Rep Power: 230

best way of knowing if you should be changing spark plugs out? ive had my car for 3 years and ive never changed them. is that time length an indicator enough? or should that not matter?

how else would i know if i need some new ones?

 
Rep Power: 227

Usually you go by milage but I dont remember the recomended, like 60k I think? Or if you are getting misfires, rough idle ect. I replaced mine with some nice Denso Irridium plugs when I baught the car with 25k on it and they looked a bit rough.

 
Rep Power: 291

Spark plugs are cheap so buying 4 wouldn't set you back very much.

 
Rep Power: 221

Spark plugs should be changed once a year to keep your engine running optimally. And as someone already said, they don't cost much and don't take long to change, so why not just change them?

I recommend NGK Iridium or Denso Iridium. I just put in the NGKs yesterday. Picked 'em up at Canadian Tire for about $45 CDN.

 
Rep Power: 812

well if youre running iridium you could wait a few years and be fine. those were made to last. copper i would change every year since theyre so cheap.

 
Rep Power: 812

well if youre running iridium you could wait a few years and be fine. those were made to last. copper i would change every year since theyre so cheap.

 
Rep Power: 230

well considering ive never changed them, and the guy who had my car before i bought it didnt seem big into modifying anything, im going to guess that theyre basic plugs and may have only been changed during a tuneup or whatever.

so from what ive searched and found is that everyones recommended copper or iridium and said forget platinum, is that correct?

they have 3 types at autovalue, the v-power which are 15$/set, the iridium ix which are 40$/set, or the laser platinum ones that are 64$/set.

im thinking just go with iridium ix, what does anyone else recommend...from experience, and why?

 
Rep Power: 230

i know theyre cheap and i know theyre easy to change, that wasnt really my question. im wondering how you know or when or what the indicator is to tell you that you need new plugs. ie. the colour, the appearance, number of km on the car, time length, etc etc. what tells you really, or is it more of a 'its probably time to change them' type thing?

they arent all very cheap, some are only about 15 for a set, but some go up to 60-70 for a set of 4

 
Rep Power: 221

Yeah man, that's what I heard as well. Although, my car was idling roughly, so I thought I would check my plugs. I put in a set of Denso Iridium last summer, so it had almost been a year. Anyway, when I pulled them out, and the base of the porcelain insulator was burnt quite badly. Perhaps this doesn't matter so much, but I decided to change them anyway. The idle isn't so rough anymore.

 
Rep Power: 812

i think im going on 2 yrs with the denso ir and they still seem fine. some burning and discoloration is normal, they are getting exploded alot afterall lol

 
Rep Power: 258

thought honda said to change them 100,000 miles?

 
Rep Power: 313

I see what he is saying. He does not want to pull out perfectly good spark plugs and replace them. Honda says 100, 000km for a reason. Why spend 45 dollars and create waste if you don't need to? I would say pull the spark plug out and check for irregular wear, especially to the electrode part. See if there are any cracks or breaks. Just be careful and maybe check the threads if your putting the old plugs back in to make sure you dont strip the threads, because if you do your in big trouble!!!

 
Rep Power: 230

yea i am going to change them. im going to pick up some ngk iridium ix from partsource, i think the guy said just over 40 for a set of 4. my car is at 120k km so its about that time. i doubt theyve ever been changed.

as for you guys who have changed them already, im wondering if my socket extension is long enough, how long does it need to be to fit in there?

 
Rep Power: 812

6 inch should work

 
Rep Power: 221

Also, I don't know if you've changed spark plugs before in an aluminum head...but MAKE SURE that the head is cool to the touch before taking out your current plugs. Don't over-tighten them either...the manual calls for 13 ft. lbs. (or 2/3 of a turn of the ratchet after contact with the head is made).

 
Rep Power: 258

is it 100,000 km or 100,000 miles?

 
Rep Power: 230

most likely 100 000 km. if it was 100k miles, that would come out to like 170 000km. i doubt they would recommend waiting that long for anything at honda.

 
Rep Power: 230

anyway, i just went to partsource and picked up 4 ngk iridium ix plugs and installed them. i put a very little amount of anti seize cream on the threads just to help a slight bit and i installed them. everything went pretty well and it wasnt hard at all. just have to make sure you dont over tighten them or under tighten them. it turned on just fine...it seemed to turn on a bit easier.

oh and heres a laugh just for you gearbox, i remember you saying you used to refuse to sell people bosch...guess what was in my car? bosch platinums haha. anyway, heres an attached pic to compare the difference of my old plugs with 1 of the new ngk iridium ix plugs.


i also changed my cabin filters too. for you canadians, i went to auto value to get a set. honda wants over $40, partsource wants just over 30, and autovalue only wanted 21, so i went to auto value. i should have also taken a macro shot of the cabin filters, there was anything and everything in them from leaves, bugs, bees, dirt etc etc. i took a comparison shot of that too.
oh and for you guys who are too lazy to empty out your glove compartment if you want to change your filters, this is just for you! simply place a water bottle upright underneath the glove compartment as you let it downward. haha.

 
Rep Power: 812

at least you got ngk now lol. cabin filters yeah, should be changed yearly.

 
Rep Power: 228

hmmm....going on three years and no new cabin filters.....

....guess i should jump on that train....no wonder my allergies suck....

 
Rep Power: 313

Nice pictures. When I changed my cabin filters I had half a bird in there... nice eh?

 
Rep Power: 230

haha nasty

 
Rep Power: 260

its 100k MILES not KM...i believe it states this in the owners manual. When I bought the car it was listed on the window sticker that it had 100k mile interval spark plugs.

 
Rep Power: 0

you should just change them already

 
Rep Power: 253

Best way is to just pull an old one and look at it.. crazy Idea I know..go figure lmao

 
Rep Power: 235

I use ngk vpower and just change them yearly. Pretty simple to use, a spark plug socket is helpful, it has a rubber piece to help pull the plugs out.

 
Rep Power: 313

Why pull spark plugs out yearly? That means your putting like 20, 000 miles on the plugs unless you do major, major mileage??? That seems like a waste especially if your using expensive plugs like NGK's.

They are designed to go much longer unless there is a problem with your engine. Pull them out yearly and check them that I understand but change them is a bit much.

 
Rep Power: 235

Lol it costs me $8 for all 4 plugs and about 10 minutes to change them. I think I can do that yearly with no problem. This also allows me to check the color of the spark plugs often so I can make 100% sure Im not running too rich or too lean. So why not?

 
Rep Power: 230

yea its not hard to change them, and its an easy check that can tell you a lot about your car. anyway, if i was only putting in plugs that were 2$ each, i would change them every year too. the ngk iridium ix plugs though are over 40$ for the set so i dont plan on changing them anytime soon. i still might pull them and check now and then though.

 
Rep Power: 235

See, I didnt notice a difference between iridium and just the regular ngks so Id rather just have brand new plugs in all the time.