Check your plugs!

[cboney]

So, after noticing that the car seemed to be chugging a bit more than usual and a bit of hesitation on full throttle and sometimes not as peppy on throttle response, i decided to check my plugs.

Good thing i did, they were quite a bit white (prob from Cobb AP used to have) and were clearly ready candidates for a new set.

Pulled up to Mazda and $72 later I had a new set of factory plugs.

Notes and differences:

1. The old plugs say FoMoCo and have no NGK logo.
2. the new plugs say Mazda and "NGK" is engraved on the metal portion.

I installed them yesterday and she started up nice and smooth. Driving around town seems noticeably peppier, most especially throttle response. Got on it today in 4th into full boost and power delivery is like it was when the car was brand new, but a bit stronger. I'm in love with my car again.

Word of advice: Check your plugs, they may be good, they may not be.

PS - only 20K on my car. Also, i did NOT reset the ECU or unhook the battery, these are verifiable gains (through running properly again i assume, not through power gains) in throttle response and power, not my imagination.

 

[Dparks7]

$72 for plugs? they better be gold plated or something

 

[jlocurto]

yeah really $72 is a lot...i payed 40 for my denso itv 22

 

[Sphincter]

^ Where did you get your denso plugs at? I'm trying to find the cheapest place. eBay?

 

[8.5MS3]

street unit 45 shipped

 

[iSpoon]

I got the NGK's on eBay for 45. I looked up the part number to find them. He said he got them from the dealer and we all know what the mark up is like there.

 

[CWPspeed3]

I had my MAF die on me and I'm wondering if my plugs got messed up because of it. I notice a bit of hesitation but usually partial throttle off the line and low speeds. The car ran like s*** when the MAF was bad, practically having raw fuel dump out the tail pipe.

 

[MSMS3]

Maybe some of that $72 was diagnostic?

BTW: You can walk in any good local auto parts store and get just about any NGK plug, or they can get them for you over night. I got my NGK Iridium IX one step colder plugs for $6.99 per plug. Walked in to a local Advance Auto Parts store, told them what I wanted and they said they'd have them in the next day. They did. They have them in stock heat range pre-gapped. One step colder, like I wanted due to my mods, had to be regapped. No prob.

You guys are paying WAY TOO MUCH for plugs.

 

[mckraut]

I have Denso plugs on the way from JC Whitney for $48.95 shipped.

 

[8.5MS3]

My ITV22's were $45 shipped and that was the best price i found. Autozone, strauss etc wanted 12.99 a plug

 

[iSpoon]

Maybe some of that $72 was diagnostic?

BTW: You can walk in any good local auto parts store and get just about any NGK plug, or they can get them for you over night. I got my NGK Iridium IX one step colder plugs for $6.99 per plug. Walked in to a local Advance Auto Parts store, told them what I wanted and they said they'd have them in the next day. They did. They have them in stock heat range pre-gapped. One step colder, like I wanted due to my mods, had to be regapped. No prob.

You guys are paying WAY TOO MUCH for plugs.

Where I got mine on eBay was cheaper than any Advanced Auto by me and Autozone did not carry them.

 

[SallySpeed3]

He did go to the Dealer, so not surprised about the 72 bucks. I never understood why our cars came with Ford Spark Plugs. I mean I know Ford owns shares in Mazda, but I didn't actually think Mazda used Ford parts.

 

[zx2man]

well mazda does use ford parts..they might be labled mazda but it will be the same as a ford part..this does not apply to everything..but you will notice on alot of things,aisde from part#'s the parts of identical...anyways back to the point..yeah WAY to much freakin money for plugs!!!!!!! I paid 40 bucks for my ivt22's from surgeline..but thats what happens when you go to the stealership

 

[jnr5005]

Does anyone think I would feel a difference in performance by adding 1-step colder plugs? I have over 40k miles on factory plugs. I am running Stage 1- 93 octane, and sometimes see some KR.

Also, if I were to change plugs, what needs to be done as far as ECU/AccessPort resetting?

 

[MSMS3]

Does anyone think I would feel a difference in performance by adding 1-step colder plugs? I have over 40k miles on factory plugs. I am running Stage 1- 93 octane, and sometimes see some KR.

Also, if I were to change plugs, what needs to be done as far as ECU/AccessPort resetting?

If you are running Cobb AccessPort, their instructions specifically suggest that you run one step colder plugs and that you narrow the gap down to .026 -.028. See the documentation at their web site for more details.

 

[jnr5005]

Crap, I thought I heard it was optional for Stage 1?

 

[8.5MS3]

its recommended that you go colder since boost levels are higher, however if you dont go WOT often its not that big a deal, they just wont last 100k miles, you'll be able to tell if you get some KR.

 

[jnr5005]

Thanks, I guess I don't have to bother checking them. This should help with the KR then? I will just order the plugs.

 

[chubbs]

i checked mine after 8k itv-22's. had some soot but thats about it. cleaned em with maf cleaner and reinstalled.

 

[Doc-1]

.028 I am not sure but that is a bit narrow. .032 to 035 sounds a lot better to me