Continuing to use a spark plug with worn electrodes puts stress on the ignition coil and can shorten its life. Please replace spark plugs sooner rather than later. Beware of only using your vehicle for short trips or slow driving! This can lead to carbon fouling or oil fouling.
Repeated overheating of the spark plug tip can cause the plug to prematurely fail. Overheating can be caused by many things like pre-ignition and a malfunctioning cooling system. Pre-ignition can lead to heat building up in the combustion chamber causing the spark plugs to fail.
Scratched and broken spark plugs usually indicate that there is a foreign object in your engine. Meanwhile, split or chipped spark plug insulators are a sign of pre-detonation. Check for ignition timing faults, engine overheating, a faulty EGR valve or a clogged combustion chamber.
It is mandatory to maintain a balanced spark gap between the two electrodes. A short gap can weaken the spark plug and a wider gap might prevent the spark from firing at all or may misfire at high speeds. Before creating a balanced gap between the electrodes, refer to the user's manual for a balanced figure.
Many factors can cause a spark plug to fail; from incorrect heat ranges to improper gapping, to chemical contamination. Yet 90% of spark plug damage claims are due to improper torque. Many factors can cause a spark plug to fail; from incorrect heat ranges to improper gapping, to chemical contamination.
FACT #4: YOU SHOULD CHANGE SPARK PLUGS EVERY 100K MILES OR SO. So, if good spark plugs are the key to avoiding these issues, how long do spark plugs last, exactly? The general rule of thumb about how often to change spark plugs is that they should be replaced after about 100,000 miles of driving.
Ordinary copper and nickel spark plugs should be changed every 30,000 to 50,000 miles, unless otherwise suggested by the spark plug manufacturer. Platinum and iridium spark plugs tend to last longer than standard copper and nickel spark plugs. Expect to change them every 60,000 to 150,000 miles unless otherwise noted.
NGK gives them a life expectancy of 40-50k miles. But they have to temper their projections as driving conditions and motor modifications differ. Typically we have found you can expect 60,000 to 80,000 miles on an unaltered motor. NGK Laser Iridium Spark Plugs have iridium center and a platinum ground electrodes.
Standard copper spark plugs last around 20,000 – 30,000 kms. The spark plugs play an important role in your engine, they produce electrical sparks that ignites the mixture of fuel and air in your engine's combustion chambers, causing the pistons to move up and down.
Iridium is said to be six times harder and eight times stronger than platinum with a 700° higher melting point. Iridium spark plugs have extremely fine electrodes while retaining excellent wear characteristics. Thanks to its strength, iridium spark plugs can last up to 25% longer than comparable platinum spark plugs.
Spark plugs may become less effective at doing their job due to time, wear, or other electrical/ignition system issues. They may become "fouled" over time due to combustion, contamination, or overheating, losing their ability to spark the air-fuel mixture and dissipate heat away from the combustion chamber.
The three factors with particularly large impact are the spark plug gap, the compression pressure, and the air-fuel mixture temperature.
Soft, black, sooty dry deposits on plug indicate carbon fouling. Carbon fouling is an indication of a rich air-fuel mixture, weak ignition, or improper heat range (too cold). Carbon deposits are conductive and can create a path for spark plug misfire.
Continuing to use a spark plug with worn electrodes puts stress on the ignition coil and can shorten its life. Please replace spark plugs sooner rather than later. Beware of only using your vehicle for short trips or slow driving! This can lead to carbon fouling or oil fouling.
Black, dry soot on the electrodes and insulator tip indicates a carbon-fouled plug. This can be caused by a dirty air filter, excessive driving at low speeds, too rich of a fuel/air mixture or idling your vehicle for too long.
Investing in high-performance spark plugs is a surefire way to save some money in the long run. Better gas mileage is just the beginning. These premium spark plugs last longer than conventional plugs, which means you'll be able to go a longer time between tune-ups, keeping your maintenance costs down.
Even if you're not having problems you'll still want to have your spark plugs changed out at every 30,000 mile interval. For most drivers, that will mean that you're due for spark plug service once every 2-3 years!
The estimated mileage of iridium spark plugs – depending on the thickness of the central electrode and the construction of the ground electrode – ranges from 60,000 km up to 120,000 km in the case of DENSO Super Ignition Spark Plugs, which feature a protruding ground electrode, like DENSO's Twin Tip (TT) Spark Plugs.
Iridium is a far stronger metal than platinum, capable of taking up to eight times as much wear and tear as a platinum spark plug before losing efficiency. This means that iridium spark plugs are less likely to fail than platinum spark plugs, need replacing less often, and perform better under tough conditions.
Iridium spark plugs are better at starting engines than other types of spark plug because the spark is highly concentrated in the central electrode, and consequentially requires less voltage to operate. This makes ignitions faster and more reliable, and also reduces power consumption.
At the top of the list, we have the NGK Spark Plugs. With iridium as its core material, this spark plug pack can operate at a much wider heat range as compared to ordinary spark plugs made out of platinum or copper.
Spark plugs are designed for long-term durability, meaning that they only need to be replaced between every 80,000 and 100,000 miles. However, they can become damaged earlier than expected and require replacements to avoid pricey engine repairs.
But unlike some of our devices, ageing spark plugs might not be very evident for a layman. As spark plugs go through thousands and thousands of miles along with your vehicle, their internal components tend to wear out and even though they can withstand extreme temperatures, their durability goes down with time.