# Iridium Plugs



## SFOspeedracer (Jun 25, 2019)

If you use them, how much life did you get out of them?

The staple is 100,000, however I’ve heard of buddies getting out 150 or 175k out of them without losing significant fuel econ or bad gapping after checking

Curious if anyone else has had the same thing


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## losiglow (Dec 4, 2018)

I change mine out every 60K or so. They probably have a lot of life still left in them but they're relatively cheap if you do it yourself - and buy them somewhere _other_ than an auto parts store or dealer (e.g. Amazon or eBay). You can get NGK Iridiums for <$5 on eBay - depending on which model you need.

I'm sure they could last much longer but the loss of performance from a spark plug is linear - it goes down gradually over time. It's not like they're going to up and die on you one day. Yes, you'll eventually get misfires but you'll probably have to put twice as many miles as they're rated for before they get that worn down. With the price having come down a lot over the last few years and as easy as it is to do on the Honda V6's, I just change them out sooner for good measure.


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## SFOspeedracer (Jun 25, 2019)

losiglow said:


> I change mine out every 60K or so. They probably have a lot of life still left in them but they're relatively cheap if you do it yourself - and buy them somewhere _other_ than an auto parts store or dealer (e.g. Amazon or eBay). You can get NGK Iridiums for <$5 on eBay - depending on which model you need.
> 
> I'm sure they could last much longer but the loss of performance from a spark plug is linear - it goes down gradually over time. It's not like they're going to up and die on you one day. Yes, you'll eventually get misfires but you'll probably have to put twice as many miles as they're rated for before they get that worn down. With the price having come down a lot over the last few years and as easy as it is to do on the Honda V6's, I just change them out sooner for good measure.


I gotta say, at least get them to like 90k bro !! Lol
Iridium can last way longer than 60k .. I know they're cheap nowadays (and I agree on not getting them at the big auto stores .. rip off) but still lol

I don't even remember the last time I went to a mechanic, I do all my work myself as well. Longest I've lasted with iridium (I use Delco .. a1 auto or sometimes amazon cuts price down) is 120k until I noticed fuel economy start dropping

NGK is what was in my last car, never had a problem with them


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## TPAMB (Feb 13, 2019)

My manufacturer calls for every 60k but I’ve pulled 60k plugs and they look new. Unless your having an ignition related issue, they will likely go 100k between replacement.


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## islanddriver (Apr 6, 2018)

I do 75000 on my Mazda. That's what they call for.


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## EngineerAtHeart (Nov 8, 2018)

islanddriver said:


> I do 75000 on my Mazda. That's what they call for.


My maintenance book calls for changing spark plugs every 41K. Seems kind of short of a cycle, most cars I've had require 90-100K. I just past 43K in my 2018 and haven't changed them. No difference.


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## touberornottouber (Aug 12, 2016)

I have a Toyota which specifies Iridium plugs and is very picky about the type. They claim they are good for 120,000 I believe but I change them every 80,000 or so. It's so cheap to do (if done yourself) that there is no real reason not to do them a little sooner to avoid the possibility of issues and so that it doesn't become harder to get them off later.


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## ANT 7 (Oct 14, 2018)

I've got them in my car. But, my engine is a GDI and they carbon up pretty fast. So I do plugs at 50KM.


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

SFOspeedracer said:


> If you use them, how much life did you get out of them?
> 
> The staple is 100,000, however I've heard of buddies getting out 150 or 175k out of them without losing significant fuel econ or bad gapping after checking
> 
> Curious if anyone else has had the same thing


I didn't change the plugs when I got the car and I've put an additional 108,000 miles on it. I adjusted the gap on them after 10,000 due to pinging. The car has started to ping again on light throttle so I'll have to gap them again. Apart from that, so far so good.


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## SFOspeedracer (Jun 25, 2019)

EngineerAtHeart said:


> My maintenance book calls for changing spark plugs every 41K. Seems kind of short of a cycle, most cars I've had require 90-100K. I just past 43K in my 2018 and haven't changed them. No difference.


41k? Do you use copper?


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## DrivingForYou (Aug 6, 2017)

SFOspeedracer said:


> If you use them, how much life did you get out of them?
> 
> The staple is 100,000, however I've heard of buddies getting out 150 or 175k out of them without losing significant fuel econ or bad gapping after checking
> 
> Curious if anyone else has had the same thing


100,000 is a fantasy - I replaced my iridiums in my hybrid at 100K, they were so badly worn, they should have been changed sooner. Talking to other mechanics, they say that 75-80K is a better change point.

NOTE: If you wait too long, the worn plugs result in greater stresses on the ignition coils, and could result in coil failure. I had to replace all my coils at 115K and I do wonder if I had done the plugs sooner if my coils would have failed.

A set of Iridium plugs: $30

A set of ignition coils: $180

Don't be penny wise and dollar foolish. Plugs are trivial to replace yourself.



touberornottouber said:


> I have a Toyota which specifies Iridium plugs and is very picky about the type. They claim they are good for 120,000 I believe but I change them every 80,000 or so. It's so cheap to do (if done yourself) that there is no real reason not to do them a little sooner to avoid the possibility of issues and so that it doesn't become harder to get them off later.


THIS ^^^

My Camry manual indicated 120K, but they were far too gone at 100K, I wish I had done them at 80.


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## SFOspeedracer (Jun 25, 2019)

DrivingForYou said:


> 100,000 is a fantasy - I replaced my iridiums in my hybrid at 100K, they were so badly worn, they should have been changed sooner. Talking to other mechanics, they say that 75-80K is a better change point.
> 
> NOTE: If you wait too long, the worn plugs result in greater stresses on the ignition coils, and could result in coil failure. I had to replace all my coils at 115K and I do wonder if I had done the plugs sooner if my coils would have failed.
> 
> ...


I agree with not waiting too long, but I don't believe 100,000 is a fantasy. If you really want to be 400x sure than yes 80k is a good marker, since it's an easy and otherwise relatively inexpensive job

on my last car I changed them at around the 105,000 mark, and suffered no loss from that
Other factors ranging from any kind of buildup or wrongly gapped or bad timing of an engine once it gets time to ignition can be what makes them worn quicker. I'd say you have to know your car and know what plugs you use


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## EngineerAtHeart (Nov 8, 2018)

SFOspeedracer said:


> 41k? Do you use copper?


They are Iridum. There is a caution to ONLY use such in the manual.


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## SFOspeedracer (Jun 25, 2019)

EngineerAtHeart said:


> They are Iridum. There is a caution to ONLY use such in the manual.


I'm surprised at the interval


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## LaurieLee (Jul 7, 2019)

You've gotta change your spark plugs??


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## SFOspeedracer (Jun 25, 2019)

LaurieLee said:


> You've gotta change your spark plugs??


Yes ma'am, you do ?. It's a job I recommend doing yourself.

The electrode on a spark plug wears down over time as you start your engine, so it needs to be changed according to your car around the interval your manual recommends


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## EngineerAtHeart (Nov 8, 2018)

SFOspeedracer said:


> I'm surprised at the interval


Also only a 18000 air filter interval. Cabin filter is 16000. My bad interval for spark plugs was 42000











EngineerAtHeart said:


> Also only a 18000 air filter interval. Cabin filter is 16000. My bad interval for spark plugs was 42000


The chart is wrongd for oil changes. There is a note that oil change intervals are every 3,750


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## ANT 7 (Oct 14, 2018)

DrivingForYou said:


> Don't be penny wise and dollar foolish. Plugs are trivial to replace yourself.


Truer words have never been spoken. Counting the money shows you've paid for the hand tools you have to purchase, by the second plug change.


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## SFOspeedracer (Jun 25, 2019)

EngineerAtHeart said:


> Also only a 18000 air filter interval. Cabin filter is 16000. My bad interval for spark plugs was 42000
> View attachment 338247
> 
> 
> ...


What year/model Hyundai do you have?

The air filters interval is within usual range for changing


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## WinterFlower (Jul 15, 2019)

LaurieLee said:


> You've gotta change your spark plugs??


It's a pretty easy job, but they can get stuck. My dad did it for me


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## SFOspeedracer (Jun 25, 2019)

WinterFlower said:


> It's a pretty easy job, but they can get stuck. My dad did it for me


To avoid future implications with getting them out, adding anti-seize to the thread of a plug helps


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## Uber_Yota_916 (May 1, 2017)

SFOspeedracer said:


> If you use them, how much life did you get out of them?
> 
> The staple is 100,000, however I've heard of buddies getting out 150 or 175k out of them without losing significant fuel econ or bad gapping after checking
> 
> Curious if anyone else has had the same thing


100-120k miles.


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## WinterFlower (Jul 15, 2019)

SFOspeedracer said:


> To avoid future implications with getting them out, adding anti-seize to the thread of a plug helps


Anti what???? You mean those evil plugs want to seize MY engine????


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## SFOspeedracer (Jun 25, 2019)

WinterFlower said:


> Anti what???? You mean those evil plugs want to seize MY engine????












Some plugs will specifically state not to use them, most dont though, I've always used it without a problem - although, very very sparingly


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