[eiching1]

Has anyone tried the Iridium spark plugs in our cars? I had them in my Protege and liked them. Any input?

https://www.sparkplugs.com/results_app.asp?productTypeID=1&AAIA=1432162

 

[pssdmilan]

have you seen the work involved to change plugs? you have to take intake manifold off to get one side of plugs!

 

[Cross Bolt]

[quote author=pssdmilan link=topic=79421.msg1458325#msg1458325 date=1180930088]
have you seen the work involved to change plugs? you have to take intake manifold off to get one side of plugs!
[/quote]

I think he has the I-4.

 

[JFUSION]

I run them on my Escape v6 and like them, very smooth power delivery and fuel economy seems to have increased as well. I am using the NGK Iridiums, although the new Champion Iridiums are really nice if you can find them for your engine.

 

[tnoah]

Only put Champions in your lawnmower!

 

[dirkafusion]

what about bosh plugs?

 

[tnoah]

The plugs that they put in the cars these days should last 100,000 miles!! Why are you people changing them already? Who has already put 100,000 miles on their Fusions?

 

[pantherdan]

Never use Bosch. I'm the guy that found a dead cylinder on a Cavalier after the electrode fell out of a Bosch spark plug and scored the cylinder walls. It looked like the ceramic electrode is brittle and it just shattered. No mechanical jar or anything caused it to happen.

 

[UnderEstimated]

I've never heard anything good about Bosch plugs in domestic cars.

 

[crystallas]

[quote author=tnoah link=topic=79421.msg1492079#msg1492079 date=1181978732]
The plugs that they put in the cars these days should last 100,000 miles!! Why are you people changing them already? Who has already put 100,000 miles on their Fusions?
[/quote]

If a better set of plugs can truly get gains of 1-2mpg, then why would it be a bad idea? Iridium plus arent miracles, but every bit can count.

 

[waldo]

If they could truely give you 1-2mpg, don't you think the OEMs would use them? You can't imagine how many millions they will spend for a few tenths of a MPG.

 

[crystallas]

[quote author=Waldo link=topic=79421.msg1499413#msg1499413 date=1182269798]
If they could truely give you 1-2mpg, don't you think the OEMs would use them? You can't imagine how many millions they will spend for a few tenths of a MPG.
[/quote]

Some cars do have Iridiums as OEM, its just stupid to have all cars use them as OEM. In the US alone, 18million new cars are sold a year on average. That might be around 90 million iridium plugs if the average cylinder was around 5.0 for all cars sold. 90 million plugs would cause a shortage of iridium in the US alone, and not counting the rest of the world. That would drive the price up insanely for each plug making it no longer worth the 1-2mpg increase for the average user.

I agree with the logic of "If it were best, OEMs would use it" for the most part, but not always because economics becomes a major x-factor.

 

[mrc]

[quote author=Waldo link=topic=79421.msg1499413#msg1499413 date=1182269798]
If they could truely give you 1-2mpg, don't you think the OEMs would use them? You can't imagine how many millions they will spend for a few tenths of a MPG.
[/quote]

it took years before platinum plugs became OEM but eventually they did. You saw a boost from those over old copper resistors. In 10 years, Iridium plugs will be OEM in most vehicles...it took a while before platinum was OEM but eventually they were.

BTW, if I was going to go with an Iridium plug, I'd probably do the Denso Iridiums in the Fusion. They are a bit on the pricey side at 12+ each but the performance is definitely there.

 

[eiching1]

I don't think the car mfg. go with the iridium because of the cost, even though it would make sense. Just like I don't understand why I can buy a tuner to get better performance which would cost them nothing. Also, I wasn' able to find Denso Iridiums on there site. The only ones I can find are the NGK. No Bosch! I tried them once in my Honda and they didn't last at all (not iridium).

 

[waldo]

[quote author=eiching1 link=topic=79421.msg1504849#msg1504849 date=1182436846]
Just like I don't understand why I can buy a tuner to get better performance which would cost them nothing. [/quote]

Tuners don't have to meet emmisions regulations, CAFE fuel economy, nor be guaranteed to run on bad gas, in extreme hot and cold weather and protect the transmission and other driveline components.

It's not like the OEMs don't know the same tricks, they just have a much longer list of requirements that have to be met.

 

[JFUSION]

I'm a big supporter of iridium plugs, their design makes a lot of sense - strong metal allows a thinner center electrode requiring less current to fire, creates a better firing plug in all conditions.

Unfortunately the bean-counters at all domestic auto manufacturers get the last word on design specs, and they can often overule the engineers who design the vehicles. My last car was a Dodge SRT4, turbocharged very high output 2.4L engine, they ended up using a sparkplug from one of their naturally aspirated engines strictly to save costs. The plug had one of the hottest heat ranges I've ever seen and had no place in a high psi turbo setup, but the bean counters convinced everyone to use a cheap spark plug from their common parts bin. So they'll sacrifice pretty much anything to save a few cents per vehicle. One reason why domestic auto manufacturers are in such bad shape today - they allow bean counters to over-rule engineers - pretty sad.

 

[JFUSION]

I like the way my Escape runs on Iridiums. I'll be switching the Fusion over to them within the next week. I'm going with the Champion Iridium plugs, they are one of the nicest designs on the market, not like your bargain basement Champions people have been used to over the years. My Fusion only has about 15,000 miles on it, but if I can squeeze a bit more miles per gallon out of this baby I'll be pretty happy. Looking at the stock plugs on the Fusion they are pretty dry and stiff getting out already, I'd hate to see the stock plugs after 100,000 miles. The stock plugs are also gapped on the small end of the gap range, putting in the Champion Iridiums they'll handle a bit wider gap (but still within the recommended range), and I'll be putting some anti-sieze on them and a touch of dielectric grease. I'm taking the Fusion on a 5,000 mile trip next month, if I can squeeze a bit more performance and mileage (crossing my fingers) out of this thing I'll be happy.

 

[mrc]

I work part-time at an auto parts store. I just can't understand how people can buy a spark plug and not put some anti-seize on it. They tell me "I'm a mechanic and in nine years I've never had a plug seize on me"...all it takes is once to make you wish you spent the ONE DOLLAR on it. I've seen it happen. Stupid people like to cut corners and dollars in the worst places. Hey, how about putting down that air freshner then you can get your anti-seize. Put away those Pepsis then you don't have to get the cheapest brake pads we have. LOL.

 

[eiching1]

J, Please give us a report on the Iridiums once you have them installed. I am very anxious to see how they perform.

 

[Nr9]

car makers go with platinum as OEM which imo is good enough