Iridium plugs in a 2nd gen 6

Thanks for the reply!

 

I went with NGK Irridium spark plugs for a few months right after getting my truck (was passed the 30k mark) so I didn't notice anything different considering I only drove it for a few weeks beforehand. After reading about them requiring copper plugs from the factory and asking a Toyota master mechanic about it, I took an hour to change themback to Toyota Denso copper plugs to see if I noticed anything... after all, I enjoy working and caring for my truck so I figured every 30k wouldn't bother me. Easy job.

Anyway, after changing them out yesterday, I took it out and my truck is noticeably more responsive and a smoother ride especially when accelerating onto the highway. I read a lot of mixed things about the Irridium and copper plugs before changing them out and didn't think there would be much of a difference. I was definitely wrong.

 

There are several reasons Toyota doesn't install iridium plugs from the factory. Every single one of them comes from the accounting department. The engineering department would put them in in a heart beat. First copper plugs cost less. Toyota saves $10/truck with copper and since 2005 they've sold 3,027,601 Tacomas. That's 30 million dollars of pure profit. Another accounting room decision is stealerships can charge stupid money to change the spark plugs every 30K miles. You've gotta know that the stealers love that sweet, sweet, over priced maintenance money.

From the engineering department they know that the only difference between a copper plug and an iridium plug is a tiny bit of iridium smaller than the head of a pin where the spark hits. The iridium is harder than the nickel alloy and resists the erosion from the spark better. I've read many posts about how iridium has higher resistance and I'm like dude do you even know how electricity works at 50K volts? At those voltages a few ohms of resistance difference is like the difference between hitting a mosquito and a gnat with the windshield at 70 mph. They both splat into nothing. I've also read many posts about how I put in plug X and I could feel the difference. But were all things equal? Was there a bias that one would be better than the other? The only way to tell would be to have a disinterested 3rd party install one type and then the other and let the owner see if they could tell the difference.

I've got 80K miles on my iridium plugs and should probably take a look at them. But not now, it's still too damn cold in the garage.

 

When you pull them I'd love to see them. It was an easy decision to go with them after I did my research. Ive got 30k / 5 years on them now so Id be due to change them but I don't have to. Nice. At the rate I'm driving it now I may never have to again. At least not for a Looooog time

 

Yea, I really thought the same too. Perhaps it was the plugs I went with, I won't know unless I give Irridium another go around.

I will say though I do notice more punch when I hit the throttle getting up to speed. Both packs of plugs were brand new and gapped correctly.

Honestly, I don't know if I can believe that Toyota would only try to save money on the Tacoma and not any of the other vehicles they do send out with irridiums. From what I can gather, the 1gr engine before being updated required premium gas and the same engine in these Tacomas doesn't require it. Whether or not those things are related to decrease the likelihood of knock, I don't know. I'm merely just pointing out my observations from the plugs I used.

 

see post #56 on page 3 for the proper IR plugs

 

Yep, same plugs I bought.

 

I will post pictures when I do pull them. Right now spring is being a big tease, 60 degrees one day 30 degrees the next. I've got to do an oil change so that will be the perfect time to check them out.

 

From where? Amazon and E-Bay are pretty much all counterfeit plugs these days (yes, including “Sold by Amazon”). But if you bought them from an actual auto parts store then they should be genuine.

 

They did come from Amazon, so they may very well could have been fake plugs. So I'll chalk it up to that. Maybe in 30k when I pull my plugs I'll give the NGK Irridium another go from a parts store.

As for the "money saved" aspect, I figure if I'm pulling them every 30 to 40k to check gap, what's it hurt spending 15 bucks on plugs? I spend more on oil every 3 months.

 

I'm not pulling mine. No need to. That's the point. I'll wait till the op pulls his after 80k or whatever and see.

 

If using anti seize remember to back off from the torque spec.

 

Thanks for replying! Yeah, probably good you removed them. There have been cases of Amazon/E-Bay counterfeits fracturing in the head and causing nasty engine damage. If they were from Amazon and not acting as expected then pulling them was definitely the safest thing to do just in case!

 

It was a beautiful spring day and what better way to spend some of those daylight saving time hours than pulling spark plugs . Gents, the following pictures show the reason why you install iridium plugs. I only pulled one because there is no point whatsoever to pull the rest. Here are the numbers: 88,900 miles on the plugs, gap was set to .040 and still measures .040. Nice tan color on the insulator, and it came out as nice as you please. (I did use anti-seize when they were installed.) I don't know what more to say. Pushing 90K miles and they look brand new. I might pull them at 180K miles on the plugs, but realistically I probably won't keep the truck that long.