Halo Spark Plugs

[crispone]

According to the sticker under the hood of MY solara, it clearly says use platinum multi-ground plugs.

I installed denso PK20TR11 that look like this...


On that same sticker there is a big "NO" cross through the single ground that looks like this...


I noticed a hell of a lot of people on this board are fans of the IRIDIUM PLUGS (i.e. denso IK20) that are "TRADITIONAL" SINGLE GROUND, installed in defiance of the almighty sticker! Why would Toyota affix a warning advising against these plugs?

Here is some info from www.sparkplugs.com:

Thus by having more ground electrodes you extend plug life. It is important to note that multi-ground does not mean multi-spark, there will still only be one spark at a time. Therefore a multi-ground plug will not perform any better and may actually perform worse than a traditional plug, unless the engine is designed for a multiple ground plug.

Am I missing out on potentially more power by using these OEM multi-ground platinum plugs? Is the only reason Toyota recommends them because of the time interval between platinum plug changes? Does anyone else's Solara have this spark plug sticker on the hood? How do platinum multi grounds compare to iridium single grounds in terms of performance and longevity?

I think you are answering your own question Paul... and if not, I meant to answer that earlier, but probably did not. EXACTLY! The "DON'T DO IT" circle/ban symbol over the single ground is not related to some FAILURE MODE that you are at risk of, rather, it is in CORRELATION to the service manual's stipulation of a CERTAIN INTERVAL between sparkplug changes... specifically, a LOOOONG interval. Hard to reach transverse V6 motors are frequent candidates of the PLATINUM plug... and DOUBLE GROUND design. You are NOT gaining performance here... just DURABILITY. Personally, I change plugs in my stuff MORE frequently as a matter of PRINCIPLE, so I PREFER the higher performance product, and "waive" the durability AND warning aside...

Someone else care to comment?

(Note: The BERU SILVERSTONE silver core and electrode plugs I use are NOT as durable as other metals... but they have VERY LOW RESISTANCE, a higher performance feature in the right setup...)

-crisp

[Nyyankees3511]

Bass that sticker was back in 1999. What i did is i went into the dealership and told them i had a 2003 Solara SLE which is the same car with the same engine and they gave me the iridium plugs marked as SK20r11. Also the ES300s also use this plug. Just ignore the sticker, even toyota did when they switched out the plugs with iridiums in 2003. I believe they finally used the iridiums because these actually last 90-120k compared to 30k with original iridiums that first came out.

[Midias]

From the factory my 01 SE v6 5 speed had denso double tip. So i replaced them with bosch double tips, after hearing bosch was a bad idea I replaced them again with NGK irridium IX. the NGKs are great plugs and last a long time, they are also standard equipment in a lot of honda's higher performance engines like the CL-S

[bassthrive]

I know sparkplugs cant increase power, but a less than ideal plug can surely be detrimental to performance and economy. This worried me the most (taken from sparkplugs.com)...

a multi-ground plug will not perform any better and may actually perform worse than a traditional plug, unless the engine is designed for a multiple ground plug.

"Designed for a multi ground" to me means the unique plug size/shape allows for the tighter clearances in special situations like rotary and very high compression engines. Therefore, what could the benefit of multi-ground platinum possibly be in our 1MZ-FE? Iridium single grounds are also indexable whereas multi's are not.

What is the difference between Denso's Iridium IK20 and NGK's IX Iridium BKR6EIX-11 besides the fact that NGK is about half the price! I have been running my oem platinums for a little over 30k miles, is it time to change?

[Island Solara]

Wow, lots of info to soak up. Once again....thanks for all the info!

[bassthrive]

I am installing NGK IX Iridiums this weekend. They are a dollar cheaper than the oem platinums...

[Midias]

I am installing NGK IX Iridiums this weekend. They are a dollar cheaper than the oem platinums...

I have been running them for about 6 months now no problems or misfires. Also I took one out of my dads Acura with about 100k miles on the plug for their recommended change interval and they were almost perfect factory gap.

[sydemoid]

gonna beat a dead horse here...

although you got mad info from crisp on this topic... and I do concur with crisp on all the info he provided.

It is ultimately your choice what to run under your hood man, Im using the Denso's, and believe it or not, you feel some difference between the stock plugs, and the Denso's , beacause the car's reaction is a little quicker (to me atleast).

On my old ride, I used Denso's, Ngk's, Bosch platinums, Splitfires (Big mistake)

that car had an MSD 6AL ignition box with a Blaster SS coil, 8.5mm plug wires, and it ran best with the Denso's. Too bad the engine blew up on me after 7 yrs of abuse, but, everything comes to an end....

Please keep in mind that with my example, the forethought behind the vehicle was nothing but performance. It still netted me 20-24MPG city, and 28-30MPG highway on 93 octane, and ran like a bat outta hell.

Obviously I have not invested the time nor $$$ into my Solara, to produce the same experience, but hey, with a V6 who needs to?

Im with the majority here, stick with NGK, or Denso.... you will not be disappointed, I can attest to both brands, since they both took a lot of abuse on my old car.... lol

Enjoy!