Spark plug differences?

[Gravija]

I am going to change my spark plugs because upon startup on cold days, the car just dies unless I hold down the gas for like 15-30 seconds.

I searched and came up with using the NGK PFR6B-11 or PFR6G-11
One poster mentioned however using spark-plugs.com that there are iridium plugs, are these better than the platinum plugs?

Would I be able to use them in my car?

Thanks

[Beav]

Iridium or platinum will work fine. I doubt they are the cause of your problem though. I'd suggest cleaning your throttle body and checking the idle air bypass valve.

[Weasel 22]

I am going to change my spark plugs because upon startup on cold days, the car just dies unless I hold down the gas for like 15-30 seconds.

I searched and came up with using the NGK PFR6B-11 or PFR6G-11
One poster mentioned however using spark-plugs.com that there are iridium plugs, are these better than the platinum plugs?

Would I be able to use them in my car?

Thanks
I use the NGK Iridiums...the difference may be shorter overall life of the plug compared to the Platinums..traded off for better overall performance of the Iridium compared to the Platinum plug..really comes down to your preference..no problems for me using the Iridiums..Ive used them for a few years now

[blacknite]

WHEN I WENT TO THE DEALER TO GET THE STOCK PLUGS THEY GAVE ME THE IRIDIUM. AND THAT THEY SHOULD LAST ABOUT 60k MILES. YEAH THEY ARE EXDPENSIVE BUT AT LEAST I DONN'T HAVE TO REPLACE THEM THAT OFTEN AND AT THE LONG RUN IT SAVES MONEY.... I BELIVE THAY ARE ABOUT 12-15 BUCKS A PIECE. BUT WORTH IT....

[Earthworm]

I searched and came up with using the NGK PFR6B-11 or PFR6G-11The stock plugs are the PFR6B-11's. I asked a local place about the Bosch plugs and it was recommended to stay away from those if I want the engine to run properly.

[Mr. Pockets]

WHEN I WENT TO THE DEALER TO GET THE STOCK PLUGS THEY GAVE ME THE IRIDIUM. AND THAT THEY SHOULD LAST ABOUT 60k MILES. YEAH THEY ARE EXDPENSIVE BUT AT LEAST I DONN'T HAVE TO REPLACE THEM THAT OFTEN AND AT THE LONG RUN IT SAVES MONEY.... I BELIVE THAY ARE ABOUT 12-15 BUCKS A PIECE. BUT WORTH IT....

Please don't type in all caps.

The stock NGK platinum plugs are supposed to be good for 100k miles. I pulled my original plugs after 133k miles and they were all really fine. I replaced them, anyway, but I don't expect to for some time again.

That's fine by me - that was a pain in the ass.

[Beav]

I'll second the comment on the Bosch plugs, I've replaced many of them that were short-lived. Especially avoid their +4 plugs, more electrodes = too much spark shrouding.

[WGJ]

Just read your info on plugs.
Thanx,
Bill

[THAWA]

I dunno about platinum or iridium. Copper is a much better material for spark plugs. I don't really mind the need to change them more often either since I don't drive that much :)

[WGJ]

Is copper a better material for spark plugs? I was under the impression platinum plugs were a big tecnological advance. The stock/OEM NGKs retail around $17 apiece here, but as mentioned above, they do seem to last a long time. I'm splitting the difference and installing a set of "double platinum" Autolites. They retail for $5 apiece. Whaddaya think? "Anyone, anyone?"

Oh, Beav, thanks for the warning about Bosch plugs, my friendly neighborhood race mechanic completely agrees. I'll ask him tommorrow about copper plugs and post what he says. As the German soldier in Laugh In used to say, "Very interesting". (Yeah, I know, Laugh In's a v. old reference.)
WGJ

[WGJ]

Got me curious, Here's an interesting Autolite link:

http://www.autolite.com/framer.cgi?page=http://www.autolite.com/products/platpro.htm

WGJ

[THAWA]

I'm sorry, I should have clarified what I was saying. Copper is more conductive than the others. To make a long story short a copper plug will perform better than an iridium or platinum. The advantage iridium and platinum have over copper is that they dont wear as quickly and need to be changed. I forget which is a longer lasting plug, but iridium is more conductive than platinum so I would ASSume that platinums would last longer than Iridiums. I will never use anything autolite makes in a car again. Their quality is quite poor. What they say on the site is all true, but one thing to note is that while it does keep the performance close to new a longer time, that performance is still less than a coppers performance.

[WGJ]

Thanks, very interesting. While doing my research came across this about Bosch plugs:

Clean Power will not work with Bosch Platinum plugs:
BECAUSE THE PLUG DOES NOT PUT OUT A LARGE ENOUGH SPARK TO LITE-OFF GASOLINE WHEN CLEAN POWER IS IN THE FUEL. Look at the end of the pen you write with, that is the size of the electrode on a Bosch plug, the spark is too small. Try this yourself , this will prove to be true. Just change the spark plug to any other plug, including the Bosch regular spark plug and your engine will run better when CLEAN POWER is in the tank. This mainly affects MTBE gasoline sold in California .It is just that we can not be held accountable for a lack of power improvement, if you have Bosch Platinum plugs installed in your engine. In other words Clean Power increases the air mass density and resistance just enough to put out the spark form a Bosch Platinum plug.
If you get good results with Bosch Platinum plugs with CLEAN POWER with gas sold in other states or countries please let us know!

WGJ

[NikFu S.]

What Beav said.
However, concerning the longevity of the spark plugs, I researched this a while ago and my information may not be entirely correct, but in addition to the improved conductivity of iridium over platinum, they are supposed to be more dense and more resistant to heat, therefore longer lasting.
I changed my plugs from stock to NGK iridium after about 82k was put on the odo. They seemed alright. There's really no noticeable change when converting to iridium, but if you have plans in upgrading other spark and ignition related components I'm sure they won't be the bottleneck in the system.