cleaning iridium plugs. Whats the best way??

[richard cash]

i need to clean my plugs but after taking them out i remembered they are iridium and the electrodes are much smaller than copper ones, leading me to think they are more brittle. So, i didnt want to touch them until i ask someone on here. I normally just use a bit of petrol and a brush with cheap plugs but whats the best method with these ones?? They are NGK iridium racing 10 and 11

[Laeeq]

put them on a gas cooker or use a heat gun to burn all the oil and let them cool down and use a wire brush to get rid of all the crap on them...

[88GT-R]

I use Brake cleaner spray. Soak the plugs in cleaner and leave them to sit until all is evaporated. Douse plugs again, and clean vigorously with a steel/copper brush. Spray again, and use tissue towel to wipe the threads and electrode.
This enables me to ue the plugs over the recommended 3000mile change interval. The engine produces 430atw and is yet to have ignition breakup.
Cheers,

John

[Fish]

And dont forget that using a wire brush of ANY material will remove the iridium coating on the plugs.

What are you trying to clean off?

Fish

[88GT-R]

And dont forget that using a wire brush of ANY material will remove the iridium coating on the plugs.

What are you trying to clean off?

Fish

You will find that the electrodes are in fact iridium, and not just a coating.
Cheers,
J

[richard cash]

john, how can you tell when your getting ignition breakup on the road??

fish, im trying to clean a bit of carbon off it as i was using the plugs off boost for ages and now it wont boost properly

[88GT-R]

john, how can you tell when your getting ignition breakup on the road??

fish, im trying to clean a bit of carbon off it as i was using the plugs off boost for ages and now it wont boost properly

You will notice a loss of power/acceleration during breakup. You might also notice the engine bucking, but only in extreme cases.
I know what you describe and be aware that the engine will be more liable to flood with fouled plugs.

Cheers,
John

[richard cash]

ok cheers, i will see what the bost feels like when ive cleaned them and if this is still no good then ill get some new ones from reworx, but at £100 a time for just 5K miles i though id see what cleaning them does.

cheers for your help

rich

p.s what heat range do you have in yours~??

[88GT-R]

10\'s and 11\'s....I am lucky in the fact that it takes me less than a minute to remove all my plugs, so i am able to clean them up every 300miles or so. I also whip them out before every dyno session and strip session.

John

[richard cash]

After closer inspection of the plugs ive noticed that theres a little oil around the "o" ring at the base of the thread and more importantly that some of the electrode seems to be missing from the 10 plug. The 11 seems fine all round, just a little carbon build up. This seems strange that the 11 would look better than the 10 as i thought the 10 could take more crap treatment (i.e running off boost lots and short journeys).

anyway, couldnt get a proper pic of the plugs so heres what they look like



also want to confirm that they should be 10s at the bottom and 11\'s at the top, is this right??

[Fish]

Yes the bottom hole is the leading plug, top is the trailing.

Fish

[Carl]

Hi Richard,
What level of modifiction is your engine?
In most cases unless very extreme you do not need to use irridiums,they are really only for out and out racing.
NGK BUR 9EQP\'s work well in most applications including single turbo\'s.
If the Irridiums are getting fouled then that would show that for your driving situation there is not really a need to spend all that money, just use the 9\'s.
Regards
Carl

[88GT-R]

If the car has been mapped using 10\'s and 11\'s, i would suggest not switching to 9\'s until you can have the car mapped. If you map yourself, which i know you don\'t, it would be of a lesser concern as you would know to what extent your base timing and split timing would be at. As you are using AI, the need to run cold iridiums at your boost levels is not really necessary.
If there is no electrode left on the 10\'s, I would suggest that you have someone have a look at your timing values. There could be something not too right there.
Cheers,

John

[richard cash]

the map was done by reworx, i wouldnt have a clue what to look for myself, lol. I do know that they mapped with these plugs though so im guess im stuck with them until a remap.

can you use 9\'s and 11\'s in a setup or are the heat ranges too far apart??

[88GT-R]

I would suggest using 9\'s asap, but keep off WOT and make sure you don\'t run low on water(AI). Did Max map for the AI, or was it put on after. You need to eliminate the cause of what is eating you leading electrodes. Let RE-worx know of the situation before it goes pop again.
CEERS;

John