NGK Iridium IX vs NGK LASER PLATINUM OEM ? Cost, Mpg, performance ?

W

wrxsti04

Member
Location
NC
Car
FX
I am due for Spark plugs soon and can't decide between 2 of the NGK spark plugs. It appears The LASER PLATINUM are the OEM spark plugs

[TABLE="width: 95%"]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Laser Platinum[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]PLFR5A-11 * #
[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]
6240​
[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]
.044​
[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]
camera.gif
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Iridium IX[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]LFR5AIX-11[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]
4469​
[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]
.044​
[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]
camera.gif
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

* “Laser Series” Platinum center electrode, and Platinum pad ground electrode
# Original Equipment Manufacturer, and/or Original Equipment Service Part

The Strange thing is that that the Iridium's cost less then the Laser but from what I understand the iridium need to be replaced at 60K vs 105K on the platinums
I was reading on 350Z boards and they where recommend the Iridium for performance and if you don't mind changing them at 60K. Someone even stated that the newer G's and VQ engines had Iridiums now

Any recommendations or advice ?
 
Me personally I'll swap plugs out at 60k, I did mines around 70k. They looked decent. But I've read and heard so many stores about the spark plugs tube seals leaking damaging coil packs or having plug seized in there, I don't want to push it to 105k.

Piece of mind for me. As long as you go with NGK in the proper heat range your golden. I normally go for whats cheapest. I found oem ngk plugs on ebay that came out to be $3.50 each shipped. Plus they are a cake to replace not like fwd v6. Takes under an hour in most cases.
 
TurTLeG said:
Me personally I'll swap plugs out at 60k, I did mines around 70k. They looked decent. But I've read and heard so many stores about the spark plugs tube seals leaking damaging coil packs or having plug seized in there, I don't want to push it to 105k.

Piece of mind for me. As long as you go with NGK in the proper heat range your golden. I normally go for whats cheapest. I found oem ngk plugs on ebay that came out to be $3.50 each shipped. Plus they are a cake to replace not like fwd v6. Takes under an hour in most cases.
Click to expand...

Correct I have AWD and N/A should be normal temps not cold or hot.
 
I just did mine at 46K and surprisingly it made a difference. Throttle response is much better and I get slightly better mileage (like .2mpg better over the last 5 tanks). I swapped to Denso Iridiums. I do primarily city driving so that may be why swapping my plugs at such an early mileage made a difference.

Plugs are easy, but the AWD makes it slightly more annoying. The extra wiring harness blocks some stuff and has to be moved. Not a big deal. I'd rate it as about the same as my old VQ Maxima which had an annoying rear bank.
 
^ mines wasn't too much work, couple 10 mm bolts and golden. Try a 3.5 fwd where the plenum comes off.

I saw no change in anything. Power or mpg.
 
wrxsti04 said:
I am due for Spark plugs soon and can't decide between 2 of the NGK spark plugs. It appears The LASER PLATINUM are the OEM spark plugs

[TABLE="width: 95%"]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Laser Platinum
[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]PLFR5A-11 * #
[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]
6240​
[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]
.044​
[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]
camera.gif

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Iridium IX
[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]LFR5AIX-11
[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]
4469​
[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]
.044​
[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]
camera.gif

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

* “Laser Series” Platinum center electrode, and Platinum pad ground electrode
# Original Equipment Manufacturer, and/or Original Equipment Service Part

The Strange thing is that that the Iridium's cost less then the Laser but from what I understand the iridium need to be replaced at 60K vs 105K on the platinums
I was reading on 350Z boards and they where recommend the Iridium for performance and if you don't mind changing them at 60K. Someone even stated that the newer G's and VQ engines had Iridiums now

Any recommendations or advice ?
Click to expand...

The reason why the double platinum plugs last longer than the iridium spark plugs is because the d.platinum spark plugs have a platinum firing tip and a platinum plug on the eletrode, which prevents the tip and electrode from wearing too fast. The iridium plugs due do not have an special plug on the electrode, therefore the electrode wears down quicker than the platinum plug. However, the iridium spark plug has an smaller firing tip and produces a hotter spark even at high RPMs, so it is a better performance plug overall. The choice between the two comes down to better performance or a longer service life. However, there are some long life iridium plugs that has platinum plugs on the electrodes that can last 100k miles while giving better performance than a double platinum plug. Here is little information about the NGK iridium plugs.
http://www.ngk.com/learning-center/article/202/how-long-do-iridium-plugs-last
 
Last edited:
Went with NGK Iridium Ix Spark Plug (LFR5AIX-11)Part No 4469 since I was able to get 6 for around $30. Should have installed in next week or so.
 
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