evo_soul

Now if your like me, your into your 3 year of owning your Mitsubishi Vehicle. Which means, as your car ages, the cost of up keep will start to go up. Spark plug on a Mitubishi Lancer will have to be replace around the 100,000km / 60,000 mile point in order to maintain their peak levels of performance. As they wear, they will start costing your more money in worse fuel economy.



So lets look at the features of your Mitsubishi Lancer OE spark plug. Now while the book may say you have either an NGK plug or a Denso plug. From my research it seems people in north america got the NGK plug. This plug belongs to the OE class of Laser Iridium spark plugs.


NGK Laser Iridium Spark Plugs provide superior ignitability and long service life. Smallest tip diameter available Iridium / Platinum surfaces ensure slow wear rate providing stable idle, superior anti fouling, improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions
FEATURES

Laser welded Iridium center electrode tip
Platinum disc welded to backside of ground electrode provides
long service life
“Trivalent Metal Plating” provides superior anti-corrosion and anti-seizing properties
Faster starts and quicker acceleration
Better fuel economy and lower emissions
Best OEM Iridium spark plug available
Original Equipment Manufacturer approved design
Sound impressive? It is! Spark plug technology has come along way, and having an iridium long life plug in your car right from the start was unheard of 5 to 10 years ago. Manufacturers finally realized that its one less headache to deal with if you just put in super reliable spark plugs. And a spark plug that fires consistently for a long period of time, above the 30,000 mile point up to 60,000 means its better for the environment as well.

So why not buy the same spark plug again from the dealership at my next service appointment?

You could! But a review of your spark plug options could mean you can achieve even better performance for the same or less money (cost to you)

If you were following my previous blog www.evosoul.com (yes its still down… sigh…) Then you would know that I was already beta testing some spark plugs from Denso. The Platinum Twin Tip plug. What drew me to this plug was the extensive research and white paper material that has gone into this new variant of spark plug technology. In a nut shell, this spark plug utilizes two tips. One on the ground(titanium) and the other for the centre electrode, (platinum ). Now Denso isn’t the only one playing in this field. NGK has a DFE Iridium aka (Double Fine Electrode) plug. Their plug consists of two tips of iridium. And the theory about platinum vs. iridium is generally iridium is better in almost every single way except 1.

COST. Iridium is expensive. Making these plugs 2 to 3 times more expensive than other metal alternatives. So because of the value judgement, Platinum options stay on the table. And I will explain why in a second. First I want to get to the actual design part. And why this twin tip concept is one step forward.

Both NGK and Denso have been working to improve the plug. Lord knows they have years of experience and data. So the fact that both of these companies have entered this space in a low key way tells me that they are getting their feet wet. Later expect to see more hardcore versions to come.



The design basically helps promote better flame kernel propogation / expansion during the combustion process. The spark fires and the fuel and air ignite and start to expand. Now if the plug is of an older design. chances are the ground arm that sticks out like a hook is fat and wide and will likely hinder this expansion. Of course this isnt the only factor that determines how well a spark plug works in combustion, but for main point of design. I want you guys to get the concepts down. If you look at the following link . I want you to see an example on the ngk website of 3 spark plugs. Take a look closely at each example and see where design comes into play.

http://www.ngkntk.co.jp/english/prod...ugs/index.html

Now if the middle one caught your eye, thats because it utilizes the twin tip or as ngk calls it DFE.



So where am I go with all this. Unfortunately, NGK has not released an DFE plug for our cars yet. Denso has. And since the platinum version is the next best thing at the moment. The cost of plug is relatively inexpensive to most upgrade plugs by NGK or Denso. And while it wont beat those ones. It will still be slightly more effective then what your currently running with. I have put the plug to the test and will release my findings shortly for what my fuel economy and power gains were. In the mean time, think about what your options are.



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I will have these on sale in the first week of June

Crester

There's a million spark plugs that claim this advantage and that advantage. They have little changes... like the shape of the tip... the number of sparking points... etc. Do these thing actually make an difference?

And... my mechanic for my previous car told me that the "best performing" spark plugs are actually old school copper plugs... and that the only reason these other fancy metals are being introduced is because they can be used for longer periods of time.

evo_soul

We see it every day, shops walk in here and what they do is buy the old school coppers. Some do things that seem a bit crazy but they swear by it.

You have some who buy the coppers and actually grind away the ground side. Attempting to give better clearance for the spark > flame.

Others think Irridium all the way and what ever the cost. The thing is materials matter but not as much as design. The troubling thing is, Every car is different. We all see it. You can put Bosch plugs in some import cars. And you cant put other brands in like NGK or Denso's into some German cars. The cars just do not like it. aka run properly. So with so much variation out there its very hard to get a clear picture what technology works and what doesnt. A good classic example is the Pulstar plug. I tested that plug out at great length. It made good point gains, but cause the car to have an unstable yet minor vibration at idle. And at times the car would think it is miss firing even though it wasnt. I took the spark plug out of my Lancer and put it into something else and it works amazing....

I have spent a good amount of time testing this Denso plug out among a few import cars, and vetted them. Like I did with the Pulstars to see if they are worthy to be on the car. And I must say... they are!

I factored in the "NEW PLUG EFFECT" so with all my testing I bought brand new OE plugs to ensure I can eliminate that basic yet overlooked variable. Unfortunately my testing was limited to the 2.0L platform. I did not have the resources to test the 2.4L Lancer. Also that engine requires at 16 heat range plug unlike the 20 heat range plug of the 2.0L The 20 is compatible if the engine is modified but still... i needed to keep the test simple and repeatable.

So these plugs seem to be the real deal. And pull off real world gains at the pump and a bit on the performance level. Mainly attributed to design. It aint the best plug on earth but... it does the job and it is a step above OE for sure.

Copper is still the favorite plug of alot of shops. Their logic is, they regularly service their cars, change out the plugs and short regular intervals will generally keep you out of trouble and reveal hidden dangers in combustion.

But for the average guy who doesnt race. The TT plug is a suitable replacement.

my two cents.

Qwest905

are these omn sale yet

evo_soul

Will have more by either friday or monday.

roblaza

iTrader: (22)

seems like a gimick to me...

TheNEWB

by looking at that plug gap drawing, i can tell that these new plugs delve deeper into the combustion chamber to account for the larger electrode. In a street car this does not pose any problems as one would not usually rev the **** out of the motor on a continual basis.

However on a car that sees track duty the extra length of the plug electrode would most certainly give the kiss of death to the heart of the piston.

But definitely a good option for daily driven cars.

evo_soul

what would make you think that?

Spark plug technology has already been in this realm already. The design is proven. Both Denso and NGK are in this space of twin tip style designs. It makes more power on stock and lightly modified cars and more importantly better fuel economy.

Many people thought the U groove design was snake oil or a gimick, and now we know, its proven and it works alot of shops still perfer it in its copper design. This is just the next generation of that. Different design, but made to make more power.

NGK and Denso are the most reputable spark plug companies in the industry. And I have done the testing myself. I would give it a try. Results will vary from car to car, but wouldnt surprise me if your car made a little bit more power than the 2 to 4 %

evo_soul

The image is a bit miss leading, I looked a few plugs and the height of the plug varies from plug type to plug type. I will tr to hold my old OEM one up to the new stock that I have coming in of the TT.

Platinum is pretty safe, and their design of this plug is infused with pretty good metals. Including Titanium. I would feel comfortable on a moderately modified car to beat on it. Not worried about anything snapping off. Everything is either high strength metals and laser welded.

NGK's version of this plug actually has Iridium tips on both sides. unfortunately the application list is super limited

As for the TT, there is no variant for the EVO X and Ralliart aka long reach. not yet.

s84kam

im in the market for new plugs, have any for sale evosoul?

LIVEEVIL

What is the pricing on them?

evo_soul

in canada 6 bucks a plug. Peak performance I think can sell it to you no problem.

laksman91

iTrader: (4)

Whats the part number on these?

evo_soul

den # 4504