Mazda3Club.com : The Original Mazda3 Forum - ~~~NGK IX Iridium VS. Bosch Platinum +4 (real time data preview-review)

http://kevante.redirectme.net/spark.jpg
Yes I am not review lights anymore, I am moving on to Air Filters, Spark Plugs, and Intakes :P
Lol an I have a few sidekicks too, special thanks to Syn, Rex, Pyro, and Saugaboy.

Whats the buz

Is this a miss match or is this this a equally matched battle between two competing quality plugs? As my vechicle approaches 100km and looking for my next tune up I have been pondering long and hard in to what to do about plugs... Upgrade to a premium plug or keep the same standard manufacturer replacement NGK plugs. Well the prospect of not having to change my plugs for at least 100km sounds good and cheaper in the long run. But is it worth the risk? the money? the bother...??? after asking around with other protege owners and Honda tuners the answer has been yes. But when you ask around, people seem to have their own personal preference, weather it be by just gut instinct or personal misfortune. But using the excuse of German Vs. Japanese :fight: is a poor excuse. A plug is a plug, its about design, durability, and installation. There is a lot of human error/control involved here, so to blame a plug cause its foreign is just sad. LOL haha but anyways… :headshot:

The next question after that, which brand and which plug to use.... and that depends on the application.

I will be putting together a head to head match and review of performance on these two plugs.

A) with brand new plugs for both brands: monitoring the miss fire count with the AUTOTAP software, on two vechicles Mazda Protégé 2001 (if the OBD2 interfaces allows monitoring of those values and on a well tuned old Ford Focus using Mazda Engines which will give all Ford monitoring data available for http://www.autotap.com/enhanced_parameters_ford.asp
http://www.autotap.com/images/efilivescreens/gauges.png

B) I will be seeking a volunteer for used NGK plugs mentioned in this post with between 30,000 – 50,000 km on them with proof of install. Of course this person should be in the Toronto area or at least able to get around here and or have a mazda protégé of the same class or a similar vehicle. (import) Using Autotap interface http://www.autotap.com/images/ATUSB_Kit.jpg
C) TBA

What am I looking for, to see for myself, which plugs perform best, for how long... and to unshoud the crap behind sketchy claims :) and plus I have nothing better to do with my life :) I am a day trader for god sakes... :)

What are you made of?

Copper? Platinum? Iridium? I bet if you give it time I think they will find superman's Kryptonite soon.... lol but seriously... Different metals have their own Pros and Cons.

For my use, Moderate engine and performance upgrades are definatly in the cards for the next few months or at least the near future. So the use of Platinum or Iridium would be more logical if endurance and performance are on the top of my list. But at the same time if the plug doesn't have good Anti Fouling performance then really? whats the point!

Endurance

The Biggest selling point for using Platinum/Irridium electrodes is to minimize electrode wear. After every discharge from a sparkplug, a very small amount of metal is destroyed from the electrode surface areas.

"As the electrodes wear, the air gap across which the spark must jump becomes wider and wider. The gap on a standard spark plug grows about 0.00063m. to 0.000126 in. for every 1,000 miles of normal driving. And the wider the gap, the greater the voltage needed to jump the gap. On standard plugs, the firing voltage requirements creep up about 500 volts for every 10,000 to 15,000 miles of driving. Eventually, the plug may need more volts to fire than the coil can produce, causing the plug to misfire." <L.Carley>

The use of Platinum or Irridium reduces and almost eliminates surface electrode wear, and can double or even triple a spark plug's normal service life.

The Contenders and Performance,

In this corner weighing in at 14mm, 3/4" reach, 5/8" hex, gasket seat, ISO length, resistor, projected tip, fine wire (0.6mm) iridium center electrode, tapered cut ground electrode, .044" gap
http://www.ngk.com/productImages/1/90A%2Ejpg

NGK’s IX iridium

Sorry if this sounds pretty cheesy but make no mistake that NGK’s IX iridium plugs are pretty much the cream of the crop, with a the iridium metal being six times harder and eight times stronger than platinum it’s a plug that has the ability to withstand normal wear and the abuse of any punishing Nitrous system, able to withstand temperatures of 2410’C That’s about 600’C hotter then platinum. This allows NGK engineers to design an ultra-fine (0.6mm)center electrode reducing the voltage requirement for spark. This allows for a brighter, stronger spark from your existing ignition system. The ground electrode has a tapered cut at the firing end which reduces quenching for better flame core growth and increased ignitability. The combination of fine wire center electrode and tapered cut ground will increase performance, improve acceleration, and fuel efficiency.
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In the other corner is….. Bosch’s Platinum +4for, pushing a multiple ground electrodes. These plugs also use surface gap spark patterns and the multiple ground electrodes increase service life.
http://www.boschusa.com/images/consu...+4_roll_on.jpg
CLICK HERE FOR THE BOSCH VIDEO ON PLATINUM 4+
BOSCHs Platinum +4

Surrounding the center electrode, which contains 75% more platinum than previous Bosch platinum plugs, are four "surface air gap" ground electrodes made of a special wear-resistant nickel yttrium alloy. The angle and position of the four electrodes creates multiple spark paths that cause the spark to jump sideways. This has a self-cleaning effect on the center electrode and results in a longer, more powerful spark that reduces misfires for improved engine performance, better fuel economy, lower emissions and faster acceleration. If all this sounds like its right off the box… Bottom line… “Increasing the number of side electrodes gives the spark more paths to ground and reduces the risk of misfire, while extending plug life by spreading wear over more electrode surfaces.”
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The best line I ever heard to dispel some of the mystic around performance claims but all manufactures is “One thing to keep in mind about all "performance" spark plug designs is that no plug can magically create horsepower out of thin air or add horsepower that wasn't there in the first place. But improved ignition reliability can minimize horsepower losses caused by misfires. That's why some plug manufacturers claim their spark plugs improve power. The gains come from power that was being lost to misfires.”

The Evil Dr. Foul

One thing all types of spark plugs must do is resist fouling. The trick here is to keep the electrodes hot enough to burn off fouling deposits but not so hot that they cause preignition. The life of a plug can be reduced by plug fouling, common types of can be found at the following link
http://www.ultralightnews.ca/article...sparkplugs.htm

The review will be conducted Sept 24th utilizing a Dyno facility  and maybe open to all who are interested in observing. I will keep you all uptodate as to the status...

look forward to hearing from everyone. and your bets hahha lol joking... or am I :P