Suzuki GSX-R 600 K4 Iridium Spark Plugs

 Hi,

I've heard and see, some motorcycles have Iridium Spark Plugs, and
they last longer than the normal ones i use in my GSX_R600 K4, can i
start using then also on my bike.

The recommend plugs last for 12000 km's, how many km's or miles the
iridium will last.

thanks
Jaime
Portugal

 

Google is your friend, Jaime.

http://www.densoiridium.com/faq.php

"DENSO Iridium Power plugs, with their .4mm center electrode, have
been developed for performance applications. Because gradual wear will
'round-off' firing points over time, the concentrated firing power and
voltage requirement benefits will be reduced. For this reason, DENSO
advises replacement after 30,000 miles."

That's 48,000 km between spark plug changes.

But, consider the cost of iridium spark plugs compared to standard
spark plugs. A set of iridium spark plugs will cost me
four times what a set of standard spark plugs will cost, but will only
last 2.5 times as long. I change my standard spark plugs every 8,000
miles (12800 km).

Consider the valve adjustment interval. Some Honda and Suzuki
motorcycles require the valves to be checked at 16,000 miles (25,600
km) and some Yamaha motorcycles recommend checking the valves at
26,000 miles (42,000 km).

So, if I need to remove the fairing, gas tank and airbox at regular
intervals to check the valves, why not install the cheaper standard
spark plugs while the valves are being checked?

http://www.babcox.com/editorial/cm/cm120032.htm

"The main reason for using platinum electrodes is to minimize
electrode wear. Every time a plug fires, a tiny amount of metal is
vaporized and lost from the surface of both electrodes. The center
electrode typically suffers the most wear because it runs hotter than
the side electrode."

"As the electrodes wear, the air gap across which the spark must jump
becomes wider and wider. The gap on a standard spark plug grows about
0.00063m. to 0.000126 in. for every 1,000 miles of normal driving. And
the wider the gap, the greater the voltage needed to jump the gap. On
standard plugs, the firing voltage requirements creep up about 500
volts for every 10,000 to 15,000 miles of driving. Eventually, the
plug may need more volts to fire than the coil can produce, causing
the plug to misfire."

"Using platinum almost eliminates electrode wear. Platinum is
expensive, but it can double or even triple a spark plug's normal
service life - from 30,000 to 45,000 miles for a standard plug up to
60,000 to 100,000 miles or more with platinum. Most aftermarket plug
suppliers do not make specific mileage claims for their platinum
plugs, but say to follow the OEM replacement intervals - which in most
cases is 100,000 miles for platinum plugs."

"Denso and NGK have both introduced new premium plugs with iridium
alloy electrodes. NGK says iridium is even better than platinum in
terms of corrosion, and resistance and ignition performance."

 Albrecht wrote:


Are you sure it's not because of the polarity of the coil?

Single platinum tipped plugs aren't recommended for engines using double-ended
coils.

Harley only offers double and triple tipped plugs to address this issue.

 On Apr 20, 3:39?pm, James Clark

coils.

You may not have noticed that the statement was a quote from
http://www.babcox.com/editorial/cm/cm120032.htm

"But the Barrister, weary of proving in vain
That the Beaver's lace-making was wrong
Fell asleep, and in dreams saw the creature quite plain
That his fancy had dwelt on so long."
----Lewis Carroll http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/438.html

 James Clark schreef:

coils.

I've been in the DC-welding area for some years and did lab work
on electrodes. Measuring temperatures like I did cannot be compared
to whatever happens inside a combustion chamber and how tip and
side electrode of a spark plug can get rid of the heat, but:

When you have two identical electrodes, the minus gets hotter than
the plus, and the plus wears faster.

Reason is that the negative electons are lighter than the
positive particles (atoms with a few missing electrons).

Wear is easy to understand. The positive electrode spits out
atoms+electrons. The negative spits out electrons only.
And the positive electrode thus wears faster.

Temperature difference comes because the negative
electrode is bombarded with (heavy) atoms, and
the positive electrode is bombarded with light electrons.
The kinetic impact energy of the atoms heats the
negative electrode more than the electron bombardment
does to the positive electrode.

Like I said, the difference in temperature cannot be
compared to what happens in the cilinder.
But the positive electrode will wear out faster anyway.

I don't know why Platinum lasts longer. It really does.
We used Wolfram (Tungsten) for electrodes. It may have to do with
the internal bonding force between atoms, but this is a guess.

And further:
Did I ever buy Platinum spark plugs?
No. Not worth the price.

Rob.