Iridium plugs?
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Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Oak Harbor, OH
Iridium plugs?
Hey all, I've got a '98 Olds intrigue with a 3.8 v6 in it. OE plugs were iridium, am I going to have to worry about anything by going to standard copper plugs? I already know that I'll have to change them after 30 to 40k miles instead of the ~100k. I don't care about that.
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Joined: Apr 2004
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Just the plugs going to poop earlier and the engine running like poop earlier, maybe, and the time you'll spend fooling with something 3 times instead of once....maybe. Or don't worry at all, it could blow up before the cheap plugs wear out or you could hit an abutment....live for today, we all get plugged eventually. No, I'm not drinking.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2001
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From: Running Springs CA
Sideways mounted V-6 engines are usually a nightmare when it comes to changing plugs on the rear bank. That is one of the reasons for iridium OE plugs. If your installation makes plug access ok, or you are a glutton for punishment, you may be ok with standard plugs, if you can get the proper heat range. If I was going cheap, Id at least use platinum, that are often on sale at less than $3 each. The other reason for OE use of iridium or platinum is the fine wire electrode that decreases the amount of voltage necessary to fire accross a wide gap, leading to a more reliable light off of lean mixtures. You cannot necessarily install standard plugs and gap them correctly to get the same result.
BTW "copper" is somewhat of a misnomer. Copper or its alloys, brass and bronze, would melt in seconds exposed to combustion. The electrodes are nickel, not copper. The copper is in the core of the plug to increase heat transfer. Platinum and iridium electrode plugs also have a copper core. NGK pioneered copper cores and the rest of the industry copied them, probably after the patent expired.
Jim
BTW "copper" is somewhat of a misnomer. Copper or its alloys, brass and bronze, would melt in seconds exposed to combustion. The electrodes are nickel, not copper. The copper is in the core of the plug to increase heat transfer. Platinum and iridium electrode plugs also have a copper core. NGK pioneered copper cores and the rest of the industry copied them, probably after the patent expired.
Jim
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Lead Driver
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From: Oak Harbor, OH
I'm just dreading the $6 to $8 a piece for the iridiums. I don't plan on the car lasting another 90k miles. After all it is a GM and I've not had ANY luck with an american made GM product that was built after about 1980. It's got the GEN 2 buick 3.8 in it and it's an OK engine. I have heard they are reliable, but my dad just rebuilt one in a '98 delta 88 that had 70k miles on it. So I'm not holding my breath. I guess I'll spend the $200 on tune up parts and have at it.
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From: Saratoga, NY
I'm just dreading the $6 to $8 a piece for the iridiums. I don't plan on the car lasting another 90k miles. After all it is a GM and I've not had ANY luck with an american made GM product that was built after about 1980. It's got the GEN 2 buick 3.8 in it and it's an OK engine. I have heard they are reliable, but my dad just rebuilt one in a '98 delta 88 that had 70k miles on it. So I'm not holding my breath. I guess I'll spend the $200 on tune up parts and have at it.
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Lead Driver
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From: Oak Harbor, OH
Why replace the coil packs, on a GM they are often the first part of ignition system to fail. I've seen it too many times. It's a good idea to change them with the plugs. In this case every 100k or so. It's called PREVENTIVE maintenance. You know replace an old part that probably isn't performing as well as it did when new with a new one to avoid problems later. That and I have a really annoying intermittent miss at idle.
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Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Oak Harbor, OH
I witnessed it myself in some cavaliers and others as well. The coil packs tend to wear out. We had a '93 cavi with a 3.1 come in that was only running on two cylinders. Replaced the three coil packs and it was fine. I've also had other cars in the family die for unknown reasons only to find out that the coil packs died. It seems like cheap insurance to me. If you're only replacing plugs every 100k anyway (the reason for the platinum or iridium plugs) why not.
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From: Saratoga, NY
Why replace the coil packs, on a GM they are often the first part of ignition system to fail. I've seen it too many times. It's a good idea to change them with the plugs. In this case every 100k or so. It's called PREVENTIVE maintenance. You know replace an old part that probably isn't performing as well as it did when new with a new one to avoid problems later. That and I have a really annoying intermittent miss at idle.
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