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General Should I change spark plugs at 30k

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General Should I change spark plugs at 30k

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Mila

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My car is approaching 30,000kms. I don't think the dealer will change it at the next service. (I'll ask them).

So far the fuel economy is great and no loss of power. But having read some posts on this forum the oem plugs aren't that great.

Good idea or waste of money changing them soon?
Reason I asked because the changes in performance maybe so gradual I may have not noticed any difference. Seems to drive great as far as I know.
 
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Any discussion of spark plugs must take into consideration which engine variant is fitted.

The 1.2 & 1.4's have 1950's technology coppercore plugs fitted as standard; they will be past their best after as little as 5,000 miles and utterly shagged out long before you make it to Fiat's recommended 18,000 mile service interval. Replacing these with the nearest Iridium equivalent will likely show a discernable improvement in starting and cold running even on a brand new car fresh from the factory. For 1.2/1.4 owners with the ability to change their own, upgrading to iridiums is easily the best £30 you could spend on the car. The plugs you need are NGK DCPR7EIX.

The TA has platinum plugs as standard; these should still be absolutely fine after 18,000 miles and tbh I'm surprised Fiat don't extend the plug replacement interval on the TA to 36k; the money you'd save would IMO be better spent changing the oil more frequently.

I've run Iridium replacements in a 1.2 FIRE for over 40,000 miles now and they're performing just as well as the day they were fitted; the car sailed through its last MOT with all the emissions numbers spot on.
 
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This would be a Technical term then ?? "they will be past their best after as little as 5,000 miles and utterly shagged out long before you make it to Fiat's recommended 18,000 mile service interval. " :) :devil:
 
Ok so I have the 1.2 8v pop manual (Australia). So the plugs jrkitching mention bed is suitable for this motor?

Thanks a lot guys for the replies!
 
Mila said:
Ok so I have the 1.2 8v pop manual (Australia). So the plugs jrkitching mention bed is suitable for this motor?
Click to expand...

Yes Mila, NGK DCPR7EIX are the ones you need if you want to go Iridium.

I've been running them in my 1.2 500 for the past four years, with no issues.
 
"1950's technology coppercore plugs"

JR, I thought spark plugs had reached the end of their development cycle and were beyond improvement - one of those simple inventions that somehow just "does it right".

So I was surprised to see your quote above and realised I was perhaps out of touch. Could you explain how things have moved on in the spark plug world? Or are these newer plugs just a more expensive option?

Many thanks!
 
I endorse JR's opinion on TA plugs above. I just had mine replaced with Iridiums, the previous Fiat fitted plugs having done 13,000 miles (assuming they were changed by Fiat at 18,000!) and can't detect any difference. Bit of a shame as they cost me nearly 30 quid, but my mechanic reckons they'll have double the life, so I won't be changing them again anytime soon!
 
Officina red said:
Would it affect the warranty, if the 500 is less than 3 years old ?
Click to expand...

Yes it would, the Iridium replacements aren't standard parts.

Of course, some folks doing the job themselves might keep the old ones to swap back before taking the car in for warranty work ;).

snes said:
JR, I thought spark plugs had reached the end of their development cycle and were beyond improvement - one of those simple inventions that somehow just "does it right".

Could you explain how things have moved on in the spark plug world?
Click to expand...

Sure.

One of the things which has moved on a long way in the past 50 years is metallurgy & materials technology - probably the prime reason why modern cars are so much more reliable and need much less servicing.

Iridium is a far, far harder metal than copper; the centre electrode on an iridium plug is much finer than on its copper cored equivalent and has much sharper edges; it also wears at perhaps a tenth of the rate.

Sparks discharge more reliably from sharp points; also the finer diameter electrode makes spark placement both more precise and more consistent.

Another factor is the move toward adding ethanol to fuel. This inevitably means the fuel will also contain some water (ethanol is hygroscopic); this makes the fuel more corrosive (particularly this is an issue if the engine is run briefly and stopped before it's fully warm). Ir plugs also have superior corrosion resistance.

Yes, they cost about twice the price of copper cored plugs, but they'll last at least four times as long; the savings in time (if you do your own servicing) or labour costs (if you take it to a garage) also help to make Ir plugs a more cost effective option in the longer term.

They say a picture paints a thousand words, so here's one I posted earlier (the OEM copper cored plug is the one at the top). This is one of those pictures where it really does pay to 'click to enlarge'.
 

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jrkitching said:
Yes it would, the Iridium replacements aren't standard parts.

Of course, some folks doing the job themselves might keep the old ones to swap back before taking the car in for warranty work ;).



Sure.

One of the things which has moved on a long way in the past 50 years is metallurgy & materials technology - probably the prime reason why modern cars are so much more reliable and need much less servicing.

Iridium is a far, far harder metal than copper; the centre electrode on an iridium plug is much finer than on its copper cored equivalent and has much sharper edges; it also wears at perhaps a tenth of the rate.

Sparks discharge more reliably from sharp points; also the finer diameter electrode makes spark placement both more precise and more consistent.

Another factor is the move toward adding ethanol to fuel. This inevitably means the fuel will also contain some water (ethanol is hygroscopic); this makes the fuel more corrosive (particularly this is an issue if the engine is run briefly and stopped before it's fully warm). Ir plugs also have superior corrosion resistance.

Yes, they cost about twice the price of copper cored plugs, but they'll last at least four times as long; the savings in time (if you do your own servicing) or labour costs (if you take it to a garage) also help to make Ir plugs a more cost effective option in the longer term.

They say a picture paints a thousand words, so here's one I posted earlier (the OEM copper cored plug is the one at the top). This is one of those pictures where it really does pay to 'click to enlarge'.
Click to expand...

wow yes looks right! here are my standard plugs after about 12,000 miles. They look basically the same as yours.
 

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