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mechanic told me platinum spark plugs are bad

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Old May 11, 2006 | 06:44 PM
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mechanic told me platinum spark plugs are bad

Yeah, i put BOSCH platinum's in my car and he said to take them out and replace them with regular plugs.

In the "how to replace spark plugs" stickie it says that maxima's are SUPPOSE to have platinum. What do you guys think?
Old May 11, 2006 | 06:53 PM
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ATTENTION*** use only NGK on maximas. copper, plat, iridium is okay
Old May 11, 2006 | 07:30 PM
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platinum is what comes from the factory, how could that be bad?
Old May 11, 2006 | 07:34 PM
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Get a new mechanic...leave the platinum's...i bet he said he'd change em for you for a price too. and he keps the plat's...
Old May 11, 2006 | 07:45 PM
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IT IS THE TYPE OF PLUGS - everyone car has plugs they use from factory, nissan likes NGK, other plugs will unbalance the engine. It might be fine for a while but it will get bad. USE NGK only in nissan engines period. even in my ****ty 94 corsica i used plugs that where not OEM plugs and it ran like crap, this is a 3.1 V6 slow. Must use the right plugs for the right motor.
Old May 11, 2006 | 07:47 PM
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NGK plats or coppers only.
Old May 11, 2006 | 08:42 PM
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OYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
***K

im gonna end this thing with the bosch plugs right now. bosch plugs are the worst plugs you could put in your car!!!!!

please for all you guys that keep asking questions about bosch plugs dont buy that *hit!!!!!!!

i worked for advance auto parts for 2 years and pep boys for 1 year after that and at both jobs i ALWAYS had people coming in with defective bosch spark plugs. your mechanic PROBABLY (im not a mind reader i dont know if this was his intention) but he PROBABLY told you to change them cause he knows that they are crap plugs. the electrodes used to crack in half the spark plug would snap, after 6,000 miles they prematurely wear. please change those plugs. i know that they are platinum but they are built with a low quality standard. the first time i saw it i thought "damn this moron screwed up a good plug" but with time i kep seeing more and more and some o fthe people bringing them back were good mechanics or people that knew how to work on engines/trannies.

PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD change those spark plugs dude, i beg of you. go with NGK coppers or spend the bills and use the NGK platinums. dont use bosch and if the moron behind the parts counter recommends them to you i seriously advise to you to question his knowledge of auto parts.

SAME GOES FOR SPLITFIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the stores i used to work for all did a recall on splitfire plugs cause they were such ***T quality.

as far as the difference between copper and platinum NGK's im gonna go to the auto parts this weekend and take my multimeter and read the 0hm resistance on this plugs just to see if its true that coppers conduct better than platinum.

i used to tell people that platinums are better because they do last longer on a PROPERLY MAINTAINED engine. if your blowing nitrous or you got boost dont even bother use copper. but platinums do last longer on a well kept engine!

guys please take note of this, dont stick anything but NGK's in your nissans. anything else is just not worth it.

PS: to get rid of that idea that those stupid 2 and 4 electrode plugs are good, those damn things used to fall apart easier that the singles! one time a guy brought in a two that literally ripped out of the plug housing when he turned over his engine to turn it on! the damn plug flew out under compression!!!! all that two and 4 electrode propaghanda is a bunch of hoohah! you dont need 4 electrodes unless you have one HELL of an ignition system, which if you do, why in the hell are you using expensive plugs if theyll burn out anyway?

- mauricio -
Old May 11, 2006 | 08:50 PM
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Give your mechanic the
Old May 11, 2006 | 08:52 PM
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actually if your mechanic said the bosch platinums were bad then he is 100% correct all bosch plugs for our car are very bad.
Old May 11, 2006 | 09:01 PM
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If you already read, why did you go with Bosch in the 1st place?

AKA why does this thread exist?
Old May 11, 2006 | 09:09 PM
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hogwash.......
Old May 12, 2006 | 03:52 AM
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maybe thats why my car is not starting
Old May 12, 2006 | 07:10 AM
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I used Bosch platnums AutoZone didn't carry NGK, and it started missing, and running rough. So I called 10 part stores on the way home and found some NGK's and now it runs great. Actually it was missing on the first test drive, and when I opened the hood and saw that one of the coil packs as still unplugged.
Then it ran great.
Old May 12, 2006 | 08:34 AM
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The best Spark Plugs for any Nissan are Dealer plugs. I used the platnum 4 in my 1984 300zx and it ran like crap. I only use dealer plugs in my maxima. It is a little on the expensive side but your car would not loose the power and performance it has. Becareful with what type of after market part that you put in your ride. Nissans are very picky when it comes to replacing factor parts to after market ones.
Old May 12, 2006 | 09:00 AM
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I am still running the original NGK platinum plugs, am coming up to 64K (mostly highway miles) and my engine runs like the day I took delivery of the car on October 1, 1994.

For my money, I'll stick to the NGK laser platinum plugs. I would probably be on my 3rd set of NGK copper plugs by now and I have no intention of replacing my original plugs until I have to go through emissions testing in December 2007.
Old May 12, 2006 | 09:12 AM
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all im gonna say is my car ran with boschs for many many years without one single problem, so im inclined to think it varies from car to car and plug to plug...but maybe it was just my luck.
Old May 12, 2006 | 09:15 AM
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NGK all-day but....

Originally Posted by 4DRSpeed
NGK plats or coppers only.
is the standard $1.70/ea. NGK platinum?
Old May 12, 2006 | 09:27 AM
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Originally Posted by DcMaN
actually if your mechanic said the bosch platinums were bad then he is 100% correct all bosch plugs for our car are very bad.
Bosch are for American cars not Foreign cars.


Get NGK PLAT..they maybe 75.00 a pack, but its worth it.
Old May 12, 2006 | 02:19 PM
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He didn't really say anything bad about bosch, he just said not to use the platinum's.
Old May 12, 2006 | 02:31 PM
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If that was exactly what he said, I don't know what he meant by it. If not platinum, then what? Copper? Iridium? It just doesn't make sense to me.
Old May 12, 2006 | 02:51 PM
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Originally Posted by hasei
If that was exactly what he said, I don't know what he meant by it. If not platinum, then what? Copper? Iridium? It just doesn't make sense to me.
He's polish and i didn't really understand what he said. I didn't realize there were so many types.
But, nobody agrees here on the same theory either. Some yes, some no.
Old May 12, 2006 | 02:53 PM
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those platinum 4's suck i put them in my honda accord awhile ago and it ran ****ty, i just replaced my plugs in my 98 5spd with 6 NGK Laser Platinum PFR5G-11 and its never run better, the way i can justify spending 100$ on these plugs is because they last so long.
Old May 12, 2006 | 02:55 PM
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Originally Posted by 96blkonblkse
those platinum 4's suck i put them in my honda accord awhile ago and it ran ****ty, i just replaced my plugs in my 98 5spd with 6 NGK Laser Platinum PFR5G-11 and its never run better, the way i can justify spending 100$ on these plugs is because they last so long.
I can't spring that much. Too many bill's. LMFAO! OUCH! MY BACK!!!
Old May 12, 2006 | 06:55 PM
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open up the old nissan owners manual and use the recommended plug. NGK Platinum plugs - PFR5G-11 i have no idea what he is saying about dont use platinum ? pull the bosch and replace with these.

if you get them online i would go with maxima.org member DAVEB

South Point Nissan
ask for Dave Burnette
888-254-6060

we has great prices

or just swing by your local dealership.
Old May 12, 2006 | 07:18 PM
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Originally Posted by MaxiPal
is the standard $1.70/ea. NGK platinum?
I paid $15.00 each for the NGK platinnums.
Old May 12, 2006 | 07:30 PM
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Originally Posted by triumphD6
I paid $15.00 each for the NGK platinnums.
OUCH!
Old May 13, 2006 | 04:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Bobo
I am still running the original NGK platinum plugs, am coming up to 64K (mostly highway miles) and my engine runs like the day I took delivery of the car on October 1, 1994.
Spark plugs go bad only if you use them, right, and not because they degrade over time? So even after 12 years, yours are still ok cuz you got 64k of highway miles, am I correct?

Jae
Old May 13, 2006 | 07:31 PM
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Originally Posted by triumphD6
I paid $15.00 each for the NGK platinnums.
$57.00/6 that's $9.50 ea. for NGK Plats.
Old May 13, 2006 | 08:29 PM
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Originally Posted by HallKemar
Bosch are for American cars not Foreign cars.


Get NGK PLAT..they maybe 75.00 a pack, but its worth it.
Bosch makes jeeps run like crap too.
Old May 14, 2006 | 06:57 AM
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Courtesy Parts say the NGK platniums should be changed every 60K.

If you have NGK coppers like I do, they only last 30K but give a stronger spark, and they are cheaper.
Old May 14, 2006 | 07:01 AM
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Originally Posted by 4DRSpeed
Courtesy Parts say the NGK platniums should be changed every 60K.

If you have NGK coppers like I do, they only last 30K but give a stronger spark, and they are cheaper.
I know someone with a 99 Maxima with 90K on the clock. His OEM plugs have never been changed and the car runs just fine.

For my money, I'll avoid the copper plugs. They would likely corrode before I got to 30K, which for me could be 5 or 6 years.
Old May 14, 2006 | 07:05 AM
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I'm not saying you don't have to change them, but at 90K it would still be wise.

Spark plugs do wear out just like anything else on the car. I'm sure they aren't giving the spark they could. But if his car runs fine then great!

I like the coppers because of the price. Cost $12 for 6 of them I believe. I can't justify spending $57 for the Plats.
Old May 14, 2006 | 07:13 AM
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I know this is heresy but I used Autolite plats (made by Fram) from wal-mart for 80K miles. The car ran great on these $1 plugs. I recently replaced them with NGK coppers and I cannot tell a difference. I measured the resistance between the NGK coppers (5k ohms) and Autolite plats (4.4k ohms) - the Autolites had a slightly lower resistance, but is was similar to the NGKs. I know other plugs can be in the 10-14 k ohm range. Maybe its not the plug but the resistance that is making your car run like crap.

Maybe the Bosch's have some defect problems, however, I suspect the "problem" is a high resistance plug being placed in an ignition system that requires the low range variety. This can cause the problems described and roast you coils. I mean the spark plug has a pretty basic design that has changed very little since the dawn of the first automoblies - they are not "magic". I think some of your guys are really gettin' a little nutty here with all this NGK plat only talk. But hey, if you want to spend $60+ for a set of plugs and it makes you feel better...
Old May 14, 2006 | 05:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Geo T
$57.00/6 that's $9.50 ea. for NGK Plats.
in illinois. I guess they weren't on sale when I bought them, because I called around.
Old May 14, 2006 | 07:05 PM
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Originally Posted by triumphD6
in illinois. I guess they weren't on sale when I bought them, because I called around.

Ordered them online from Courtesy Nissan in Texas.
Courtesy Parts.com
Old May 14, 2006 | 07:23 PM
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Originally Posted by 4DRSpeed
Courtesy Parts say the NGK platniums should be changed every 60K.

If you have NGK coppers like I do, they only last 30K but give a stronger spark, and they are cheaper.
Almost 100,000 on my second set of plugs (NGK's from Courtesy). I have NO issues. They will be changed this year when I get to it!
Old May 14, 2006 | 10:20 PM
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platnum plugs are fine just get ngk
Old May 15, 2006 | 03:26 AM
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I got NGK standards in my 95 30G and they have done nearly 30 000 k's. But I will be replacing them with NGK Iridium ones soon. The guy at the parts shop told me they last for 100 000 k's if you look after them.
Old May 15, 2006 | 05:48 AM
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Originally Posted by AussieA32
I got NGK standards in my 95 30G and they have done nearly 30 000 k's. But I will be replacing them with NGK Iridium ones soon. The guy at the parts shop told me they last for 100 000 k's if you look after them.
I have 103,000 kilometres on my NGK OEM laser platinums and won't be replacing them anytime soon.
Old May 15, 2006 | 05:59 AM
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i bought my ngk coppers for 8 bucks for 6.



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