best performace spark plugs to use
06-15-2009, 02:35 PM
#3
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Sacramento
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If you only care about pure performance than coppers give you the best spark. Platinum doesnt spark as well as copper but has MUCH MUCH greater life 15k vs 80k. Iridium plugs have nearly the sparking ability of coppers but offer the same life as Platinum tipped plugs. I run Denso Iridiums in my VR-4, but when i change i'll be going to NGK iridiums and i'll put them in my Maxima when i do a plug change on it here in the next 10k
E3
06-17-2009, 09:15 PM
#13
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i've heard Pulstar Pulse Plugs are goodand bad. i saw test results in import tuner magazine and they seem to give significant power and mpg improvement over stock plugs, even new ones, but other forums and users claim gains, but it seems that the plugs fail prematurely....
http://www.importtuner.com/powerpage...lse_plugs.html
http://www.importtuner.com/powerpage...lse_plugs.html
Last edited by R1C3RCKT; 06-17-2009 at 09:57 PM.
06-18-2009, 12:13 AM
#15
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i've heard Pulstar Pulse Plugs are goodand bad. i saw test results in import tuner magazine and they seem to give significant power and mpg improvement over stock plugs, even new ones, but other forums and users claim gains, but it seems that the plugs fail prematurely....
http://www.importtuner.com/powerpage...lse_plugs.html
http://www.importtuner.com/powerpage...lse_plugs.html
A 'good' plug and a 'bad' plug is usually separated by "oh i heard..." or "my car ran so much better..." the reality is that simply replace the plug with the same new plug would have given similar results.
06-18-2009, 05:13 AM
#16
part of the problem with 'testing' plugs is that the results normally fall within the margin of error that's acceptable in pretty much any test. The difference between plug a and plug b is usually a couple of percent at best. Some cars, such as the 3000GT VR-4, are more sensitive to plug choice. Many people who have tried bosch or champion plugs have had issues across the entire rev range... that however is not the norm.
A 'good' plug and a 'bad' plug is usually separated by "oh i heard..." or "my car ran so much better..." the reality is that simply replace the plug with the same new plug would have given similar results.
A 'good' plug and a 'bad' plug is usually separated by "oh i heard..." or "my car ran so much better..." the reality is that simply replace the plug with the same new plug would have given similar results.
But test conducted on dyno's usually are done 3 or so times and then the average is taken for each plug, and the average shows a better gain or loss. I know I've seen it somewhere on this forum when I was searching for plugs. But for reliability and performance, NGK Platinum/Iridium gets my vote
09-18-2009, 10:00 PM
#20
From NGK website, it seems the iridium IV is the best iridium plug they got for regular cars, but it's funny how the laser iridium is more expensive. Just wondering if any of you know which one is the better of the two?
09-19-2009, 07:20 AM
#21
NGK or Denso are both good plugs
From most of my experience and research with plugs either for the car, jet ski, mower, the dune buggy etc. etc. It really seems to come down to what provides the spark i.e. the coils and the system that is timing the deliver of the spark. That seems to be the biggest difference when it comes to plug quality and reliability. Now of course if you are running race gas and/or boosted then a premiumn plug is warranted. Otherwise a spark is a spark is a spark. I personally just use the OEM's
From most of my experience and research with plugs either for the car, jet ski, mower, the dune buggy etc. etc. It really seems to come down to what provides the spark i.e. the coils and the system that is timing the deliver of the spark. That seems to be the biggest difference when it comes to plug quality and reliability. Now of course if you are running race gas and/or boosted then a premiumn plug is warranted. Otherwise a spark is a spark is a spark. I personally just use the OEM's
09-19-2009, 08:25 AM
#22
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NGK V-powers FTW. Heard bad things about Bosch and other brands in the Max, so when I changed them this summer, I didn't mess with that crap. When I pulled out the plugs in it, the electrodes had worn down a lot. When I first put them in, it was a night and day difference. The car ran like ****. It misfired, it didn't idle well, and it was pretty much terrible. Then I re-connected the plug to the cylinder 3 coilpack, because it had slipped off when I was putting everything back together. Then the car ran great.
It wasn't a 'night-and-day" difference. IDK, my engine runs the way it's supposed to, and gets better than rated gas mileage. Spark plugs are a maintenance item - keeping them properly maintained won't give you 20whp the same way the Turbonator will, but it keeps your car running well, and makes sure your coilpacks last.
It wasn't a 'night-and-day" difference. IDK, my engine runs the way it's supposed to, and gets better than rated gas mileage. Spark plugs are a maintenance item - keeping them properly maintained won't give you 20whp the same way the Turbonator will, but it keeps your car running well, and makes sure your coilpacks last.
09-21-2009, 09:43 AM
#24
Well, instead of trying the iridium IX, I ran laser Iridium. I noticed the car responded better to throttle at mid rpm range. The start up seems to be similar.
Overall, I am glad I changed them especially after seeing how little life the old ones had left.
Overall, I am glad I changed them especially after seeing how little life the old ones had left.
09-21-2009, 11:12 PM
#26
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10-08-2009, 01:58 PM
#27
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10-08-2009, 01:58 PM
#28
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10-08-2009, 02:17 PM
#29
You dont need to order online, just go to kragen or autozone, they all have price matching. I've compared, they're actually cheaper than online stores. You can just go with the OEM, which are platinum from ngk. Or you can upgrade to their iridium IX or laser iridium, if i remember correctly. I'm running the latter. But you can't go wrong with any NGK.
10-08-2009, 03:26 PM
#32
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11-12-2009, 01:10 PM
#33
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Location: Medford, NJ
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Factory Platnium Plugs Now In!
thanks everyone for the advice. Mine had 103K miles on them and were white with age.
Slight difference in performance.. especially midrange pickup.
CV
thanks everyone for the advice. Mine had 103K miles on them and were white with age.
Slight difference in performance.. especially midrange pickup.
CV
07-26-2015, 04:30 PM
#34
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 16
Luv to change them plugs!
They're only "where its at" if you enjoy changing plugs often.
Update: Just had a look at my NGK Iridiums installed just 10 years ago. After 105,000 miles they still look good with very little increase in gap. I was impressed! If anyone doesn't think these are worth the extra money (if you plan on keeping your vehicle for many miles) then you and I are from different planets my friend!
So today I replaced 'em with NGK G-Power (#7090, BKR5EGP) platinums - only $3 apiece (since I won't be keeping this car much longer).
I'll get back with ya in 6 years and let you know how they look.
Update: Just had a look at my NGK Iridiums installed just 10 years ago. After 105,000 miles they still look good with very little increase in gap. I was impressed! If anyone doesn't think these are worth the extra money (if you plan on keeping your vehicle for many miles) then you and I are from different planets my friend!
So today I replaced 'em with NGK G-Power (#7090, BKR5EGP) platinums - only $3 apiece (since I won't be keeping this car much longer).
I'll get back with ya in 6 years and let you know how they look.
Last edited by philsmax00; 07-27-2015 at 05:44 PM.
07-27-2015, 08:03 AM
#35
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,215
Yeah I switch to coppers and its so much more powerful I can actually feel it
around mid range and alittle down low. probably 10hp for sure. Platinum they don't fire as strongly
so I get copper for my BEAST stock maxima.
Na, it's not stock really
MOD LIST:
iceman CAI
CAtman headers
catman catback
Gready throttle body spacer
nismo carbon fiber shift ****
MSD blaster coil
Limo tint
Wear a baseball cap backwards and lean to one side with tilt almost all the way down.
plastidip rims.
All this stuff adds up and it's at least 40hp in mods.
Hands down the best are copper plugs. You'll NEED them for the extra power.
around mid range and alittle down low. probably 10hp for sure. Platinum they don't fire as strongly
so I get copper for my BEAST stock maxima.
Na, it's not stock really
MOD LIST:
iceman CAI
CAtman headers
catman catback
Gready throttle body spacer
nismo carbon fiber shift ****
MSD blaster coil
Limo tint
Wear a baseball cap backwards and lean to one side with tilt almost all the way down.
plastidip rims.
All this stuff adds up and it's at least 40hp in mods.
Hands down the best are copper plugs. You'll NEED them for the extra power.
Last edited by Donkeypunch; 07-27-2015 at 08:06 AM.
07-29-2015, 05:49 AM
#36
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Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 279
A 6 yr old thread, but changing plugs will not increase any horsepower or performance unless there is a dead misfire, but zero on a perfectly running engine. Many think that simply supplying more spark to the firing tip can and will combust more fuel, but in reality, . most newer cars' engines are so efficient that they are already burning all of the available fuel. Simply adding more spark voltage can't burn more fuel because there is no more fuel to burn.
The daughter's Maxima has had one plug change (NGK stock) at 137,000 miles, still looked great, but will be due for another shortly as she's approaching 250,000.
I'd stick with the NGK's as one of other cars has NGK's that need to be replaced @ every 7,000 miles, so I thought I'd try the Denso's. After 670 miles one of the trailing plugs died, returned them and installed the NGK's, good to go.
The daughter's Maxima has had one plug change (NGK stock) at 137,000 miles, still looked great, but will be due for another shortly as she's approaching 250,000.
I'd stick with the NGK's as one of other cars has NGK's that need to be replaced @ every 7,000 miles, so I thought I'd try the Denso's. After 670 miles one of the trailing plugs died, returned them and installed the NGK's, good to go.
04-23-2016, 03:27 AM
#37
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 240
Just FYI,
Thought I would throw a few pictures of my failed NGK Iridium spark plug that was in my 4th gen. for about 7-8 years. Thank god it didn't kill the engine.
I switched to Denso Iridiums after that and they ran fantastic. Better than the NGK plugs did.
Thought I would throw a few pictures of my failed NGK Iridium spark plug that was in my 4th gen. for about 7-8 years. Thank god it didn't kill the engine.
I switched to Denso Iridiums after that and they ran fantastic. Better than the NGK plugs did.
Last edited by Noladol; 02-07-2017 at 04:47 AM.
04-23-2016, 10:30 AM
#38
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: California
Posts: 1,445
Did all 6 plugs fail this way or just one of them?
04-23-2016, 03:57 PM
#40
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Columbia SC
Posts: 2,284
Some places like ebay sell the plugs much less than the parts stores. I bought my platinum plugs from pep boys last year and paid $25 for all 6. Now i went to buy one spark plug and they tell me its $10 a plug?? for platinum? that I paid a little over $3 last year for the same plug.
