Rep Power: 253

Just wondering if anyone knew the difference between the PKJ20CR-M11 regular platinum plug that comes standard on our Civic, and the Denso IK20 Iridium plug available for our cars. These Iridiums are supposed to be better but they only cost roughly $8 a plug on amazon as apposed to the standard platinum that cost almost $14. Just curious why is that, I assume the Irridiums are better and should cost more then the platinums. I know that expensive doesnt always mean better, but in this case I think it should especially with the same company.

 
Rep Power: 811

stock is double platinum, relatively the worst plug you can use (copper is better). only reason for the hi price is platinum being expensive i guess. copper conducts better, but doesnt last long. iridium ik20 is the best due to ultra small electrode and it greatly reduces the electrical load to make the spark. no hp gains, even denso will not lie and says it increases hp. but it will make the car run better and free up electrical power (better gas mileage). however, they only last 30k miles being "racing" plugs with a thin electrode. my first set made it to 30k recently and still performed exactly like the fresh set i dropped in. so no performance loss as the plug gets old like other plugs.

 
Rep Power: 253

hmm so I guess using the regular OEM Densos are a waste. My current ngk v powers are not doing so good right now. I will pick up some Ik20s then, thanks

 
Rep Power: 207

Make sure you gap whatever you get!

 
Rep Power: 811

ik20 should not need gapping. i verified and they are all set properly. if you try to gap iridium, the tip will break off. oem plugs are a waste yes. and vpower are good but to keep the same performance you need to change em yearly (at most 2 yrs but thats pushing it).

 
Rep Power: 253

How can I be sure they are gapped correctly? I plan to buy them from Autozone where they sell the same plug for 1,000's of the same car?

 
Rep Power: 207

Just gat a gapper tool. Auto zone has em for under a dollar...

They should also be able to tell you what gap to set them at. I suggest buying a Chiltons or Haynes manual for your car while you are there. It will cover all of this stuff and will show you how to do it all.

 
Rep Power: 811

when i gapped my ik20s, they were all at 0.040-0.044 which is pretty much what our car calls for. always good to double check tho.

 
Rep Power: 214

They have gapping tools at auto zone and other auto parts stores. Just get it and check the gap like in the picture demonstration that Mad Dog put up. Its real simple and takes like 2 mins to check all 4.

 
Rep Power: 253

lol I know HOW to gap spark plugs, but I thought these were not supposed to be gapped? Am I able to change the spark gap slightly on irridiums?

 
Rep Power: 811

no, you can only check the gap. any forceful gapping will damage the electrode.