Time for a tune-up. Have had my 2000VFR for 50+ of its 75,000mi. She is getting a little rough around the edges and has lost some average gas mileage. I have done synthetic oil changes and air filter service at regular intervals, but I've not replaced the plugs since I've owned it. As far as I know, they may be the original plugs.
My bike never ever has trouble firing, it just feels a little rough. Gas mileage dropped from a 220/tank average to under 200 a bit for the last 6 mos.
My question is -- go OEM or Irridium? Is there any real gain and are they worth the price? Subjective,yes, but curious as to your experiences before I make a purchase. Any input appreciated.
If you've gone 50-75K on the original non-iridium plugs, then you might as well stick with non-iridium and go another 50-75K !
I noticed an immediate improvement in the idling and overall smoothness when I changed out the plugs. You're doing yourself and your bike a disservice by waiting so long to change them. I only had 28,000 miles and the improvement/smoothness was great. I went with the NGK iridium plugs but I really think that the main thing is just new plugs.
In my experience, the ONLY difference is longevity. Iridiums will easily go 50,000 miles & more.
I tried to move over to iridiums from platinums last year when I was experiencing some intermittent misfires with my engine last year. The local Honda dealer did not have iridiums in stock, so I just bought myself some "standard" NGK plugs to tide me over.
I eventually tracked down the problem to a bad battery/weak spark that was causing the misfires.. Forgot all about trying to get new iridiums for the bike but heck, the bike is running really well now so I decided it will just be a waste of money to get iridiums when the regular plugs are working so well.
I will be doing mine this winter. I picked up some iridium NGK's off Amazon a few months ago for a really good price. Paid around $6 each. it looks like they are around $8.50 each now.
http://www.amazon.co...arch_detailpage
NGK Iridiums here. Been working flawless on the 5th Gen. I put them in for longevity. Whether or not they hold up is yet to be seen
I picked up some Denso Iridium plugs on eBay for a song.
Way Better deal than any NGKs I could find.
+1 on that ^. Ebay for cheap.
In my experience, the ONLY difference is longevity. Iridiums will easily go 50,000 miles & more.
I went 56,000 miles on my second set of plugs in my 06vfr, bad move, ground electrode was near desentigrated, with huge gaps, surprised I had no runability issues.
40,000 miles max from now on, cars 100,000 mile is okay.
Iridiums made a difference in my 4th Gen. smoother/lower idle and a bit quicker to fire when starting. They had them at a Checker Auto Parts for only a $1 more than conventional, glad I spent the extra 4 bucks.
Copper plugs conduct the best. Platinum and iridium are for longetivity.
Copper plugs conduct the best. Platinum and iridium are for longetivity.
I suspect that's the case as my bike seems to now run very well with just conventional copper tipped plugs. After having platinums since it's first plug change I do not feel any need to buy another set of them for the bike or change over to iridiums at all.....
just replaced my plugs at the 12k recommended interval. Went with NGK rather then the Densos. Test ride in the Am, fired right up. Using 87 octane I dont see the need for special plugs.
Don't go a 100k miles on your cars plugs, I'd be very highly surprised if all still had their pucks or weren't fouled in
some way, well before 100k.
I regularly see cars with 200k on them and the plugs look fine ,no codes for misfire set in computer .I think it all depends on driving and how hot the engine gets when running intown trips or for longer highway runs . Iridium plugs seem to last longer and clean carbon or unburnt fuel away better than conventional plugs ,just my experience .
The first time I changed the plugs in my 2001, it was at 18k miles. The second time I did it at 58k miles (40k on the plugs) and they still looked good. Next change will be around the 98k-100k mile mark.
My 2003 GMC 2500HD on the other hand was supposed to have 100k mile plugs in it. At 82k miles I developed a slight miss at idle and changed the plugs along with the plug wires. In general I would think the engine turns half the speed of the VFR so the plugs should last twice as long.
I have changed plugs in other vehicles with 130k miles on them and they look pretty bad. Personally, I wouldn't ever wait that long.
My wifes Toyota and my chevy Colorado, both went 110,000 miles on the plugs(normal wear) just a maintenance change out, neither looked as severely worn as the vfr at 56,000 mile. The ground electrodes were nearly gone on the vfr.
I am a fan of the iridium plugs. They definitely last longer. I would say they are good for 25 to 50 thousand miles in a bike, and 50 to 80 thousand miles in a car/truck. I would venture to say that people that switch to iridium plugs from other plugs and see a huge initial improvement are just seeing that because the old plugs were shot. They would have seen the same improvement with a set of the same type of replacements. The difference is that the iridiums will perform well for a much longer period of time.
If you shop around you can find iridium plugs for just a dollar or two more each compared to the non-iridium plugs. I picked up my last set from NAPA for $6.50 each, about a year ago.
So after 65k miles I need to replace my original spark plugs. I think I will go with ngk iridium plugs. Does anyone know the correct number amazon is showing a couple different iridium plugs eg. cr8ehix-9, cr9ehix-9?
So after 65k miles I need to replace my original spark plugs. I think I will go with ngk iridium plugs. Does anyone know the correct number amazon is showing a couple different iridium plugs eg. cr8ehix-9, cr9ehix-9?
cr9ehix-9
I just bought 4 for my Vtec 64k service.
Honda recommended change interval is 32k miles on the 6th Gen. It'll be interesting to see if there's any difference after the service.
Thanks Skids I just order a set. I could tell around 50k miles that the bike was a little harder to start and fuel mileage was down but I kept putting it off.
The vtec models came from the factory with iridium right? I changed my factory iridium plugs out for new ones of the same kind at 60,000 miles. They were fine. I also changed the fuel filter, balanced the starter valved, cleaned the air filter, sent the fuel injectors out for ultra sonic cleaning and updated the fuel mapping afterwards. It runs better than new now.
The vtec models came from the factory with iridium right? I changed my factory iridium plugs out for new ones of the same kind at 60,000 miles. They were fine. I also changed the fuel filter, balanced the starter valved, cleaned the air filter, sent the fuel injectors out for ultra sonic cleaning and updated the fuel mapping afterwards. It runs better than new now.
how did you update the fuel mapping? Did you send your ECU out if so to who and how much $?
Rapid bike racing module. It came loaded with updated fuel/ignition mapping and I did road tuning corrections on top of that via four wide band o2 sensors.
Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk
The vtec models came from the factory with iridium right? I changed my factory iridium plugs out for new ones of the same kind at 60,000 miles. They were fine. I also changed the fuel filter, balanced the starter valved, cleaned the air filter, sent the fuel injectors out for ultra sonic cleaning and updated the fuel mapping afterwards. It runs better than new now.
Correct, Iridiums as standard. Just taken the bike in to have the shims checked (beyond my abilities on the Vtec) but will complete the rest of the 64k plus balance the SVs myself on Tuesday.
I'd like to get the injectors cleaned but don't know anywhere I could get that done. Plus I'd like the bike back on the road Wednesday.
Check around for a diesel repair shop, they'll be able to clean and measure flow rates. You'll have to prepare for comments about your tiny injectors though. It would seem that heavy equipment injectors have a touch more girth...
The vtec models came from the factory with iridium right? I changed my factory iridium plugs out for new ones of the same kind at 60,000 miles. They were fine. I also changed the fuel filter, balanced the starter valved, cleaned the air filter, sent the fuel injectors out for ultra sonic cleaning and updated the fuel mapping afterwards. It runs better than new now.
Correct, Iridiums as standard. Just taken the bike in to have the shims checked (beyond my abilities on the Vtec) but will complete the rest of the 64k plus balance the SVs myself on Tuesday.
I'd like to get the injectors cleaned but don't know anywhere I could get that done. Plus I'd like the bike back on the road Wednesday.
http://precisionauto.../pages/about-us
This is where I sent mine. $15 per injector and fast turn around.
Copper plugs conduct the best. Platinum and iridium are for longetivity.
All plugs are copper core. Any Iridium or Platinum is just the tip to allow for thinner electrode(s) (better spark) and reduced wear.
...Does anyone know the correct number amazon is showing a couple different iridium plugs eg. cr8ehix-9, cr9ehix-9?
Just looked at the box of the NGK Iridiums I put in my 5th Gen. It reads....CR9EHIX-9 Stock No. 6216
My first VFR (2001) was running rough at about 80,000 mi. Decided to do my second valve adjustment (first at ~ 30,000) and the machine immediately ran much smoother. Just another possibility.
As most of you know will know, the original CR9EH-9 in the first 800s were later replaced by the CR9EHIX-9 IX Iridium alternatives. NGK quote the longevity of these as 30k and 40-50k respectively (but whether that's miles or kilometres is not clear, so just as a comparison).
However the CBR1000RR and also the VFR1200 use the IMR9E-9HES which is essentially the same spec with an estimated longevity of 80-100k. These are more expensive, but not that much. So can they be used in a VFR800?
Since I have other bikes that use this plug, it would be convenient for me if I could use the IMR9E-9HES also in the VFR800. So I asked NGK technical and although I was convinced they'd forgotten or couldn't be bothered to reply, eventually they replied to say this:-
Thank you for contacting us! Sorry for the late response. But answering your
question you can use NGK 7556 IMR9E-9HES Laser Iridium Plug in place of NGK
6216 CR9EHIX-9 IX Iridium Plug.
So there you have it, straight from the horses mouth as it were. You CAN use the IMR9E-9HES in the VFR800 if you want to, perhaps because of their increased lifetime, or because you use those plugs in other bikes, or you fancy using what is undoubtedly a later plug (that of course perfectly matches CBR1000RR CoPs if you've gone that route or indeed, simply because you can.
A spot of history. Way back when I was running Honda UK's technical training schools, we often would prepare bikes for the press etc (until they set up a workshop specifically to do that). We would as a matter of course replace any Nippon Denso plugs with the NGK equivalent. In our experience, ND plugs were not as good as NGK and more likely to give trouble. But that was many years ago and ND may well make spectacularly good plugs now, they certainly make other first class electrical and electronic products. But old habits die hard and I still only use NGK plugs. Sorry to annoy any patriotic americans here, but Champion were worst of all and I still wouldn't give them house room. NGK make the best plugs, period.