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service life of an iridium plug???

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The Stigenator

The Stigenator

Lifer
My 2009 Acura TSX is coming up on its 100,000 mile mark. I need to change sparkplugs soon.

I went to the dealer and they want $25/plug for the OEM NGK ILZKR7B11S. RockAuto has it for $10/plug

Problem is this, the equivalent Denso one (SXU22HCR11S) is also ~$10/plug.

However Denso's FAQ states that their plug life on 0.4mm center electrode is 30,000 miles. I cant tell if either of them have a 0.4 mm center electrode or the larger 0.7 mm center electrode which can last upto 120,000 miles.

http://www.densoiridium.com/faq.php

Logic states get the NGK one.
 
I'm pretty sure Honda recommends around 100k. Maybe 60-75k at the earliest...what's the manual say?

That doesn't sound like the right plug...which engine is this? Was TSX a 4cyl?

I was thinking I did one of these recently, but that was a TL with a V6. '100k service', which was basically timing belt, plugs, and adjust valves (turned out to not really be needed- made very minor tweaks).

I'm pretty sure the plugs had never been done. They looked fine.

Looked up P/N- those were IZFR6K11. NGK's were supposed to be OEM for that car, and that's what I pulled out. $10 each locally and on RockAuto.

It would appear those had a .6mm electrode. It was actually...108k, I think, on that car. No significant erosion of said electrode was apparent.

I would go NGK because I like NGK. But either should work fine...and is 40-60 bucks really that much? They're also tremendously easy to replace (even if it's a V6).

My question is why even bother with the dealer, and why NOT order from RA? Time a factor? Advance has ILZKR7B11S for 13 bucks. 15 at Autozone. Oreilly says 'call' on their website.

If you need them locally, find whoever has them in stock, then find the lowest price, then ask for a pricematch.
 
oh I placed order on 4 of the NGK plugs from RA, I wont get to replacing them this weekend anycase, too busy but I will the following weekend.

The manual says replace at 105-120K (somewhere in there), I want to do basic services before the 105K. Stuff I can handle. I cant do the valve adjustment, I'll let them do that. I plan to drain and fill my coolant and drain and fill my transmission fluid.

I just hope that the old plugs are not a PITA to take out. I remember it was a PITA in my old ford when I pulled them out after 60K, it was tight as hell. I will have to make sure I put some anti-seize on it when i reinstall.
 
Ford? V8?

...it's a little different on your Acura.

Procedure for your car: Remove engine cover (some pop off, some have a few nuts or bolts. IIRC Honda uses 10mm if so). Remove coil packs (four more 10mm bolts; remove electrical connectors first and be gentle). Replace plugs with 5/8" socket, extension, and ratchet. No fancy double-wobble sockets or anything required. Just make sure you plug socket still has the rubber in it.

You know your timing belt should be due at 105, right?
 
...you mean they're not hard to access and don't break in half and/or rip the threads out? Where's the fun in that?!

Also, I was unaware Honda was using timing chains. AFAIK they've always been one of the more 'belt-exclusive' manufacturers.

If your valvetrain isn't clattering, don't worry too much about the valve adjustment.
 
NGK makes great plugs that last a lifetime. You could pull them and measure the gap every 10k after the 60 -90k replacement interval for your car. Or, do what you did, replace them so you can ignore the plugs for another 5 years.
 
phucheneh said:
...you mean they're not hard to access and don't break in half and/or rip the threads out? Where's the fun in that?!

Also, I was unaware Honda was using timing chains. AFAIK they've always been one of the more 'belt-exclusive' manufacturers.

If your valvetrain isn't clattering, don't worry too much about the valve adjustment.
Click to expand...


Totally disagree. Valve adjustment (on engines that require it) is extremely important. It's very possible for valves to not rattle yet not seat properly, which causes burnt valves and other problems.

That being said, I would be very surprised if a TSX had solid lifters which require adjustment.
 
I was more referring to his specific car and Hondas in general. They provide an adjustable stud on the valve end of the rocker, but ironically seem to need adjustment less than many cars that don't provide a similar means of correction.

I've not encountered nor can I even recall hearing about valve recession (decreasing clearance) issues on Honda engines. It's just a general widening of the gap, which doesn't cause damaged like valves that are being held open. Just noise, and I would imagine as the clearance gets wider and the parts are kind of 'slapping together' harder, the rate of wear may increase. Though it may plateau at some point with enough beating.

That's all speculation, main point being that Honda a) does use solid lifters but b) doesn't stress valve adjustments, and many people put 200k+ on their 4cyls without ever doing it.

And I guess c) when checked at the often-recommended 100k, all the engines I've done have needed a minor tightening on some, but not all, valves. I just can't call it critical.

What sucks is engines that just use direct cam-on-bucket action with solid parts. PITA to adjust those. The idea behind modern solid valvetrains, though, is that we've come a long way with regard to metallurgy, and the steel is just so damned hard that it shouldn't wear appreciably within the expected 200-300k service life of the engine.
 
SpatiallyAware said:
Interesting, good info thanks. I did not know there were so many Hondas with adjustable valves.
Click to expand...

Many newer cars are going to solid lifters either with manual adjusters or shims. Better production tolerances mean that solid lifters can go 100,000 miles or more between adjustments and the lighter weight and greater simplicity of solid lifters are benefits (very slight fuel mileage benefit and solid lifters are cheaper too).

Hydraulic lifters are expensive to replace and do wear out. While they last a long time, they do fail (had to replace several spongy 26-year-old hydraulic lifters in my 951 recently at ~$200+ each).

ZV
 
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