banger. 30K replacement interval (I could have gone 40 or 50, they looked practically new). This car is easy on the plugs, evidently. At a $1.70/plug, vs. nearly $5 for Plats, and $9 for iridium, each, with no performance increase over the operating life of the cheaper plug, what's the advantage? That's for me, of course, with easy in and out access.

For V-8s and 6's with crummy access, I understand the desire for extended life. But man, when you talk about 50-100,000 miles on a set of plugs, I'd hate to be the guy that has to get em out.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

People,

Use some anti-seize on the threads and forget about them for 80-100k!
When I pulled my originals on my 2001 Civic, they came right out....at 86k....and the factory didn't use ANY anti-seize. I bought a tube of copper-based stuff and look forward to changing them again with ease around 160k.

 

[Merkava_4]

I just pulled my plugs out last night to check the gap and they were way out of spec; they have over 90,000 miles on them. After experiencing that, I would recommend to everyone to check your gap at least every 30,000 miles.

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

Well, actually, the threads are one thing, but I was also thinking about the seats/crush gasket contact area. Read an article in a magazine, or the web, mentioned trouble at the interface of the two, there was deterioration owing to the dissimilar metals, causing a poor mating surface for the new plugs. Wish I could remember if it was a specific car, or general observations. And, I don't know if they ARE dissimilar (on some cars they probably are), but with the ease of access I have on mine, even if I wasn't too cheap to buy the 9-dollar plugs, I'd still feel compelled to pull em and look at em.

So what DOES a 9-dollar plug look like after 90k? Can anyone spare a pic?

 

[dwendt44]

Iridium plugs that I've looked at are in the $6-$7 range.