GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

great tips. I recently replaced my plugs in the GS to the NGK iridium's. Noticed a slight increase in gas mileage, and noticeable improvement in engine response and delivery.

PK_Celsior

iTrader: (18)

always good to help out a club lexus member :]

last time i power washed my motor stupid thing didnt want to start up lmaoo. i seriously though i murdaaa the motor. but than it started up 30 minutes later yeshhhh :]

HaryGahtoe

NGK iridium really do get better performance, smoother idle, no hesitation right up to redline. I have them in CF1. In a CF2, I just tried Bosch iridium Fusion. 4 surrounding electrodes leave an unobstructed center spark area. They work very well also. Reached 26 mpg city/highway mixed mileage. Temperatures have consistently been 24-38 F car starts normally, runs great.

HaryGahtoe

SK Perf. you will want to yank out those NGK's ASAP if you didn't use any thread lubricant. Otherwise you wait another 80K km's they will most likely seize in your aluminum heads. You remember pulling out your old ones and the threads were dirty? Next time you might not be so lucky. It always pays to be safe instead of sorry.

skperformance

iTrader: (6)

Please elaborate on your response.
Why would i need a thread lube? Why would it seize?

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

its just a safety precaution to put anti-seize lubricant. i put some on mine before i put it in because it took literally like 10 more seconds on each plug but now that the plugs are in, no reason to take em out now and go through the whole process again.

from lexls

CptnTonus

It's always a good idea to use anti-sieze lubricant on the spark plug threads before installing. Aluminum is soft, and your cylinder head is experiencing lots of heat cycles which changes its shape every-so-slightly. Using anti-sieze just helps protect the threads in the head so that when you go to remove the plugs you don't do any damage which would result in you having to remove the cylinder head. You don't need to use a lot, a little bit goes a long way.

As far as replacing your plugs with NGK Iridiums. I'm suprised you noticed gains like that. When I bought my LS400 it had some crappy Bosch Platinum plugs in it. I did a massive tune-up, and replaced said plugs with some nice NGK Laser Iridiums. I figured i'd notice a difference in the way the car ran for sure, but no, ran the exact same. Still gets crappy gas mileage too!

93LSexy

NGK has many different series of Iridium plugs...they have single, v groove, fine, IX, etc... which one is the best?

CptnTonus

No, they don't. They have exactly two different types of Iridium plugs. The Iridium IX and the Laser Iridium. Iridium IX is more geared toward high-performance applications and the Laser Iridium is geared toward OEM-type applications. Neither one is really any better than the other, but the Laser Iridiums would probably last a little bit longer.

skperformance

iTrader: (6)

I have the IX NGK's. NGK has many plugs but only a few are iridium's .
You are not supposed to add any type of anti seize to plugs especially on an aluminum head. The reason why is most are made of metals like copper. They are made for bolts with a low to medium duty heat cycle. While a spark plug is used for high temps as it is beside the combustion chamber. So i will not have a problem removing mine as the high voltage arc is similar to welding and even with a perfect ground it still is transferring electricity from the plug to the head.The lube you have added will now impede the flow causing resistance . Worse part is it will also slowly weld the metals in it together. This will cause the plugs to be even harder to remove as it has now cooked the lube .

Also you are not supposed to use anti seize on the threads of plugs because it changes the torque values causing it to over torque the head and strip the soft metal.

When i added the pb blaster it was only a small amount to clean the threads and remove them and wipe them off to break down the dirt .

HaryGahtoe

The reasons for using anti-seize on plugs are warranted. I have used anti-seize for 20 yrs. Never created or caused any problems, period! My motorcycles proved this for me. It worked for me. My best friend like you didn't. He had to pull his head when he snapped off a plug. Hope it doesn't happen to you but I also won't be surprised when it does. Bon Chance mon ami.

skperformance

iTrader: (6)

Being a tech for the past 15 years i have never had a plug that broke with not having anti seize . If a plug broke it would have been from it being over torqued or the engine still being hot with an aluminum head when removed. Even in college when i was being trained eons ago it was a major no no to ever use a lube on the wheel studs ,spark plugs and any block or head studs.

HaryGahtoe

I highly recommend using anti seize on plugs. 3 Honda motorcycles, 1 Suzuki, 2 Ford V10's, 1 C5 Corvette roadster, 1 MB CLK 430 cabriolet, 1 Tahoe, 2 Toyota AE86 GTS,(1 currently used for drifting) 1 UCF10 and 1 UCF 20 Lexus . Not one of those has had any plug trouble. Running NGK Iridium IX got best gas mileage and best performance ever.

CptnTonus

That completely contradicts everything I've ever been told on the subject of anti-sieze. I use that stuff on EVERYTHING, and I've never had any complications as a result.

Jasbmo

Can you post pics of your CAI?

Thanks,
Jasbmo