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Here's a direct comparison. Judge for yourself. It's pretty obvious to me.
Genuine article.
Straight out of the boxes. Fake left, genuine right.
Same as above, fakes left, genuine right. The furthest left actually looks used as the porcelain is darker than the other two. Note the compressed gasket on the left further suggesting this plug is actually used.
Subtle but important. Notice how much longer the protector is on the genuine article. The one on the left hits the ground strap if you drop it on a hard surface. The point of the protector is to ensure the factory set gap remains unchanged in shipping. Not going to happen with the one on the left.
I haven't looked carefully at mine yet but I bought mine from here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/201572339615?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
For the amount of effort involved in changing the plugs, it's not worth the few dollars you might save if they only last 20k or 30k miles. Take a very close look at the tips on the fakes in the photo I posted. Notice the center electrodes on the fakes are not recessed the same as the genuine item. This measurement is critical to the plug's heat range. I'd say the fakes are likely to run hotter because the tips project deeper from the porcelain than the real one, and the fakes are very likely to have serious issues when the engine is used as intended - foot on the floor, accelerating hard.
I've learned my lesson. I'll buy from Lexus (or Toyota) since I know they can't afford to sell fakes.
Each one is only $10. I wouldn't even bother getting anywhere else besides a verified source (like dealership). Not much savings to be had and worst if you get fake ones
I bought the "OEM Denso" plugs from that same eBay seller in May of 2017. I replaced them in my 2014 IS250 at 81,354 miles. I now have a little over 106,000 on my car and I've been having problems with random misfires. I tried running injector cleaner through it. No change. I then took the car to the shop and had them do an induction service on it thinking I may have carbon build up, or potentially a dirty injector. No change. Today I took it to the shop to have them hook it up to the computer to tell me which cylinder is misfiring. They said all of them were periodically misfiring, but cylinders 3,4,5 were doing it most. They pulled the first plug (on the bank that you can get to without pulling the intake off) and said the plug looks completely wore down. They had just assumed that the plugs were never changed. I'm going to the Lexus Dealer and going to take it in the shorts and pay $17 per plug so that I'm not having to do this again in 25,000 miles.
If you don't need them, they're not a good idea. If you're running nitrous or have a supercharger then sure, it makes a lot of sense. A colder plug will foul more easily in street driving.
The time is approaching to change the spark plugs in my 2008 IS-250 and I've been looking at threads, online stores, and retail stores like crazy seeing where the fine line is with these fake/knock-off sparkplugs & genuine spark plugs!
I went ahead and purchased some eBay spark plugs AKA "to good to be true special" (6 for $25 with free shipping)... I wanted to see these knock-off spark plugs first hand. Here's what I found on the 6 I received... Note: 1 is missing since my brother is out comparing it to others in stores.
Plz give any input or feedback on these plugs... I immediately noticed on the porcelain, the IRIDIUM stamp along with the QR code below it is misaligned ONLY on 2 of the plugs, DENSO brand logo doesn't seem to be dark as compared to other pictures of the genuine DENSO sparkplugs.. the "iridium" tips have a rusted look to them, and around the edges of the washer.
At this point, I'm assuming these are fake / knock-off's.
Fresh out the box, spark plugs I purchased off ebay (6 for $25)... I wanted to personally see what I would receive. The box that the 6 spark plugs were laying in. Notice how sticker says Made in China? hmm.. that right there makes it all sketchy immediately. DENSO is slightly misaligned, but not by very much at all. A few of the plugs show this side with "IRIDIUM" to be misaligned along with the "QR code"... Take a look at the tip, it seem to be a bit rusty when zooming in, or for some reason just appears that way when looking very closely at it. The washer has a rust-like appearance on it on several places, mainly the outer edge.
They come in a different box, obviously the Denso branding not Toyota Genuine Parts but they are the real deal!
Since this thread got bumped....advanced has another code (roadtrip2) for 25% off. Not as great as 40% but not too bad. Again probably better to buy direct rather than ebay.
12-30-16, 04:32 AM
spark plugs!
... I wanted to see these knock-off spark plugs first hand. Here's what I found on the 6 I received... Note: 1 is missing since my brother is out comparing it to others in stores.
