I am wondering what make of spark plugs do use guys run in your vRS? Mine are due a change i was just going to get cheap ones from a motor factors or what brand is the best to go for?

Paul

OEM are as good as anything.

NGK platinums.

standard plugs dont believe the bullcrap about uprated ones

Got mine from halfords think my dealer wanted £10+ each! cost me £21 for 4. Gonna change them every 10k anyway. Don't trust all the long life stuff lol

Any branded make - Champion / NGK / Denso / Bosch. I change them every 20,000 miles, and tend to keep my eyes out for "special offers" at the local factors when I go in and buy in advance - the big boys seem to be constantly competing with each other with discounts etc.

Currently using Champion RC8PYP

NGK PFR6Q is the oem - you can get them on that auction site sometime for as low as £10 a set!!!!

in fact there is a set here ending in 3hrs - price is for all 4 !!!!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NGK-LASER-PLATINUM-SPARK-PLUG-PFR6Q-6458-x4-BNIB-/170609396238?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item27b91cca0e

Iridium VK20 or IK20

I have ran with both, currently put in a set of VK20's as had them in my scooby.

No real point going for the iridiums or platinum over standard copper, other than life span. Iridium and platinum are actually less conductive than copper, and the fine tip makes no real difference anyway.

NGK Copper BKR6E or BKR7E for mapped cars, and change every 18 months or so.

for the NGK BKR7E's cheap as chips too

for the NGK BKR7E's cheap as chips too

what gap are people setting there plugs too.

is it 0.7mm for mapped and 0.8mm for std

I set mine to 0.7mm for a remap and they have been trouble free.

What he said (0.7mm)- Mine currently has BKR6E's in, but will change them for the 7's next time I do the oil. The car wasn't mapped when I changed them last (About 11 months ago).

No real point going for the iridiums or platinum over standard copper, other than life span. Iridium and platinum are actually less conductive than copper, and the fine tip makes no real difference anyway.

NGK Copper BKR6E or BKR7E for mapped cars, and change every 18 months or so.

The std OEM plugs for a 1.8t are not copper, they are platinum.

A fine tip (positive electrode) does make a difference, for example it reduces the voltage required for the ignition spark to jump the air gap between the positive and negitive electrode. one advantage of this is the ignition coil voltage and recovery time is reduced which helps minimise the chances of a misfire. This can be of particular importance on engines running high rpm's.

Plugs dont need to be changed every 18 months on a time basis....a mileage basis is far more appropriate and in keeping with normal industry standards.

Apart from that

Bill.

Stupid and novice question coming up from myself, but how do you set the 0.7mm gap? Do you require a torque wrench etc? Feel free to laugh at my lack of knowledge lol

You will need a feeler gauge.

The std OEM plugs for a 1.8t are not copper, they are platinum.

A fine tip (positive electrode) does make a difference, for example it reduces the voltage required for the ignition spark to jump the air gap between the positive and negitive electrode. one advantage of this is the ignition coil voltage and recovery time is reduced which helps minimise the chances of a misfire. This can be of particular importance on engines running high rpm's.

Plugs dont need to be changed every 18 months on a time basis....a mileage basis is far more appropriate and in keeping with normal industry standards.

Apart from that

Bill.

+1 on what you said.

You can even get a NGK Iridium varant of BKR7E now.

Iridium are dearer but last a hell of a lot longer.

Here is some further info.

http://www.spark-plugs.co.uk/pages/technical/iridium_spark_plugs.htm

Also some interesting facts of where Iridium is found.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium

Can tell i am bored today...

Bill, I know the OEM ones are platinum - When I said standard copper I meant run of the mill cheapo copper plugs, not standard OEM (Which aren't copper obviously).

As far as the whole ignition voltage theory goes - A car's ignition system AFAIK will always produce the same voltage no matter what plug you have (The coil inductance value is still the same, the input voltage is still the same, the charge time is the same), thereby making the recovery time etc etc the same. Electricity doesn't care how big the electrode is either - the spark is only a fraction of the electrode's diameter anyway, so how can it matter. Using a finer electrode may result in a tighter manufacturing tolerance and a more predictable plug - Because the electrode is smaller, the spark will always happen in the same place, that means they can put a little dish under the electrode for flame kernal expansion (or something like that :confused:) . Doing this on copper plugs won't work, as the spark will vary in position due to the large electrode. They introduced the V tip electrodes to get around this problem.

Iridiums admittedly do last a LOT longer, that's the main reason OEM's choose them - Service intervals are reduced, thereby reducing service costs etc, making fleet owners happier. I suggested 18 months, assuming the OP did average mileage. No reason why the plugs can't last 20 years+ if the annual mileage is low enough.

I'm not meaning to start an argument here, don't get me wrong. I just think this kind of thing is interesting, and like questioning the marketing campaigns.

Edited 4 March, 201115 yr by rk696

http://www.aa1car.com/library/2004/us30428.htm

Thanks folks after reading this thread I changed my orignal plugs for a new set of PFR6Q. Car was running fine or so I thought but idling was sometimes slightly irregular, the revs would drop a little periodically.

Anyway with the new plugs I'm got ~10% better mpg this morning , wish I changed them ages ago.