Custommaxima is selling them for about $96 bucks for all 6. Im debating on getting them. Is there a big diff from platinums to Iridium? Are they safe to use with our cars? Also are these for n/a applications? Let me know if they are worth the money.

 

I know of no difference, id stick to plats or mabye coppers

 

Not worth the money, I got some and i felt no diff better off with plats

 

Iridiums spark better than Platinums, it's just a fact.

Since it has a higher hardness rating than Platinum, you can take advantage of that and use a smaller surface area (the spark tip that is spaced from the ground) to create a voltage difference. Simply put, it gives a stronger spark, and lasts longer than Platinum due to it's hardness.

And wait...how are you gonna justify $96??? I just searched on eBay and found many sellers selling a set of 6 for only ~$36 + shipping. please save your money...

http://search.ebay.com/ngk-iridium-m...fsopZ1QQfsooZ1

 

quoted from a member on Zilvia.net, wherezmytofu:

"I have heard over and over again that copper tip spark plugs are better then platinum tips because copper is a better conductor, that is logic pulled from limited knowledge of physics.

Dielectric breakdown (a spark) is caused when the space surrounding the object begins to brake down because of the electrons, these momentary conduction paths appear in the air where the electric field has ionized air molecules, freeing some of their electrons.

Now let us look at a small principle. In self defense, women are taught to stomp on an aggressor's foot with the heel of her shoe. WHY? because you get more LB per square feet so you will inflict more damage. This works the same for dielectric breakdown. because the dielectric breakdown we are concerned with is in air. Air can only take charge per area. This means the smaller area you can get the charge into, the easier it is to get dielectric breakdown .

Now conductivity of an element is calculated by how many ohms of resistence there is per unit (length). now the differance between 2mm of copper compared to platinum is every small. now lets look at some numbers.

Electrical resistivity (microohm-cm) @ room temperature

Copper 1.678
Platinum 10.5

as you can see, platinum has much more resistance per unit lenght

Thermal conductivity at room temp W/cm C

copper 3.94
platinum 0.69

and you can also see that platinum is much less conductive then copper. now why am i still writing? these facts clearly show copper is better then platinum. like i stated before dielectric brake down is concerned about the smaller area you can get the charge into .

in earlier eras copper was used relitivly sortly as a weapon/armor element, because of the fact that is was a soft metal, it is relitively soft. In terms of a sword, the edge was hard to keep sharp due to the fact that copper is reitively not-hard. the harder a metal is the better it's ability to keep an edge. this is also true with the ability to make a tip as small as possible.

again lets look at some numbers.

Rockwell scale of hardness

copper b50-c18
platinum c48

as you can see platinum is much much harder then copper, this means you are able to work it to a smaller tip, this is the sole reason why platinum is a better spark plug tip then copper, because of the smaller tip, you are able to put more electrons in a unit area.

this is also why iridium is a better spark plug wire tip element then both. iridium has a rockwell hardness of C51.

what do i think is the best spark plug out there? bosch p+4 it has four tips, even tho iridium spark plug tips are smaller, you must compare it to four tips and since i have not seen any multi-tip iridium plugs i will have to go with the +4, even tho the iridium tips make a larger spark."

 

^^^
very detailed and scientific explanation. j/k

I just went here and looked up spark plugs. http://maxmods.dyndns.org/index.php?MaximaSparkPlugs


Copper: Lasts for 30k, gives stronger spark than platinum, cheap


Platinum: Lasts for 60k, weaker spark than copper, expensive


Iridium: Good for forced induction, very expensive


I went and picked up some coppers at a Advanced Auto Parts today. The guy was so busy hitting on his new female trainee, he didn't count the change when he handed it to me. He barely payed me any mind and was pretty unattentive about my request, but in return, I got 6 coppers for less than 5 bucks. Such a nice guy, hooking me up like that. I hope he lands the girl.

 

You don't think it's a valid explanation?

 

i thought coppers were good for 15k...

i dont see why you wouldnt just go with the ngk plats and just do 60k intervals...

 

Coppers last for about 30k, chaging them early might be a good idea.

Platinums last 2x as long, but cost 3x as much so as long as you don't mind spending the 20 minutes changing spark plugs then just get coppers.

Iridium has the advantages of both, longevity of platinum with close to the conductivity of copper. They are not terribly expensive, but really won't make a huge difference other than lasting longer than copper. Boosted and spraying people get them to make up for our coil packs being relatively weak at that level.

IMO get coppers unless you are lazy and have a lot of $ or are boosted.

 

I did say I was just kidding. It's fine. Just found it to be quite long and drawn out for such a simple subject.


A detail I missed on my last post:

Coppers need to be gapped to .044. The rest do not.

 

If your not boosted you dont need iridiums

 

Not trying to hijack the thread here but I have iridiums and you guys are saying it is a good plug to have if you are boosted? I'm still n/a btw. Would irids be better than the colder step plugs?

 

Its a good plug to have if your boosted because it provides a smoother idle rather than copper/plats

 

I put in 2 step colder NGK Iridiums for nitrous but I have ran 2 PB's N/A with them. Best plug I have tried so far.

 

I've got a set of brand new Denso Iridium IK20's (2-step colder) for sale for $40/shipped. I think they are the Denso equivalant to the NGK's Jime was talking about.

 

1. That technical explanation from Zilvia.net hits some important points, but it doesn't make the correct conclusions. It basically says that copper plugs suck, platinum plugs are better, iridium plugs beat them both, but Bosch Platinum +4 plugs are the best. That is simply untrue.

2. What spark plug you want for a boosted engine depends primarily on how cold the plug is. That has NOTHING to do with what element it's made of, nor does it have anything to do with how much spark energy it produces. It only refers to how quickly it transfers heat away from the tip of the plug to keep it from getting too hot and pre-igniting the gas. You can get boost-friendly plugs in any element. They just happen to be more available and better made in copper and iridium.

3. Copper plugs start deteriorating at 10k to 15k miles. They may last for 30k, but you really have to watch them until then. They also provide the best spark for the money (by FAR).

4. Denso Iridiums have a finer electrode tip than any other plug. They give the best spark you can get, but only last about 30k miles. NGK Iridiums have a thicker electrode tip, so they aren't quite as powerful but they will last a LOT longer. Both are about as good as, or better than, copper.

5. Platinum plugs are by far the best balance of long life, spark power, and cost.

6. Bosch Platinum +4 plugs have been the subject of some stories about power loss and horrible breakages, but I can't say for certain whether they're bad. The only sure things are that the 4-tip design won't actually give you any more spark energy (the spark will only travel to one tip at a time, not all 4 like Bosch wants you to think), and it may actually be bad because its odd design might disturb the flow of gasses in our combustion chambers.

 

The $96 dollar ones have Iridium center electrode with a small platinum chip for the ground electrode and last ~100k+ miles (although $96 is kind of expensive since they are $12 each from NGK directly) while the IX uses the Iridium center electrode and a normal tapered cut ground electrode and last ~50k miles with a gap check at 30k. (Both use the same center electrode @ .6mm these cost ~$7 each)

I currently use the NGK IX and love them... The +4 are more of a gimmick as the spark will not split between the ground electrodes. Electricity will always take the quickest easiest path to ground and not by splitting but taking which ever ground is the closest even if it is by .000000001"... The Denso Iridium plug has a center electrode of .4mm but are like the IX and last ~50k.

http://www.ngk.com/results_app.asp?AAIA=1356780

 

I don't think Denso Iridiums (which I'm happily running, by the way) can possibly last as long as the NGK IX. They make a more powerful spark and have a smaller electrode tip, both of which contribute to higher temperatures. That means they will wear down faster, and there's less material to wear down in the first place since the tip is finer. Unless, of course, you know something I don't know....

 

The center electrode will most likely not degrade at all for 60k and I doubt most could tell at 80k, but the ground electrode will degrade and by 60-80k it will need to be replaced. The smaller center electrode causes wear characteristics slightly greater than the NGK Iridium IX so wear should be comparable, but the size/design of the ground electrode and the chemical makeup of it could promote quicker degradation (I am guessing the slight increase in electrical concentration coupled with the electrode U-Groove design leads to the quicker wear). Basically if your not using either double platinum or a Iridium/Platinum plug you should check the gap and plug condition around 30k miles.

 

I love maxima.org!!! very information yet it doesn't turn into a madhouse like zilvia...


I didn't mean to append the Bosch Platinum +4 comment on the quotation i posted. I wouldn't try Bosch any day, and I really believe that NGK is a great company that manufactures quality plugs.

And for those that have commented about the better Denso iridiums, I'd still prefer to pay 1/3 of the price for the NGK IX's.

 

I guess I'm a cheap, technically uninformed and uneducated idiot since I still use Cu's.

 

I have my Max replaced iridium 2 weeks ago too.
But for conductance, copper is for sure the best.
But lazy *** like me do like to use iridium which only has to changed like after 100,000 miles.
Cost really cheap in Ebay for NGK ones.
Cheers

 

I agree, anything that can last 100k is good enough for my max. thats why i bought my eibachs too (million mile warranty and all LOL). I like to put stuff in and not have to worry about them for a long time.

 

What's the part number on those? I'm assuming the BKR5EIX-11 are the stock heat range?

I've been running NGK Coppers but I might just try out these iridiums.

 

http://jime.homeip.net/Plugs.html

Look here.

 

Clearly you are. Poor you.

Your engine must run horribly.

 

Wow, A lot of useful posts in here. I didn't realize it was going to get this many posts over plugs. From my understanding, Iridiums give somewhat of a copper spark or better and lasts longer than platinums. Some say it's not even worth the money others say it's the best plug out there. Ive been using platinums and Im thinking about going over to coppers instead and I have no problem switching them every 10-15k. So then im guessing Coppers would be the best bang for your buck plug?

 

I switched from NGK Platinum to Denso Iridium about 3 years ago. At first I felt a difference going from old NGKs to new Plugs because I switched from old plugs to new plugs.

After that it has been steady. No decline in performance. Car still runs like new. like 40,000 miles later!

I dont think there's any performance gain with using iridiums except they last longer

 

heres a good place to get plugs http://clubplug.net/