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This is where the specialty plug comes in, such as the U-groove or Splitfire. With this said, technology has opened copper type plugs to the similar benefits of the fine electrode using various configurations and shapes. However, in general, the standard copper plug does not reduce quenching like many of the platinum and iridium plugs can.
![iridium vs platinum iridium vs platinum](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QBQ5GGHGHg4/maxresdefault.jpg)
A thin coating of these precious metals will not fair as well as a thicker, so in general, you won't want to go the cheap route, as it would be better to just use good old copper for your maximum value. The more expensive the plug, the more platinum (double/triple coated) or iridium is usually used in the plug. It is also worth mentioning, that with platinum and iridium plugs you generally get what you pay for. If you are like me and don't want your plugs in there for a long time ( I change mine at +- 60K miles) the advantage is pretty much negated.If you are willing to change your plugs once every year or two depending on your driving habits (and it is actually quite easy to change your spark plugs), copper plugs can offer good performance and efficiency. So as you can see there are some advantages to using this type plug but generally it's up to the owner. Finally, any vehicle that has an extend plug change interval (say 100K miles, or more). A good example is the Equinox 3.0 where the intake manifold has to be removed for access to the plug. Additionally, any vehicles that have difficult plugs to change are also a great candidate for these plugs. These engines fire each plug on the off stroke in addition to the compression stroke so they get double the electrical wear. So what vehicles should have iridium plugs?Īny waste spark engine (think Dodge V-10) that has one coil servicing two plugs should have this plug. It should be noted that conductive resistance inside the plug is not a significant player in strong spark generation since you are already dealing with resistor plug wires (to cut down on radio noise and electrical interference of other sensitive under-hood systems). Additionally, since the iridium resists electrical wear the plug voltage can be somewhat increased for a greater spark potential, but shorting through the plug wire insulation limits the amount of voltage that can be applied. It has a platinum center electrode and a platinum button welded to the ground electrode. By comparison, a copper plug with a squared off electrode wastes some energy because the spark can't decide where to jump from and relies on a coronal discharge to generate the spark which is "wasteful". The Honda recommended spark plug NGK 4363 PZFR5F-11 (2003 owner's manual, page 316) has a standard rectangular shaped non-tapered ground electrode and it only gets a 1 1/2 bar in the fuel efficiency range bar. A small electrode will concentrate the electrons to that spot and enable the spark to more easily be generated. Since the center electrode resists spark erosion so well, the diameter of the tip can be reduced to a fine point. The longevity of iridium is one of the things that allows auto manufacturers to stretch plug changes to 100K miles, or more. The biggest advantage to using iridium in a spark plug is it's ability to not wear while operating in the harsh environment of a cylinder. Remember, iridium is a rare metal and today's price is $650 per troy ounce, (for comparison, platinum today was $933 per oz.) so they use as little as possible.
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Other than that, the construction of the plug is pretty generic. The manufacturer laser welds a tiny iridium wire onto the end of the center electrode. The iridium in the plug is limited to the cathode tip. They also can crow that they are because they producing low maintenance engines that those engines are of a higher quality.įirst, you should know a little about an iridium plug. The main one, in my opinion, is that the use of iridium plugs (along with other innovations) gives manufacturers "bragging rights" about reduced maintenance costs. Iridium has some properties that enhance the overall performance of the engine.