archangels

i was wondering is oem ngk or denso best way to go or is there a better product in the market such as the 4 prong type? thanks also if a car runs lean is it possible a/f sensors, maf, or o2 are bad? thanks for your help, i bought it recently before easter sunday and i don't know what maintenence the previous ownwer did but i like to have all my parts up to date so i know which one is new and will prevent future problems thanks[/B] [B]if you are running lean what are all the list to look at to fix the problem thanks as i just bought this thing same day 30 miles later cel and vsc light came on reading p0171 and p0174 thanks someone said check hoses does any one can show me what are all the hoses i should look for with pics as im not good with words i need a visual thanks, also does anyone know where i can purchase a new oem cas cap with plastic lanyard online? thanks

salimshah

I would suggest the iridium plugs., mostly because of longer life. The access is not easy and you don't want to get to them that frequently.

Salim

code58

Archangels- In answer to your question on the plugs- only go with the original plugs! I don't know how many miles you have on the RX but the orig. iridium plugs last a LONG time! I cleaned 2 of the original NGK that I removed from my DIL's 99RX300 yesterday and at 97k they absolutely look like they have 15k on them. Iridium is the hardest metal known to man and they virtually don't wear out! I know it gives people a warm fuzzy feeling to have new plugs in their car but this car had 97k on the original plugs and if I had pulled the plugs first I would NOT have bought new plugs. It ran perfectly and didn't change any thing by changing them. Believe it or not they even checked original for gap! I bought them on e-bay for about $8. each and didn't have to pay shipping because the vendor was local (So. Cal.) and I picked them up. I would pull one of the front plugs (easy) and take a look at it and decide whether you want to change them. Unless you have a TON of miles on them you're not going to gain anything and if your changing them yourself, the front 3 can be changed by a child and you're going to wish you hadn't started this project by the time you're finished with the rear 3. The choice is yours but if you decide to go ahead, only use the original in either NGK or Denso- IRIDIUM! Good Luck! Roger

archangels

i got a big question, is it possible that i could have a bad gas cap that the doesn't seal good? can that be causing my sel light and vsc light to go on? this happened same day i bought right before easter sunday, i have been tryin to hold on to my last rc car hobby as long as i can, and want to cut costs down, if i sold my last rc that i only used a good one time, i would use the money on maintenance but however i want to find the problem at low cost first, heres the thing when i test drove i gave it a little throttle, vsc light was on but at the time i thought it was letting me know that it was functioning until i read the owners manuel, 30 miles after buying vsc light and cel lights were on dealership said gas cap can be the cause so now i figure i might buy a new gas cap and pray it was the problem? (to keep costs down), i was thinking buying a new maf, a/f sensors and 02 sensors for the heck of it, if they are bad is it possible to have system run too lean so far i used maf clearner looked dusty on one side not too filthy did notice better acceleration and smothness thanks anyone know where i can buy an oem gas cap with plastic lanyard?t thanks [/B] oh and my rx is about to go 70,000 miles[B]i bought a new fram pcv valve today also

TampRX300

The code should tell you what's wrong with it.

archangels

lexmex how do you like the torque master sparkplug versus oem denso? thanks

thomas1

Stick with the OEM, the darn things will go an easy 150k miles....

Lexmex

I agree with thomas1 on this one. Unless you are going to do some of the modifications that I do, exhaust/intake. You really won't notice much with the torquemasters. I went down that path a few years ago in Mexico and bought them, but showed really nothing. Only after switching out my OEM Densos to torquemasters after doing the exhaust/intake work, did the vehicle come alive.

I am considering going with some Pulstar plugs for a test in the future (my current plugs are okay). My buddy over here got some for his Z06 Vette, and after doing a before and after, it is quite noticeable, definitely over 10 hp from the seat of the pants.

smerre01

Well I just replaced mine a couple of weeks ago and used the Bosch Platinum
IRIDIUM plugs w/ 4 prongs. Car seems to run fine on them, and I expect the life span on these to be similar to the OEM's.....

archangels

did you notice anything difference? better gas mileage , acceleration and etc? thanks also wasn't it a pain to do the rear 3? what do you have to take off in order to put the rear 3 on?

lexus114

I`ll tell you what,I`m definately staying with the stock Denso Iridium plugs in this baby.This is not a vehicle to experiment on re; spark plugs.

smerre01

Well the gas mileage did increase, however it was not like a drastic jump, lol. I think it is averaging so far about 2-3 mpg more on the interstate. Replacing the rear 3 was not that bad. I only took off the cruise control cable from it's bracket on the right side of the upper manifold. Some notes I have made for myself on this though. 1) be ready for what I call the Ray Charles method, you will be doing the rear three primarily by feel. 2) remove the ignition coil rod from the wiring harness plug and get it out of your way, makes it easier. 3) I actually had a problem with the extension I was using to the spark plug socket coming off, I duct taped the spark plug socket to the extension to keep this from occurring. HUGE HELP. 4) Patience in this process actually is the best thing you can do. Remaining calm, and keeping your head, usually I get frustrated and start cussing at the car when things are not going accordingly. However I stayed relaxed, and it made it seem much easier for me. Oh yeah don't forget the anti-seize goop to put on the new plug threads, it wasn't on the ones I took out and was surprised. Good Luck!

lexus114

Smerre, How did your old plugs look? were they original? Also,how many miles did you have on the old plugs?

archangels

i think i might go regular iridium, thanks for advise and godbless!

smerre01

To be honest they looked wore out, lol...and I personally think that these are in fact the original plugs as well. No anti-seize on them lead me to feel this way. My RX has 180k on it at the time of the plug change. The car was running fine to be honest, it was just me wanting to do some reg. maint.