What Spark Plugs for 2007 Kia Sportage?

[berniedd]

Today I removed the plugs in my 2007 Kia Sportage with the 2.o liter 4-cylinder engine. Man they were TIGHT. Fortunately the breaker bar came to the rescue. The plugs were copper Champions (RC10YC4). THE CAR HAS 26000 miles and now I know why they were on so tight. The plugs have never been out of that engine! The electrode gaps had increased to 0.075 inch or more. Curse that stealership, they are idiots who were cheating the previous owner of required maintenance and maybe even $$. Despite this though, car still purrs like a kitten.

I regapped them to 40-thousandths of an inch and reinstalled them into the engine. I'd like to replace them with iridium or platinum plugs but there's no mention of what make of plugs nor gaps to use in the manual. Which particular NGKs or Nippon Densos should be used? And what gap should I set them to? I have a set of Denso 1K20 at hand and according to http://www.sparkplug-crossreference.com/convert/CHAMP_PN/RC10YC4, they are a good match. On the other hand, may I add that I'm considering going up a step hotter in the heat range dept in my choice because the porcelain of the center electrodes were very dark brown or black. What say you?

 

[HerrStig]

Stock gap, and refer to the NGK website for the proper plug. I'd go with a single electrode platinum. NGK usually makes more than one plug type for most applications. The dual ground electrode versions last longer but I think they shroud the spark. I use a single ground platinum NGK in several Toyota products, though they specify a dual electrode version, (and in a BMW bike) they work well and are less expensive than the dual version. Spark propagates better from a sharp point.

 

[1999nick]

If your plugs only had 26,000 miles on them, why were you taking them out, anyway?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

CHAMP RC8 or RC9YC4 gap at 1-1.1mm. If this is NOT coil-on-plug you could try Denso Ir finewire spec'd for the car. I would not bother running plat tips. I find it very hard to grasp that the gap on the champs was .075" with 26K miles. Never seeen that erosion in changing 1000's of plugs over the years. You car may have highre milage than stated on the ODOor someone installed new plug and gapped them incorrectly. Were the GND electrodes on the plugs you remopved "heeled back" or square to the face?

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Originally Posted By: berniedd
THE CAR HAS 26000 miles and now I know why they were on so tight. The plugs have never been out of that engine!

At only 26k miles, why would they be?

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Strange. NGK's site is basically saying that their OEM-grade Laser Platinum were either stock or one of the original suppliers.

What does hood sticker say?

http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/part_finder/car_truck_suv/default.asp

 

[Voltmaster]

NGK or denso irridum are best plugs out here.

if your plugs are getting worn out before 100k i would take the car to the dealer ( you should still be under warranty ) and have them examine it.

there is no reason for an platinum/iridium class spark plugs to be worn out before 100k

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Hyundai Kia and Subaru (and Dodge) loved Champion plugs. My '93 impreza 1.8 had #8 heat range champs and would not run well on #9 or #6 or #7 NGK BKR_ES-11 GARBAGE. Kia et al wish the master mech to read the plugs periodically to gauge engine health. That doesnt get done with Ir. The very good K20pru-11 Denso would be a great alternative if you wish to run with a Japanese brand.

 

[surfstar]

Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Strange. NGK's site is basically saying that their OEM-grade Laser Platinum were either stock or one of the original suppliers.


I'm guessing the vehicle may not be in the USA? (I thought by 2007 most cars were on the "no tune-up until 100k" or something claim and wouldn't have coppers as OEM)

My Mom's 2004 Elantra came with Champions from the factory, but they were platinums. Shot by 60k I'd guess (changed at 70k and looked overdue). Were harder to remove than most plugs I've done, but came out fine.

I'd go with denso/champ/ngk double platinum or iridium depending on price and availability. Run for 60/100k (pl/ir).

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Originally Posted By: berniedd
THE CAR HAS 26000 miles and now I know why they were on so tight. The plugs have never been out of that engine!

At only 26k miles, why would they be?
Good point. As a prevoius poster mentioned, the OEM appears to be an NGK, as expected. Good quality plugs in an engine running properly these days on no lead fuel ought to go 60 to 90K. Something's up here. Perhaps the "high quality" replacement had been overtightened and/or installed without antiseize, or it might be the "high quality threads" on those plugs.

 

[Vikas]

isn't there an underhood decal giving the spark number and gap?

 

[cptbarkey]

Originally Posted By: berniedd
Today I removed the plugs in my 2007 Kia Sportage with the 2.o liter 4-cylinder engine. Man they were TIGHT.


did you remove them with the engine dead cold? or was it warm?

 

[mechtech2]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Stock gap, and refer to the NGK website for the proper plug. I'd go with a single electrode platinum. NGK usually makes more than one plug type for most applications. The dual ground electrode versions last longer but I think they shroud the spark. I use a single ground platinum NGK in several Toyota products, though they specify a dual electrode version, (and in a BMW bike) they work well and are less expensive than the dual version. Spark propagates better from a sharp point.


Waste spark ignitions use dual tipped plugs [I am pretty sure he has this system]. Sometimes factories use single tips, but they are cylinder specific - replacements are dual types.

And the dual tipped types are LESS gas restrictive.

 

[The Critic]

This is weird. I thought Hyundai/Kia spec-ed 60k change intervals with platinum plugs.

I have a 2007 Elantra that I will be working on this weekend. The 2007 models call for copper plugs (RC10YC4) per the shop manual, but the 2008+ models call for a laser iridium plug. The service intervals are the same. Now I'm sorta tempted to pull a plug out and see which ones are in there.

 

[berniedd]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
CHAMP RC8 or RC9YC4 gap at 1-1.1mm. If this is NOT coil-on-plug you could try Denso Ir finewire spec'd for the car. I would not bother running plat tips. I find it very hard to grasp that the gap on the champs was .075" with 26K miles. Never seeen that erosion in changing 1000's of plugs over the years. You car may have highre milage than stated on the ODOor someone installed new plug and gapped them incorrectly. Were the GND electrodes on the plugs you remopved "heeled back" or square to the face?


Thank you for the inputs and comments.The 26000 miles are correct. Odometer is digital, very hard to tamper with. The car was a direct import from Korea, everything in it including the tires are made in Korea. The previous owner is my bro-in-law, and only the stealership has worked on that car since they bought it new. The large plug gaps are due to thinning/receding of both the center and side electrodes. The gnd electrodes are still squared over the center electrodes.

I opened them up on a whim, I like to tinker around and was curious what the factory put in and in what condition they were. The car's no longer under warranty. I live in Asia, and the standard warranty here is 3 years or 31250 miles (50,000 km).

There is no decal in the engine compartment to suggest what spark plugs to replace with. Yes, I removed the plugs dead cold.

 

[berniedd]

Correction guys, I've just looked at the official owner's manual and the warranty period for this particular model is 3 years or 110,000 km, whichever comes first.