V6 owners, seen any difference going to iridium/platinum plug?

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CAD_GA1390

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just curious, as i just put original NGK plugs back in mine (had 6 denso that looked fairly new) but was just curious to see if those that have changed to a "higher end" plug i.e platinum, iridium, etc. seen any differences? engine tone, power delivery, etc? other than maintenance interval, what other benefits could be expected?
 
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I just bought a set of Bosch Iridium plugs from Rock Auto. I've had them in previous vehicles. My past experience is no performance increase, soley longevity. From my brief research, I only saw that longevity was a benefit. However I could be wrong... my 2 cents.
 
I use denso iridium, after the first change at about 40k on the old plugs, denso and ngk, i notice it idle smoother and it drove better, now i have about 108k and still on the same denso iridium plugs, alot of people say they are good for 100k.
 
I put the Autolite Iridiums in my 2007 about 1k miles back. I definitely don't notice any performance bump. My mileage actually seems to have dropped about 1/2 to 1 mpg too. I was averaging about 18.2 around town and now I'm steady around 17.4 - 17.5. I'm not sure if it's the plugs or the new tires I put on. They're the same size as the old ones but with a little bit more of an all-terrain tread.
 
Iridium plugs, when compared to other plugs are like CAIs, some people swear they improve performance, then rest of us that are in touch with reality use them for their longevity. If the old plugs were really worn out, then sure you'll "improve" performance but only back to where it should have been in the first place and in that case any spark plug would produce the same result.

EDIT: Oops, just notice the OP was calling on V6 owners, I guess I'll just have to take my V8 opinion elsewhere :D
 
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If you're getting better gas mileage and/or performance with Iridium or Platinum plugs...it's a fluke. Iridium and Platinum plugs are designed to last longer....they were NOT designed for better performance or gas mileage.

If there was even a chance of getting .001% increase in performance.....then every race car in the world would be using them...They aren't. Standard copper plugs are used since the plugs are swapped out after each race.

For my V6 4runner I see no need for iridium or platinum plugs. Takes me less then an hour to replace the plugs. So why waste my money.

My wifes Lexus..that's a different story. Those back 3 plugs are royal pain in the butt. I want to replace them as little as possible..so I use iridium plugs.
 
denso iriduim...not any serious my instantaneous mpg display now shows 20mpg, b4 it normally hovers around 14/15mpg..bought the truck used with 113k miles..changed them at 119k..
 
I use the Iridium NGK Plugs in my 4R just so I'm not changing the plugs every 2 or 3 months..Didn't see any performance gain or fuel mileage difference
 
singleshot said:
I put the Autolite Iridiums in my 2007 about 1k miles back. I definitely don't notice any performance bump. My mileage actually seems to have dropped about 1/2 to 1 mpg too. I was averaging about 18.2 around town and now I'm steady around 17.4 - 17.5. I'm not sure if it's the plugs or the new tires I put on. They're the same size as the old ones but with a little bit more of an all-terrain tread.
Click to expand...

Are the new tires also significantly heavier, ie. LT tires? That could be causing your MPG drop. I've never had much luck with non-OEM brand plugs on my Hondas/Toyotas. Might be best to put some Densos or NGKs in it for best performance.

The Denso/NGK iridium plugs do really last forever, especially in today's cleaner and more efficient running motors, I would not hesitate to run them to 100k. The last set of OEM iridium plugs I pulled out of my last Toyota engine at ~80k had pretty much no noticeable wear on the tip. I think the only thing you really have to watch out for is a poorly maintained/running engine fouling out the plugs.
 
I just changed the plugs on my 06 SR5. I'm the original owner and the beast has almost exactly 185,000 on the odometer. This is the first time the plugs have been changed. The car was running great with the old plugs although there was a stumble coming away from a stop. New plugs fixed that. Here is a picture of the plugs that came out. Gap is a little large, but the color is good and none of them are wet so the rings are still good. Car has had nothing but Mobil 1 in it every 5-6k miles.

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/5347/e3vq.jpg

Interesting that there are 3 Denso and 3 NGK from the factory?
 
No notable change in mileage or performance. Like others have said, I'm just going to run the Denso Iridiums longer than the Copper OEM plugs.
 
Don't waste your time. The V6 (1GR-FE) is made for "regular" plugs and replaced every 30K miles, Iridium plugs are a waste of money on this engine (so say the engineers of Toyota............. otherwise they would've recommended them)
 
CAD_GA1390 said:
just curious, as i just put original NGK plugs back in mine (had 6 denso that looked fairly new) but was just curious to see if those that have changed to a "higher end" plug i.e platinum, iridium, etc. seen any differences? engine tone, power delivery, etc? other than maintenance interval, what other benefits could be expected?
Click to expand...

Your results may vary, but when I initially switched from the factory original plugs to my iridium densos, I saw an increase in MPG of somewhere between 1 and 1.5 mpg. It could have had more to do with just new plugs in general rather than iridiums, but I did see an improvement.
 
SteveC68 said:
I just changed the plugs on my 06 SR5. I'm the original owner and the beast has almost exactly 185,000 on the odometer. This is the first time the plugs have been changed. The car was running great with the old plugs although there was a stumble coming away from a stop. New plugs fixed that. Here is a picture of the plugs that came out. Gap is a little large, but the color is good and none of them are wet so the rings are still good. Car has had nothing but Mobil 1 in it every 5-6k miles.

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/5347/e3vq.jpg

Interesting that there are 3 Denso and 3 NGK from the factory?
Click to expand...

I thought I probably had everyone beat. I just assumed these cars had 100k plugs from the factory. Started noticing a little rough idle during stops, so I researched here and learned they are 30k plugs. I am not the original owner but have owned it since 56k. Anway, I decided on going with the factory denso from the dealer because they were cheaper. Pulled the plugs, each looked good but the center electrode was worn quite a bit on some. New plugs fixed the rough idle. Gas mileage stayed the same, no difference. Truck has 112k on it. And it had the typical Denso on one side, NGK on the other so I know it was the original plugs.
 
SteveC68 said:
I just changed the plugs on my 06 SR5. I'm the original owner and the beast has almost exactly 185,000 on the odometer. This is the first time the plugs have been changed. The car was running great with the old plugs although there was a stumble coming away from a stop. New plugs fixed that. Here is a picture of the plugs that came out. Gap is a little large, but the color is good and none of them are wet so the rings are still good. Car has had nothing but Mobil 1 in it every 5-6k miles.

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/5347/e3vq.jpg

Interesting that there are 3 Denso and 3 NGK from the factory?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the post and nice large pic. Makes me feel better about the old iridiums still in my truck with 115k on the odo.
 
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