Author Topic: Iridium Plug question  (Read 917 times)

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Offline charles p

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Iridium Plug question
« on: July 10, 2011, 02:14:38 PM »
A service item I have to perform about every two years is to install a new spark plug in my 20 year old Honda 300 TRX.  I doubt I put ten hours per year on it.

I recently was mowing my grass with a B&S walk behind lawnmower and it died a slow death.  Grass was not high or wet, so I was confused.  Fuel was new mid-grade ethanol free that I get from the marina.  I thought maybe it had overheated.  It would not crank.  I walked back in my workshop and saw a new plug hanging on the pegboard that a mechanic sold me last fall.  It was one of the new Iridium stark plugs.  After installing it the mower it cranked on the first pull.  That mower has never run so good.  It runs at a constant 3600 rpms like before but it has more power that it did when it was new.  I was thinking of junking it but now I am in love with it.
 I wonder if Champion (the plug I used) makes an Iridium plug for my ATV.  If they do and I get a similar improvement, it could be great.  If I have to change plugs in my truck, I'm going to ask for the Iridium plugs.

Has anybody out there used the new Iridium plugs in any of your equipment.  Did you notice an improvement?
 
 
 

Offline Rex in OTZ

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Re: Iridium Plug question
« Reply #1 on: July 11, 2011, 09:43:49 AM »
Depending on use its good to carry a spare new plug for all the small gas powerd equipment, sometimes they get carbon fould from funky gas and they load up, the best thing for chainsaws and lawn mowers and small gas generators is a new sparkplug and fresh gas.
 
I go through several sets of sparkplugs on snowmobiles, and seems some brands of engines run better with certain brands/types of sparkplugs and sparkplug caps.
 
I know My 1994 Arctic cat does not run well with Champion Sparkplugs or Bosh, NGK for the snowmobile. the 4 cycle motors may do better with Irridum plugs.
 
I had just helpd a boat owner change his first set of sparkplugs on his 2008 Phantom Sport jets boat (Merc 200) half the sparkplugs had the electrode ceramic cracked off that had been in that motor for 2 seasons, check your sparkplugs and use antisieze when reinstalling.

Offline Lloyd Smale

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Re: Iridium Plug question
« Reply #2 on: July 12, 2011, 02:37:43 AM »
ill tell you what you possibly are seeing. If your plug was fouled and your motor was running pourly it probably carboned up the piston and head. then when you put a new plug in and the motor was running properly the carbon in the combustion chamber may have bumped up your compression a bit and thats why you think its running a bit better then ever. Another thing that can cause what your witnessing is a motor running to lean. I motor just before it runs out of gas will see an increase in rpms because the mixture is going lean. Its possible your fuel bowl actually ran out of fuel when it died and after replacing the plug it had enough time to refill but the fact its running lean still is causing an increase in rpm. Run your motor wide open for a few minutes and pull your plug and see what colar it is. Its should be a light chocolate brown. If its black it running rich and if it is about white its running way to lean and your destine to burn your motor up. Ive tried some of the new fangled plugs and maybe they help a motor run a bit stronger i dont know but i do know that ive never had one actually help so much that i could notice the differnce.
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