I swapped out my plugs today because the weather was so nice outside . Below are some pics of what the stock plugs looked like after 46k miles.






They had more wear than I expected, but they did look normal. I don't drive my car hard all the time or beat on it, but I do engage in a bit of spirited driving at least once a day . I would say that the stock plugs should be checked around 50k miles and swapped out if necessary. I replaced them with NGK V-Power copper plugs (BKR5E-11) gapped to 0.44" . The car runs a lot smoother now and has a little more power. The new plugs were $1.49 each at Pep-Boys versus >$12.00 a piece for the NGK platinum plugs.

 

copper plugs last half as long as the platinums, but i guess the price ratio is worth it

 

at $9.00 for the set, I don't mind swapping out plugs every 20k-30k...

 

ok, don't flame me, but how do you replace your sparkplugs and where are they?

 

The front plugs are under the plastic trim piece on the valve cover. You will need to remove the igntion coils that sit on top of the plug and then you will have access to them. The ones in the rear are a little tougher but the setup is the same. You will need to remove your FSTB (if you have one) and move the throttle cables out of the way to have enough room to access them.

 

Damn Nauman, dont look too bad. Im planning on pushing the boost to 10psi or so near it day after tommorow, and wiring the SafcII and then dyno it this saturday if all goes well.

Dixit

 

cool stuff... lemme know when you go dyno or if you need a hand with the wiring.


BTW, here is a link that shows you how to replace plugs... http://www.sprintmax.com/tails/sparkplug.htm

it's for a 4th gen, but it doesn't matter.... thanks to sprintmax

 

BTW, gap should be 0.044", not 0.44" like I originally posted... (I couldn't edit my original post)

 

Maximas are suppose to use platimum ones. So why use some cheap sh*t???

 

Look in the how too section. I printed that up last night. There's pics in there too.

 

Copper performs better than platinum with the only downside being that copper plugs must be replaced sooner. Given that it would cost upwards of $72.00 to swap plugs every 50k miles or so versus $9.00 every 20k-30k miles, copper plugs are an obvious choice. Platinum plugs are for lazy people ....

 

Can someone else back this up. I dont mind using the copper plugs as long as they dont hurt my car. I know members have had problems with BOSCH plugs. I dont want to run into the same problem. Thanks

 

spark plugs are just spark plugs. platinums just last longer. i'm sure one does not perform any better then the other. buy platinums only if don't want to replace them often. heck, even regular copper ones last for a longgg time.

 

It's your car, do what you want to but. Called the owner of the speedshop where I got lots of modifications done on my last car and a few on this one. I specifically asked what plugs he could sell me for my car, he advised go with the stock plugs, don't even bother to change, unless you're boosted. I'm extremely confident that if he could have sold me something he would have.

 

We use nothing but NGK coppers at my shop, and have no problems with them. I run el-cheepo Bosch 0.79 cent plugs in my Mustang, it's the only plug I have found that can survive repeated beatings with nitrous. When it comes to plugs, you don't always get what you pay for.

 

What are the procedures to gap the spark plugs? Im running a NX nitrous kit and wonder what they should br gapped to.

thanks.....

 

Well 0.044" is stock, remove .004 for every 50hp you plan on pushing on one step colder plugs, if you plan on going 2step colder because you pushing over 100hp, then do the same.

Dixit

 

What kinda plugs are you using? I was going through the instruction manual and noticed that PLATINUM plugs were NOT to be used with NX.

 

definetaly not platinums. Copper NGK one step colder.. the model was mentioned about b5kreg or whatever it was i cant remembver..

 

One step colder copper plugs will be BKR6ES-11

 

I know I am still alone on this but I still say the best plugs are the Bosch Platinum. And at $1.79+ each they're well worth it. Flame all you want, you're not going to change my mind on this one.

The following Nissan engines I have owned all agree.
NAPS-Z24
SR20DE
VG30E
VQ30DE
And if/when they make them for the VQ35 my current NGK's will get yanked.

 

That is an awsome step by step write-up. Now i just might do this by myself...

 

I just read the writeup. My question is what is gapping ? It's not mentioned in the writeup. Does that have to do with the type of spark plugs you buy ?

 

The "-11" on the end of the plug mean it's already gapped to spec.. However, it's ALWAYS good to double check that.

You can get the same plug with different "-" numbers for the common ones.