well its time for me to buy plugs again soon......and i was wondering if i should go with iridiums.......anybody have any info about this application........good, bad, yes, no, why's and wherefore's

i'll start off with what i know about iridium.......i know it works very well for producing an electrical charge in an area where a chemical reaction is taking place........they use iridium electrode plates to bond the lead onto computer chip leads while immersed in an acid/lead solution

 

i got denso iridium +2 colder.. got them from superchargers.com.

no problems in 6K miles.

m

 

Skidazzle, do you have a part number for those plugs?

Thank you

Jeff

 

I have the same. Part # is IKH22

 

hey you think those will work good for the greddy kit at about 7 psi?

 

Glad you started a thread on this, I posted a similar response and question in another thread but it was off topic (my bad). Not much was said about it.

My understanding is that iridium plugs resist fouling better than copper, require less energy to spark, and will last longer than copper. The reason platinum plugs aren’t recommended for FI is that there is potential for the electrode to separate. I have purchased the IKH20 (1 step cooler) and plan on putting them in this weekend (if I find the time). There is some debate as to weather or not you need to reduce the gap with iridium plugs in low boost applications. Supposedly because the increased ability to generate spark will eliminate the need to do so (I’m reducing my gap still to .35). If you do plan on reducing the gap on your indiums do not use a round gapping tool. Adjust the gap with needle nose pliers and measure with a wire gap gage. The electrode is too delicate to do your adjusting with the round type gap tool or any other tool that touches the electrode. Also the ceramic is “supposedly” a little more intolerant to mishandling on the Denso Iridium plugs so extra care should be taken when installing them.

If your adding 100-125+ horsepower over stock, (7PSI on Greedy) I would go with the 2 steps cooler Denso IKH22.

That's all I know (or don't know)...

 

but will it handle 7-9 psi haha

 

The coppers suggested by ATI get rounded edges at around 9-10K miles........i'm thinking the iridiums would give a little better endurance than that

 

Could you guys provide a link to a site where I could find these plugs? The link above does not work. How much for an install for something like that?

 

here you go:

http://clubplug.net/retail_iridium_denso.html

 

we ahve em too..just forgot to add pricing will do it first thing tomorrow AM!

 

http://www.powerenterpriseusa.com/mods.html

This is of course for a Skyline but he sells me go fast parts. Scroll down to detonation:

4. Detonation

You need to start with a solid platform before trying to build power. First you need to make sure the vehicle is in good running condition before ever going out and modifing it. You need to do a tune up to help ensure the vehicle will run correctly.

1) Spark Plugs. Recommended stocks are PFR6A-11. One heat range cooler is a PFR7A-11. You may want to tighen the plug gap up if you are going to up the boost. Stock gaps on these plugs are 1.1mm which is pretty wide for a spark plug. Iridiums work well. They are expensive but they work well. We have had a problem with the Denso iridium plugs breaking the ceramic around the electrode. With the NGK's we havent had a problem. We run #8 plugs in our drag car.

 

PFR6A-11 and PFR7A11 are platinum plugs. They are fine for NA mods but if you’re going FI switch to copper or iridium. Platinum plugs are not recommended for FI applications.

 

Blowers, Turbo's and Spark Plugs.

If I may I would like to shed some light on the subject. Oh and bear with me for my spelling and grammer are horrid I know.

The main enemy of FI is heat. Heat causes detonation, so you want to do as much as you can to rid the car of it. This includes, intercoolers, compression ratio, fuel type/quality, spark plugs, radiators, water, etc,etc,etc.

Now you don't need all sorts of fancy stuff and every car you build or drive, but the more heat you can shead from the combustion chamber after compression cycle the better. (there are some exceptions to the rules, but as a general this hold true). Now with this being said, there are also a few other things that can always help.

..::The main reason why a copper plug is almost always used with High HP F/I cars is two fold::..

Reason 1: The copper is not a "hot" burning metal, and doesn't stay lit like a glow plug under high hp/temp conditions. If the tip of the spark plug was to stay glowing as the piston was traveling to TDC on the compression stroke, predetonation can and will occure. Yes the copper is not going to last 30K miles anymore but that is because of the abuse it is now taking, and the nature of the plug. 10K miles out of a plug on a FI car is perfectly normal and expected. My personal cars get them changed more then that, if I know I have done many dyno pulls, and track time. I change them with the oil since I know they have both been abused.

Reason 2: Cost, need I say more. They are ultra cheap.

..::The Main Reason why Plat. Plugs are a bad idea in a FI car::..

Reason 1: The plugs tip was designed with high milage in mind. Self cleaning in mind, and emmissions. The tip is made to burn very hot to clean it's self of impuritys and help with emmsions to reduce a lean miss fire under start up. Lean miss fires can lead to hydro carbons, and the EPA hates those little buggers. Well...now you see why they are a bad idea, is because with that tip staying hot hot hot in a NA car, think of what it does now that it's got more HP backing it. Yup it gets even hotter then before (hp=heat) so the tip can stay glowing hot much like a glow plug in a deisel motor or gas powered RC car. The plugs hot tip fires the fuel/air before the spark even happens. And that equalls big time detonation for your motor. Deisels love this though, since they are basically controled detonation.

..::The magic iridum plugs::..

Couple of "thoughts" behind the newest plugs on the scene.

Thought 1: These plugs are still not used on high hp race cars. Some tuners have still stayed away from them due to their ULTRA high temps at the tips surface. These plugs were also NOT developed just for FI but rather "superohmygoshdurabilty" thus ultra hot tip for self cleaning. Though they do differ from the tip of the Plat plug in many ways.

Thought 2: The tip does get very hot, though unlike the plat. plug it has the ability to cool very quick. This is why a iridum plug not only is self cleaning, but it sheds the heat like a copper plug when needed. There is still a point when it can't effectivly shed the heat and can lead to the good old detonation.

Thought 3: Many people tell others to buy them based on profit margins. Or that it "sounds cool" to say you have $9 spark plugs rather then $1.59 coppers. When in fact they are doing the same thing. Prime example of this was when the "split fire" plug was such a good idea, then all the sudden "guess not" But it gave people a bragging right about having a $4.99 plug in the car, that changed absolutly nothing. (other then the chances of the tip failing and falling into the combustion chamber)

Thought 4: Why Iridum plugs are used more on Imports from the Factory. Think of how strickt the Emissions laws over there are, and boom it's a no brainer why they are in the cars. Nothing special other then that.

Everytime I work on a car that is High HP and new to me that has FI. I call people like NGK and ask for some reccomendations on what plug would get me a cool burn, decent longevity, and the design I need. I also take everything with a grain of salt because i know they are in the business of making money, so higher $$$ doesn't always mean better. I personally have never ran a iridum in anything I own or work on that has FI, and probly never will. Or at least untill it is proven to me that 1. they are worth the extra money, and 2. They are truly as good at sheding heat as a copper. Untill then I will just keep on trucking down the the parts store and stocking up on extra sets of cheap-o copper plugs.

Just my .02
EA

 

Thanks TheSVTKid! Great information.

 

hey man not a problem. I just lurk and add what I can without stepping into the drama stuff. I was going to add some imput on the MAF stuff, but didn't want to step on anyone toes. looks like it's locked anyways. A MAX'ed out MAF is not the end of the world, it's been happening for years and years on other cars/trucks, and there are ways around it.
Honestly the best way to gain knowledge about this stuff is not on the internet. I read book after book after book, all the time to gain knowledge about tuning, FI, and other areas. Your local Borders, or Barns and Noble, and Librarys supply would suprise you.

cheers
EA

 

right on, SVT.....glad to see you posting again......you've always got something good to add

 

True, True!

I run NGK Copper plugs, 2 ranges colder than stock w/ 22 psi and 93 octane petrol. No problems.

 

I live in Northern VA, any one know where I can pick up Denso Iridium plugs locally? I tried on line and all on back order. Need NOW for TT KIt.

Thanks

 

we've got the IKH20's (1 step colder than stock) in stock as of this afternoon...only managed to score one single set though

If you have a copper part number, I can check those tomorrow AM for you.