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Apparently NGK has indicated that the NGK IFR5E-11 laser iridium spark plugs are stock for the 4th gen maxima, but that is totally wrong. They are not even supposed to be in our cars at all as they pure garbage. The correct ones are NGK IFR5G-11 Laser Iridium which are very different from the E version of the plugs. After installing these spark plugs, the spark pinging is gone when shifting from 1st to second in high rpms and I had even tried the laser platinums pfr5g-11 and PFR6G-11 which people said helps with pinging but did not do anything. With these plugs the engine revs very fast and there is zero lag and no spark knock or pinging. Also I only use Premium gas 91 Octane which is the highest in California. I even had brand new Hanshin ignition coils which did not help with pinging. This website http://www.math.uwaterloo.ca/~rblander/NGK.txt that tells you what E & G stands for and on it says G = racing use.
If anybody has the NGK IFR5E-11 Plugs take them out and get these which are the correct ones NGK IFR5G-11. There several threads on maxima.org of people saying that there gas mpg dropped drastically after installing NGK IFR5E-11 and performance dropped as well. Heres a link to the first thead https://maxima.org/forums/4th-genera...ark-plugs.html. I did my research and found out that the E is v grooved and G is fine wire electrode which is far superior and the best. I could be wrong, but I believe the E is for the "V-groove electrode center". The G is just a fine wire. You can clearly see the electrode differences on this pic
Finally better gas mpg. I have never had a half tank left with 188 miles. In the past it would be 188 miles at close to qaurter tank. The NGK IFR5G-11 have gave the car new life.
Last edited by Maxima 97 SE; 04-03-2017 at 08:32 PM.
Right now I have the usual NGK Iridiums (5 or 6 years old) and have no pinging, but I always use 93 octane. And rarely rev that high. Now, is there a slight difference in performance? That might be true.. The car was quicker when it was a lot newer. LOL I attributed that to age and miles. Like me. I can relate!
[QUOTE=KP11520;9144028]Thanks for putting that all together!
Right now I have the usual NGK Iridiums (5 or 6 years old) and have no pinging, but I always use 93 octane. And rarely rev that high. Now, is there a slight difference in performance? That might be true.. The car was quicker when it was a lot newer. LOL I attributed that to age and miles. Like me. I can relate!
Do you use regular gas or 93?
Thanks!
Hi, I only use 91 octane which is the highest in California. Only premium gas and nothing else.
BKR5EGPs is what i use to run. its like a $3 plug. If you had them before and they were causing issues its because the gap was incorrect. We are all guilty of throw plugs in where we didnt check the gap. To be completely honest i would not bother with iriduim or what have you exotic material/electrode plugs. The stock 4th gen plug was an NGK platnium, just use it. The only reason the other exotic plugs exist is because the BKR#E plug is such a universal plug. Some of the later model cars still use that size plug and ask for all kinds of exotic materials(I have a 545i that uses some exotic 4 electrode plug, still its a variant of the BKR6E, my boosted 4th gen used that same BKR6E, currently in the BMW there is a BKR6E...just a platinum one lol). Just stick to the GPs i have tried them all and pretty much all the same ****. Just the platniums and iridium typically last for +70K. No spark plug currently offered for a reasonable price is going to change the performance of your car.
If you ever get into the newer VQ35(+07 motors) where the stock plug cost $15 each...once you do the math and a tune up is costing you upwards of $90.....then you can start trying to figure out which plug to use to save money lol
I personally run NGK copper plugs. Better spark, and only $2.25 each. And I like to change them every 30k, rather than 60k as OE spec plats are rated.
+1 for the exact same reasons and..
1) Somewhere between 25k and 30k, on an older engine, I like to read the plugs to verify all are burning nice and evenly. Also, I like to check to see that the spark plug tubes are all dry. On average it takes 2 years to reach that mileage as the 4th gens are driven mostly on short suburban trips.
2) All of my 4th gens have over 200k and run OLD original coil packs that seem to get along well with the NGK V-Power (coppers). I don't think the OLD coils need to work as they would with other plugs.
3) On the last highway mileage test, the 98 model delivered 28.5 MPG driving into a head wind during a large part of the trip. I think it could have managed 29 on a calm day. I don't want to mess with something that the engine and the ignition system seems to like.
4) Changing plugs on a 4th gen is like a "walk in the park" easy compared to two of my other vehicles that are a pain. So I use Iridium plugs on the 06 and OEM spec double plats on the 91 V8 Nissan engine that all have under 150k miles.
5) A set of NGK V power plugs sells for $12. Sometimes I use them to stuff an Advance Auto online order where the discount kicks in and my net cost is at a 30% to 40% discount. Sometimes dirt cheap comes in handy.
OE plug is PFR5G-11, so it only makes sense that iridium upgrade is IFR5G-11, everything else seems the same except iridium instead of platinum.
FWIW, NGK doesn't list any Laser Iridium for the 4th-gen Maxima/I30. NGK parts catalog
I don't even have NGK plugs in my car. I'm using Denso iridium (part number 3395), and they are awesome. Stock heat range. Also, I use 87 octane.
Since the 4th gen plugs have a cutout for the back plugs and aren't difficult to change, the OE NGK platinum is sufficient. But the Denso Iridiums I have are actually cheaper than the OE NGK, so they are still a good deal.
Now, if you have a 5th gen, which blocks access to the rear plugs, then iridium becomes more necessary
Iridium plugs were created when the demand for a spark plug that lasted longer than the platinum happened. In order to get the longer lasting spark plug, a harder metal had to be used. Harder metals don't conduct electricity as good as softer metals, so the ignition coil has to be more powerful.
Our coils are plenty powerful, so you don't have to be concerned about this. However, what does happen is that the coil has to work a little harder and will fail sooner. The difference is pretty small, but it is reality.
Now if you run copper plugs like the Wizard does, that is a soft metal compared to platinum and iridium. You only need an ignition coil that puts out 20 to 25K volts. With the ignition coils in the Maxima that put out 60 to 70K volts, you will get one big azz spark, but you will also have to replace the plugs sooner.
Yeah did not know that. But I'm not messing or changing anything no more. All I know is that my gas mpg has skyrocketed and has given incredible local gas mpg where before it ate my wallet. Most importantly no spark knock or pinging. I don't know how and why these plugs made such a difference in engine sound when it revs and eliminated pinging when the original plugs did not. Can anybody explain that? I just want to know why these NGK IFR5G-11 laser iridium took care of these issues when the original and other plugs did not?
Last edited by Maxima 97 SE; 04-04-2017 at 12:08 AM.
04-03-2017, 01:45 PM
