Iridium plugs after 60,000 miles

[Snagglefoot]

My buddy pulled these spark plugs from his 5.3 liter Chev after 60,000 miles. They are AC Delco Iridiums. He wasn’t too versed on spark plugs and thought they were worn out, so he threw in a set of NGK conventional V power plugs because he was able to get them for $1.95 each. He had never seen Iridium plugs before. Doh!

 

[tyman]

Uncle Rogah say, haiiiyaaaaaaa

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Some people shouldn't take a wrench to their vehicle. V power used to be absolute garbage.
I hope they got their heat range correct. NGK USA made plugs used to run a 1/2 step or more hot back when plugs were too hot to begin with. Wonder what gap he is running. At least Chevy has big coils for each cylinder.

 

[Snagglefoot]

This is the same Iridium plug when new.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Those have more life left on them then the new V-powers that went in

 

[Snagglefoot]

Those have more life left on them then the new V-powers that went in

Exactly!

 

[JoelB]

It's interesting how many people are out there that think they are doing good for their car but really just have no idea. This is especially common in detailing/cleaning. The ole "I take my car to the automatic car was twice a week so its perfect" type of people.

 

[CKN]

Yea-the guys on the truck boards pull these out at 100,000 miles and they still look decent. He should put them back in.....

 

[jrvn]

Yea-the guys on the truck boards pull these out at 100,000 miles and they still look decent. He should put them back in.....

i pulled my Tacomas OEM Iridiums at 100k they looked so good i probably could have just regaped and replaced indefinetly

 

[Trav]

The man cut his own nose off to spite his face. We can go on and on about the benefits of precious metal electrode but this guy wrote a pretty good article, it is worth reading and as far as I can tell accurate without deep diving into technical aspects.

13 Advantages and Disadvantages of an Iridium Spark Plug

The majority of spark plugs that operate in vehicles today feature a copper core center electrode. This design takes advantage of the excellent conducting rates that copper has with electricity, which is better than any

greengarageblog.org

 

[Touring5]

Uncle Rogah say, haiiiyaaaaaaa

...sorry children.

 

[andyd]

The man cut his own nose off to spite his face. We can go on and on about the benefits of precious metal electrode but this guy wrote a pretty good article, it is worth reading and as far as I can tell accurate without deep diving into technical aspects.

13 Advantages and Disadvantages of an Iridium Spark Plug

The majority of spark plugs that operate in vehicles today feature a copper core center electrode. This design takes advantage of the excellent conducting rates that copper has with electricity, which is better than any

greengarageblog.org

Good read, Trav, thanks. The 4 cyl engine in the Camrys doesnt miss a beat. Plenty of giddy up for merging. MPG is decent. Are iridium plugs factory installed? TIA

Just googled my question. Answer : Denso plats a 60 Kmile plug. Just raises more questions

 

[ka9mnx]

Read the article and it's mostly bogus. DO NOT put iridium's in a waste spark engine. Don't ask how I know!

 

[DGXR]

I agree, those iridiums still look good. I would (carefully) clean, re-gap and reinstall. They are still better than the new plugs he put in that engine.

 

[Trav]

Good read, Trav, thanks. The 4 cyl engine in the Camrys doesnt miss a beat. Plenty of giddy up for merging. MPG is decent. Are iridium plugs factory installed? TIA

Just googled my question. Answer : Denso plats a 60 Kmile plug. Just raises more questions

Platinum are also considered a precious metal plug and have similar qualities to the Iridium. The difference is you can use a finer electrode wire with the Iridium without sacrificing longevity, the difference in actual performance is negligible in real world conditions.

Read the article and it's mostly bogus. DO NOT put iridium's in a waste spark engine. Don't ask how I know!

The article is by no means bogus! Waste spark ignition requires the use of double precious metal electrode plugs be them Iridiums or Platinums if you expect any sort of longevity out of the long life plugs. Read this and you will understand why.

Waste Spark Ignitions - NGK Spark Plugs

If you drive a car from the 1980s, be aware of the waste spark ignition and what that could mean when you are purchasing replacement spark plugs.

ngksparkplugs.com

 

[khittner1]

Is there any merit to the idea (I don't know where I got it from) that the plating on long-life iridium plug threads is really only good for preventing a plug's seizure into the head if they're only removed once after installation? Having previously had a platinum plug seize in the head of our old Honda minivan, I pull iridium plugs out of my cars at 75K miles, toss'em, and put new ones in. The spark plugs almost certainly still have life in them, but I strongly prefer doing what's needed to avoid cylinder head removal/TimeSerts, etc.

 

[sohccammer427]

I have a 2002 Maxima that I inherited. Figured it needed plugs. Whet through all the labor to remove the intake plenum to get to the back three and sure enough it had iridiums in it. They were in pretty good shape. I went ahead and put the double platinum's I had purchased in.

 

[Trav]

Is there any merit to the idea (I don't know where I got it from) that the plating on long-life iridium plug threads is really only good for preventing a plug's seizure into the head if they're only removed once after installation? Having previously had a platinum plug seize in the head of our old Honda minivan, I pull iridium plugs out of my cars at 75K miles, toss'em, and put new ones in. The spark plugs almost certainly still have life in them, but I strongly prefer doing what's needed to avoid cylinder head removal/TimeSerts, etc.

The plating helps but depending on the conditions the vehicle is operated under it may not be enough. Vehicles that are operated where the winters are long and the engine spend more time in open loop tend to stick the plugs more than one operated eg down south. It also depends on the engine, some are more prone to this than others.

The recommendation not to use anti seize is a legal one, they cannot say just use a very small amount on the threads only and reduce the amount of torque used to install them. they have zero control over if the directions are followed or not and when abused the use of it can cause stripped holes and potential cat destroying misfires. Either one is a big problem for them the cat damaging misfires put them squarely in the sights of the EPA.
It is easier for them just to not recommend it, they can blame the consumer for any stuck ones and deny any responsibility.

I have used it on every plug I have installed for 50 years and never had one stick that I installed but have had more than a few even plated ones stick some pretty bad. Apply it thin and carefully, lower the amount you tighten it slightly if not using a TW, if using a TW 20% lower is fine.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Read the article and it's mostly bogus. DO NOT put iridium's in a waste spark engine. Don't ask how I know!

Iridium is not a problem in a waste spark engine, and if it's a transverse V6 waste spark, then iridium is absolutely necessary because the job is impossible so you never have to do it again!

Bosch used to make a 4-prong iridium called Platinum Ir Fusion. An absolute godsend in the 1MZ because changing spark plugs is impossible, and the factory 2-prong platinum is only good for 60k while iridium is good for 100k. Part #4501 or 4503 if you can still find them.

 

[Spike555]

My wife drives a 06 Sedona. In the owners manual it says not to replace the spark plugs until the MIL illuminates.
Well, at 186k we got a code for random misfire.
Pulled out all 6 original Denso Iridium plugs and three of them had no electrode left.
The van ran great until the MIL, then it idled a little rough.