My car is in tomorrow to get a good spring working over. I don't know whether the previous owners had ever changed the plugs, but new NGK's are going in. Since I'm going with a new 18" wheel/tire package my brake fluid is also getting swapped out. Figure since it's there the Mobil 1 may as well get changed. I told my mechanic to check all fluids and change all that are necessary. I'm imagining my car will have some more zip to it and get better gas mileage than it has lately with the new plugs. What do you all think?

 

you will feel it. I changed my plugs after about 20K of Platinum Bosche and I notice a dramatic Gas milage increase, plus having the other fluids swapped out will aid the car in performing better. Hope the 18's arent too heavy.

 

How many miles do you have on the car? As far as I'm concerned, the OEM NGK platinum plugs are good for more than 60K.


I have a 95SE, 5-speed, with 58K (mostly highway miles). A friend and I took the OEM NGK plugs out a month ago, cleaned them up on a wheel, and put them back in. My friends brother did the same thing with his 99 Maxima with 78K on it. He has only owned the car for 2 years and I'd be willing to bet the plugs were original.

I believe my car is as fast or faster than when it was new, particularly since I added a Budget y-pipe and K&N filter a year ago.

You may want to flush the power steering fluid and the radiator while you're at it. A simple pH test can be done on the rad to determine if it needs it.

What kind of tranny? If automatic have you drained and filled the tranny before? Depending on mileage, a full flush might be in order. If a 5-speed, consider replacing the transaxle gear oil with new GL4 80W90 or 75W90 (emphasis on only using GL4).

Good luck!

 

Hey Deez,
I figure I'll get a little better gas and a little more giddyup with the new plugs for sure. The 18's are actually 1 lb. lighter than my stock 5 spokes, they are brand new Murano wheels. I figure to add a little weight due to bigger tires, but shouldn't be too much.

 

Thanks Mr. Murdoch. I asked my mechanic to do whatever he felt needed tomorrow. He has been my guy for years and is the only guy I have ever truly trusted with all my vehicles. I will chat with him tomorrow AM about what you presented to me here and let him do the rest. My Max now has 70k miles and I'm positive it needs the plugs. I went with the OEM platinums as you suggest. My 98 is an auto, BTW. One day soon, hopefully I'll be installing a Budget Y as well. I have been sold on Budget after reading countless discussions on Y-pipes of all sorts. As soon as I bought the car I installed a K&N as I have sworn by them for many years. Thanks for your insight.

 

Didnt know the murano wheels were a pound lighter, then you still should notice it. I would do many road trips and my gas consumption was decent, but once I got the NGK copper in there, wow, was normally would have killed my tank (savanah to atl drive) not left me with a little bit less than half a tank.

good luck.

 

Cleaning the Throttle Body and IACV wouldn't hurt as well. There fairly simple DIY jobs.

 

Thx Deez. I'm finally getting the rubber for the wheels on Tuesday after a three week backorder wait. I'm excited to see how they feel.

 

I've been looking at getting new plugs for my Maxima and wondering if anyone has ever used the NGK Iridium IX BKR5EIX-11 or NGK OE Laser Iridium IFR5E11? What were the results etc? Or is it just best to stay with the factory NGK Platinum?

 

Most people stay with either the OEM NGK platinums or the coppers. As I am a low mileage user (not daily driven), for my money I'll stick with the platinums. Mine have been in the car for 10 years and 7 months, are cleaned up and are good to go. My fuel economy has not been compromised at all.

Doc: you might want to run a bottle of Chevron Techron through your fuel system one day as well, if you're not into or requiring Seafoam.

 

Best to stay with Factory Platinum or Copper NGK (part: BKR5E11 about $2 a plug, as good a platinum but only last 30K vs 60K plats).

Iridum are useless if you are not making some serious power and are in need of specific plugs to help with ignition, using these will have little effect and good chance reduce performance.

 

After reading all the FAQ's I decided, myself, that the Plats were the way to go.

 

Thanks! I looked in FAQ's, but missed all the discussion. I'll go back and look again

 

Nas, listen to Deez's advice. He was right on the money with his assessment. The Plats cost pretty good, but they seem to be the right choice.