I'm new here so cut me some slack. I just bought my 97 maxima SE with 79k miles. I suspect the former owner never replaced the platinum spark plugs following the maintenance schedule. SO here is the problem I find that NGK makes 2 types of platinum plugs, Nissan recommends only platinum, so which one do i get, one is ~$3 each, the other is around $9? Is there any better performance between the two or does Nissan like the more expensive ones? I'd like to stick to the recommended brand but it's hard to find the actual plug used. I pulled a plug and noticed corrosion, but hard to identify the brand.

Also I was thinking of getting the K&N flat stock type air filter, will this improve air intake that much? And also what type of oil do people use, weight, filter etc.? CAI seems like a waste to me, especially with the intake technology that has been around forever.

Just some simple questions hoping for better answers, I know a lot here are very knowledgeable on the subject, please help.

 

get the regular ngk coppers they have a colder spark and are much cheaper

www.maxmods.dydns.org

 

Thanks for quick reply, do you use the copper plugs? Or does the platinum offer better performance? Obviously assuming you use high octane fuel.

 

i use platinum but the amount of money you use for plat, you could already change the coppers 2 times. the coppers last 30k and the plats last 60k
go with The coppers

http://maxmods.dyndns.org/

 

$60 for plugs doesn't really matter to me if it's what the engine needs, I'd feel better with the quality actually. I just wasn't sure if the better platinums were justifiable.

 

I have used platnium and iridium but the copper vpower plugs work the best in my opinion. just my .02

 

So straight up, which works better, the copper or the platinum? Seriously, It doesn't matter if one costs more, if they perform better. Forums **** me off cause noone ever tells you one thing. If the iridium works better, do you have a turbocharger? Set it to me straight, which one is better for stock, no compression. I know you can read through 30 threads and get a vibe on anything, or a general opinion. But I'd rather save time. SO, your help, please...

 

They both work the same, you arent gaining any performance by using copper over plantinum unless you have forced induction. Platinum are recommend by Nissan, coppers are cheaper. Sounds like you should get the plats

Heres a post from yesterday that explains everything pretty well.

You can think of arc from the sparkplug as a mini lightning. The air around the sparkplug gap act as an insulator. When there is enough potential energy(from the coil) the air would break down in an attempt neutralize the potential difference, thus the arc is produced. The energy require to “jump the gap” increases as the gap increases.

There are three types of materials that are used in sparkplug, copper, platinum and iridium. Copper has a melting point of 1100C, platinum 1800C, and iridium 2500C. Each time a spark is produce, a little bit of the material is melted off the sparkplug, thus causing the gap to widen a tiny bit. Due to the difference in melting point, copper would shed more material per spark. It is the lost of material that cause the gap to widen. From above, you can see that iridium would last the longest.

Brand new plug, copper should require the least amount of energy to jump the gap assuming they all have the same gap. This is because copper have the least electrical resistance between all three. This resistance difference would become trivial when the gap widens.

The gap widen faster in a copper plug. So, the fact that after 30K miles the copper plug may require 30 percent more energy then the platinum makes sense.

 

Go with the NGK Iridium IX's, you car will thank you. Mine did.

 

Damn combustion temps reach 2500C ... wow.