Fine time to change GL sprkpulugs?

Hi guys.

I've just changed sparkplugs, same type. Sinabay ko na lang sa PMS. My odometer indicates 57k of mileage.
I noticed that my GL's FC has lowered a bit these past few weeks, from 12.5/ltr. to 11.3/ltr. I'll be going to Boracay tomorrow. Nice chance to see whether the change of spark plugs will give me back my old FC. Will post my findings as soon as I return.
Btw, sparkplugs are at P600 per; P2,400 for a set of 4.

^^
mine too, my FC during mixed conditions is around 11kms/li (M/T). now im getting less than 10. hindi pa napalitan plugs ko and i'm nearing 20k na. sabi ng SA sa 20k na ako papalitan ng plugs dati. please post your observation.

thanks and ingat sa byahe Sir...

@aln:

sir, I averaged 12.8kms/l FC papuntang Boracay. Medyo hindi pa ako satisfied although expected ko yan dahil pumalo ako ng 100-120kph sustained speed kasi may hinahabol ako. Anyway, I'll be back there on the 21st. Try ko na huwag lumampas ng 90kph. I'll post my observations afterwards.

hmmm teka ako going 35k kms na- nagpalit na ba ako?

@steel, sir purely highway naman ang byahe mo diba? baka tumaas pa yan kung 90kph siguro

@dbanker, malamang naman sir napalitan na po yung plugs niyo

@steel, sir purely highway naman ang byahe mo diba? baka tumaas pa yan kung 90kph siguro

yes sir. almost highway totally. may mga 20 kms din kasi na winding mountain road. but dati kasi, I was averaging 14-15 kms/ltr. sa Boracay trips ko.

My SA from Mantrade told me that spark plugs are to be changed at 40K.

xuaeenr wrote:My SA from Mantrade told me that spark plugs are to be changed at 40K.

that's some advice from Mantrade sir. ask sir badtoy.

so it should be 20K?

^^
not sure sa 40k sir, sa akin kasi 20k daw. iba iba na naman ang mga dealer...

I will check my manual. But I will follow 20K. Also checked on the Net. Thanks!

xuaeenr wrote:I will check my manual. But I will follow 20K. Also checked on the Net. Thanks!

sir the manual is inconlcusive (see my previous post). but it appears to me that 50k seems to be a good time to change the GL sparkplugs.

sparkplugs at 600 pesos a piece is quite expensive. ano meron special with these sparkplug? Whats the difference with the regular NGK of my old toyota and vitara priced at 75pesos each?

@badtoy, sir I believe our GL is equipped with platinum (harder metal) tip spark plugs based on the user's manual. This means that it can last longer than the regular spark plugs with tips made from solid nickel alloy and sometimes combined with copper for better electrical conduction.

Spark plugs are subjected to high temperatures during engine operations. The tip is then introduced to corrosion for a certain period of operation. The factors are:

1. Carbon deposits that failed to evacuate the cylinder get stuck to the spark plugs central electrode (tip) and side electrodes (the angled nickel steel aimed at tip). Thus, lessening the possibility of a spark which may result to misfire. Also, a dirty gasoline or a poor quality gasoline may factor into this.
2. Too much engine stress due to: racing, heavy hauling, driving frequently on a steep climb and frequent stop and go city traffic driving. So mas madaling mapudpod yung tip.
3. Irregular voltage surges, which may misfire or melt the plugs tip. But in GLs case, engine ignition is controlled by the computer and therefore voltage is more regulated than old cars that uses "contact breaker points" housed in the distributor. Our GL is equipped with Electronic Points controlled directly by the ECU. I checked this and there is no distributor inside my GLs engine bay. (Please feel free to correct me if I am mistaken)

So basically, it is designed to wear out no matter what it is made of (maybe if adamantium spark plugs exists like from the claws of wolverine of x-men). Kidding aside, here are some symptoms we can watch out that may indicate our spark plugs are near its serviceable life:

1. Sluggish engine performance (provided you have always changed oil/filter, air filter regularly).
2. Bad fuel economy (provided you have always changed oil/filter, air filter regularly).
3. Hard start or rough idling.
4. Pinging sound coming from the engine (high pitched and loud sound) or eto yung tawagin natin na palyado yung tunog. We do not want this to happen, so lets not wait to hear this symptom as it could seriously damage the car engine.

Mine is at 23,500k KM reading, During my 20k pms, it was on the Casa's their "to-be-replaced" list. I opted not to have it replaced, as advised by some of my trusted friends who are serious car fanatics and of course, my mekanikong kapitbahay who owns a car repair shop. Since i am not abusive daw sa pag gamit ng sasakyan, plus platinum tips sparkies, i can stretched it up to 40-50k. Basta pakiramdaman ko lang daw yung performance ng makina for the above listed symptoms. I made sure sa Casa na di ma void yung warranty, what i had them do is to check the spark plugs if they are still in good operating condition. Ok pa naman daw so far hehehe





sources:
Friends / mekaniko-kapitbahay

also some good reads
http://www.autohausaz.com/html/spark-plugs_spark-plug-wires.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spark_plug

badtoy wrote:sparkplugs at 600 pesos a piece is quite expensive. ano meron special with these sparkplug? Whats the difference with the regular NGK of my old toyota and vitara priced at 75pesos each?

sir, I think the dealership (most probably not Mantrade, he he he) can explain the difference. What I understand is that the replacement sparkplugs is the same with the original sparkplugs.

@yoogix, thanks for the info/tip. i'm nearing 20k PMS already and right now i feel the car to be running "sluggish" and i notice that there is already a drop in my FC. i have two things in my mind that may have caused this,

1. air filter - my GL's air filter has not been replaced since i bought it, i think sa 20k PMS ito papalitan.
2. spark plugs - same with the air filter, hindi pa din ito napapalitan and sa 20k PMS din ito.

for now, i will replace the air filter and spark plugs just to be sure

aln wrote:@yoogix, thanks for the info/tip. i'm nearing 20k PMS already and right now i feel the car to be running "sluggish" and i notice that there is already a drop in my FC. i have two things in my mind that may have caused this,

1. air filter - my GL's air filter has not been replaced since i bought it, i think sa 20k PMS ito papalitan.
2. spark plugs - same with the air filter, hindi pa din ito napapalitan and sa 20k PMS din ito.

for now, i will replace the air filter and spark plugs just to be sure

Cgurado gaganda takbo nyan sir at lalamig ang ac, basta dapat ibalik sa iyo yung old airfilter and sparkplugs para sure na napalitan.

^^ i just hope na yung ibabalik sa akin is yung tinanggal nga sa akin talga. hahaha

aln wrote:^^ i just hope na yung ibabalik sa akin is yung tinanggal nga sa akin talga. hahaha

.

mostlikely nga ibalik talaga yun used parts mo sa yo sir, konti lang naman ang GL, whenever i go sa ngqa, wala pa akong nakakasabay na gl din.

sa dealer ko sa shaw dami ko nakakasabay dun. btw, officemate ni misis bumili din ng GL. same kami ng dealer and agent. sana mahatak ko sa EB

heads up guys.

My FC increased to 13.6kms/liter during my last sortie to Boracay. Prior to that, parang 12.3 kms/ liter lang yata. Same route but this time my top speed was only 90km/h.I added STP Gas Cleaner to my fuel tank though. I also replaced A/C and air filters before the trip.

Heads up guys.

The road from San Jose, Antique to Caticlan is all plain and straightaways. Out of curiosity, I checked my FC. I got 15.8 kms/liter. It's 5.8 liters over 92 kms., the distance between San Jose and Culasi, Antique. Aircon speed was 1 and my top sustained speed was 90 kms/hr. Tire pressure is 37 psi on all 4 tires.

Bakit ganon? Katatapos ko lang pa 40k pms kahapon di naman pinalitan spark plugs ko? 80k daw recommended replacement ng spark plugs. Napapaisip tuloy ako. Papalitan ko siguro sa 50k.

Emm21 wrote:Bakit ganon? Katatapos ko lang pa 40k pms kahapon di naman pinalitan spark plugs ko? 80k daw recommended replacement ng spark plugs. Napapaisip tuloy ako. Papalitan ko siguro sa 50k.

Hi Emm21, sir ask again another Service Advisor about this. Masyadong matagal yung 80k for a sparkplug change. The danger there is that kahit mag last yun hanggang 80k, pero sa sobrang tagal na di tinatanggal yung sparkplugs is that it might get stucked or almost welded na at mahirapan tanggalin. I would usually have mine checked every pms sa casa. I would instruct them to pull it out and visually inspect it, at least ma inspect na, at ma re-seat pa yung sparkplugs at the same time.

on the previous page of this thread i gave some links that may be of help sa visual inspection ng sparkplugs natin. I hope this helps. Here is the link sir.

http://www.autohausaz.com/html/spark-plugs_spark-plug-wires.html

600 pesos per sparkplug is still expensive even for a platinum tipped type. Sa sentra ko dati 750 pesos for a set of 4 already bosch platinum yun. Ok lang ba sa casa kapag ikaw mismo magdadala ng mga parts at sila na lang sa labor para di mavoid ang warranty?