For the 20th time, go to O'Reileys and get the NGK Iridiums for $6!

 

While its true, a irridium plug wont perform any better than a standard or platinum, the onyl advantage to these precious metal plugs is just an extended servcie intervals.

 

Exactly.....so if you're the type that neglects maintenance alot, then pay a bit more for the iridium plugs, if not, the standard dual electrode version will do you just fine. The supercharged engines see a bit different exposure so in that case the iridiums are probably worth the added cost.

 

well the only thing that makes me want the irridiums is that i drive about 30k miles a year anyway. not that its a big deal to change spark plugs every year but hey if i can go 2 years without changing that would be awesome..... oh and arent some of you with stock motors and etc having issues with the irridiums?

 

In all honesty if I drove that much in a year, then gas mileage would be top priority and I think I would opt to just go with the dual electrode Densos and change the plugs every summer for a fresh set. They are cheap at $3 each (even less in bulk) so you're looking at about the same cost over time (and changing them every 35k miles) as running one set of iridiums to well over 100k miles. It also gives you a chance to look at the plugs and see how the engine is running (lean, rich, bad cyl, etc). If you don't like working on your truck then pay up, get the iridiums and be done with it. As long as you get the right heat range plug, the iridiums shouldn't give you any more trouble than the regular plugs.

 

My 4Runner runs great with iridiums.

I don't understand what the big deal is. We're talking $36 total for the spark plug change vs. $18 for the regulars. That's not even a tank of gas difference in price.

 

its not that i dont like to work on my truck its the fact that i may not have time ya know?? i love toying with it but ihave a job and quite a few hobbies... argh decisions lol..

 

is your 4 runner all factory?

 

It's about $11-12 each for the Denso iridiums which are the best and what I am refering to.
http://www.densoiridium.com/

 

interesting..... but i am like you.. once a year change shouldnt be bad but if these things hold up for alteast 60k miles, hell thats two years and i would think that wear would be minimal and my mpg should be wear its supposed to be... i am getting 16.5 or 17mpg and i drive mostly on highways.. i need better gas mileage! haha

 

Only the mods in my sig.

 

I average 20-21MPG with a 60/40 mix of hwy/city.

Iridiums will last WAY longer than 60K miles. More like 100K or more.

My stock plugs went 60K.

 

then no wonder the iridiums run fine. you have deck mods and etc.. mine is all factory

 

Get what you think is best for your truck. A couple of intake mods isn't gonna matter a hill of beans as to what spark plug you use and I put them in about 2 weeks before I did the intake mods and the truck ran great. The NGK iridiums are direct factory replacements that cost $6 at O'Reileys. I can't believe people are making such a big deal over spark plugs.

Either one will work fine, standard or iridiums. I put the iridiums in due to their longevity.

 

its good to see my mpg are below avg but i do think the plugs in my truck are factory. i have close to 80k miles on them. ill find out this weekend.. hell if the irridium plugs are only 6$ each at oreilys then ill go there and get em..

 

I agree, the spark plug thing is getting to be a

Deckplate or not, you really can't go wrong with any of the choices listed (just no Bosch plugs). The Denso iridiums are the best, but that doesn't mean the NGK's won't last 100k either before replacement. For best gas mileage I don't suggest letting your stock plugs go much more than 40-50k, but that's just IMHO.

 

who sells denso irridiums? my toyo place doesnt have the irridiums.. btw whats the difference in denso and ngk?

 

I'll wager your stock plugs are pretty worn at 80K. Mine were pretty well foot ball shaped at 60K. I shoulda snapped a pic of them.

Here's the link to them at Oreileys:
http://www.oreillyauto.com/EW3/Produ...riptionId=2691

I lied, they're $6.99.

The Denso's are about twice that at www.sparkplugs.com, but I'm not sure why. These NGKs have been working great in my 3.4L for the past 600 or so miles and are a good price at $6.99. Iridium is iridium so I can't understand why Denso's would be so much more since the metal is the same, unless I'm just misinformed and there are purity percentages to iridium. I'd be surprised if that's the case though.

 

The biggest difference is the fine electrode (Denso = 0.4mm vs NGK = 0.7mm). This technically makes the spark more efficiently (I don't want to go into too much deatil about it in this thread, but I'll get you plenty of links for reading material if you're so inclined) than other types with thicker electrodes.

I know Gadget sells them over at www.urdusa.com but don't go there right now because it looks like the website got hacked and my anti-virus keeps picking up virus attemps when the page tries to load (don't say I didn't warn you anyway!).

www.sparkplugs.com also has the IK16's in stock for about $12 each.

So what will you gain from using them? Well you might gain an extra 2HP on a N/A motor and maybe 1/4-1/2 MPG more due to the efficiency, but only you could make the call if the value was strong enough to pay almost double the NGK's for them. That being said, the NGK's likely have a much longer service interval since there is more material there to wear away (IIRC the interval on the IK16's is pretty short actually.....like in the range of 30k miles because it is designed as a performance plug). Given that this is a daily driver and the only major concern is service interval, I actually think the NGK iridiums would be your best value (if Speedy's price of $6.99 is correct). For S/C applications and where people want to squeeze every HP they can out of the motor, the Densos would be the best choice. Now I beleive Denso also makes a 0.7mm long life version which is comparable to the NGK's, but for the price I think they'd be hard to beat.

The long life Denso (equivalent to the IK16) available at the dealer should be Denso P/N SK16-R11 (stock #3324).
.....looks like they also have them on www.sparkplugs.com for $9.35 each as well.

 

oh ok so the densos have the smaller mm so therefore more efficient??