gman808408

when changing spark plugs do you need to reset your ecu....

other question: i have a '03 gs300 and no mods but i'm very skeptical on choosing torque masters rather than sticking w/ the OEM like laser ngk iridium/denso iridium ...
what do you guys think? thx

StockGS400

If you're not planning on doing performance mods. . . why not just save your money and go with Iridiums. . . It also depends on where you buy your iridiums too it can cost as much as Torque Masters

Percy

I'd still go for the torquemaster plugs. Now called extremespark. Can't think of another plug that will outperform it.

Iridiums are crap.

black_gs99

i've had torque master in for awhile now and nothing has gone wrong and they seem to do the job

macd7919

iTrader: (10)

Stick with Iridiums, they are proven to work and aren't just a gimmick. There is a reason Iridiums are run in all the big hp turbo cars, they have been proven to make the power(no missing etc..) AND last over time.

If you want a little more info do a search on Supraforums on sparkplugs. Turbo Supra's running increased boost are notorious for high rpm miss and rough idle with even slightly worn plugs (Generally Ngk 3330's).
It is common for a set of standard issue plugs to be worn in 3000mi. Iridiums (Ngk/Denso) have been shown to last 10,000mi on the same motors that were burning through standard plugs in 3000mi. Yes, they do cost more (In this case they might be less than Torquemasters) but they are worth it.

Sparkplugs.com is a decent place to find plugs and have most in stock if you need a vendor but you can get plugs at your local auto parts store as well for slightly higher cost.

Lexmex

Torquemaster work really well with modifications. I had some stock and I didn't feel a thing...then a few years later after I made air/exhaust modifications, put new ones in and they could be felt.

macd7919

iTrader: (10)

Key factor

If you are replacing worn out plugs then you are going to feel a difference no matter what. The key is, how long will the new plugs maintain performance?

Unless you are running an application that is very sensitive to spark (such as I mentioned in my previous post) You will not be able to tell much over time as the degredation in performance is so gradual.

Either way, I'm sure Torquemasters arent' horrible but in my experience it has been best to stick with what is tried and true. There hasn't been any evidence (dyno) from anyone who replaced NEW plugs with NEW torquemaster plugs and saw a difference, it has always been replacing old plugs with new torquemasters. If you replaced old plugs with new iridiums you would see just as much of a difference. The question is, how long will it last? Fact is iridiums have a great reputation and are proven.

Lexmex

That's a good point, but I had been running my Densos for just one year before I tried them a second time. Keep in mind the first time I tried TQs, the old Denos plugs were in there for quite a while according to Lexus, but still did not feel a thing.

That reminds me...wanna see what crappy, high sulfur Mexican gas (and Premium gas at that) does to plugs (my TQs) after just one year (see below). This happens to plugs in cars my uncle works on and he has to replace them often at the same interval. Recently Pemex came out with a low sulfur gas close to that of U.S. Standards, so my little RX is much happier.

This is nothing against TQs.

Lexmex

Old and new TQs.

Percy

There used to be a thread that Mean Gene had which showed dyno charts for his GS400. Don't know if this is still around.

Think it was nearly a 30hp gain. Probably at the flywheel, but still...for a plug changeover that's pretty darn impressive.

Percy

Found the link on the TM/Extreme spark ..

http://sr1.clublexus.com/forums/show...t=torquemaster

Iridium is dead. Don't believe the marketing hype of iridium "making power".

Percy

macd7919

iTrader: (10)

Fact - Iridiums have been proven in thousands of race applications and high hp street cars to work well AND last.

Fact - Torquemasters have not been proven outside of a few people saying they work on their website, actually they don't even have that. They have their own "claims" from John Doe and his 1978 Ford Bronco (Literally).

If Torquemasters were so great, and they have been around since at least 2002, then everybody would be using them don't you think? When everyone is out to get the last bit of horsepower and there was performance left to be had just sitting there in the form of a sparkplug I think it would have been common knowledge within the last 5 years.

Here is a review of someone with an Rx-7. You can read the different reviews but it is odd that the Torquemaster actually started to fall apart (literally). Or you can check with Pettite racing where they had to replace a couple customers motors because they decided to test Torquemasters and the plug disintegrated leading to massive engine failure. Torquemaster denied it was their fault of course. If you read to the conclusion it mentions people are having great results with NGK iridiums.

There is a nice review here of how they work and also mentions the fact of inresed gap leading to possibly improving mpg but also leading to misfire which takes away any mpg gains and performance gains you might have seen.
http://celicatech.com/forums/showthr...305#post240305

Here is a guy from our forums who installed Torquemasters and they failed within 300mi damaging other components of his car in the process
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=237457

There is more to be found out there with some looking. I'm in no way trying to start a fued over sparkplugs but when you are spending over $100 on something that "might" work then people need to know what they are buying. The forums is a good place to filter out the garbage products from the proven ones. I hope no one has any hard feelings over our disagreement

Either way, in the end, would you trust your motor to possibly making a few more hp (giving the TM plugs the benefit of the doubt that they could even do that) for $100+ worth of sparkplugs? I know I wouldn't.

KiPod

iTrader: (31)

I was running NGK iridiums in my turbo mustang. No problems with spark blow out or ignition miss.

macd7919

iTrader: (10)

I ran iridiums in my Supra, 567whp 522wtq. No problems.

JPI Racing

We ran the iridums on all high power supras and on our own race car. The NGK330 work great also. They change them out everyrun, they only cost $1.19 per plug. What is the hype about TM?
JPI