Tune-up /Spark Plugs

I tried to have my GL tuned up at Rapide and i was surprise by how much it would cost. Tune up service is billed at P800 because they need to pulldown the intake manifold before they could replace the spark plugs, there's a chance daw na ma tear ang mga gasket when remove. Here's the photo for better illustration.



Need to replace the sparks because it's already due, after they took one out, I learned that the spark plugs that was used are original NGK platinum splugs as my SA says, anyways it is corroded and needs to be replaced. So I asked how much it would cost. Nagulat ako when I learned na P1,350 per pcs ang price nito so sa apat it will cost P5,400. Is this the correct? Before kasi free ang mga PMS ko dahil kasama ito sa freebies, now lang ako magpapatune up at my expense. It is recommended daw na platinum or Iridium Sparkplugs daw ang gamitin para less ang pag open nito to save the gaskets na for sure mahirap hanapin for replacement. I did't push through with the tune up.

Question lang po about sparkplugs, advisable ba na Platinum or Iridium SP ang gamitin? What's the difference between the two? and how much does it cost? Thanks

Iridium conducts better than platinum and lasts longer. Definitely the cost of Iridium will be much more than platinum. Platinum spark plugs would require checking after the odometer reading passes the 60-80K mark and Iridium possibly at 100-120K or possibly more. If you will be spending that much for a spark plug change anyway, go for the Iridium.

Another piece of advise....better have it serviced by casa and not Rapide. I have a few friends who have a very bad experience with their service.

Chairman, nasa 17k kilometers pa lang ang distance na tinatakbo ng spark plugs ko pero nararamdaman ko na mahina humatak malakas sa gas. When i saw the spark plugs, corroded na to, may kalawang na yun tip. For replacement na ba ito?

chualie wrote:Chairman, nasa 17k kilometers pa lang ang distance na tinatakbo ng spark plugs ko pero nararamdaman ko na mahina humatak malakas sa gas. When i saw the spark plugs, corroded na to, may kalawang na yun tip. For replacement na ba ito?

Chualie, try mo muna ipalinis yung spark plugs, carefully brush the metal tip of your plugs and avoid reving the engine hard lalo na kapag medyo malamig to prevent corrosion.

Also stay away from Rapide stay very very far away. Check this thread:

http://tsikot.com/forums/goon-squad-hq-19/rapide-feedback-thread-%5Bmerged%5D-horror-stories-others-26622/

Isa pa pala... mas mabilis masira ang spark plug kapag laging city driving ka lang. Kailangan din ng GL natin ng exercise para lalo gumanda takbo.

Thanks Bin, if you'll notice sa picture on the right side, may basahan na nakapatong sa side ng intake manifold, that's the only spot na you can easily get the spark plugs, the other 3, kailangan na tangalin yun manifold. So might as well replace it na lang kaya? since na due na din? But according to Chairman, good pa to from 60k to 80k. CASA is recommending to replace platinum spark plugs every 10k to 20k max. I think mali yun price ng Rapide na 1,350 /pcs ng platinum sp.

Chualie, as i remember sa sentra ko dati a set of Bosch platinums costs around 800 pesos. By the way saw this on the internet http://forum.autoworld.com.my/index.php?showtopic=95154.
mukhang mahirap nga magpalit ng spark plugs sa GL natin so might as well use yung klase na pang matagalan na. Iriduim type kaya pede sa GL natin?

I agree dapat yun pang matagalan na nga spark plugs ang dapat palagay, sa price naman ng platinum at iridium sp nasa 1500 to 2000 ang set of four nito.

chualie wrote:Chairman, nasa 17k kilometers pa lang ang distance na tinatakbo ng spark plugs ko pero nararamdaman ko na mahina humatak malakas sa gas. When i saw the spark plugs, corroded na to, may kalawang na yun tip. For replacement na ba ito?

I think it is the quality of fuel that you need to consider. Maging choosy ka sa mga gas stations that you fill up to since the quality of fuel of some gas stations may not be the best which explains why you have very poor pulling power and corroded spark plugs. Go for the newer stations or yung mga stations na subok na maganda ang quality ng fuel. I only gas up sa petron or shell sa may eastwood area since di binabaha ang lugar at the same time bago lang ang mga gas stations na ito. I don't top up sa Cainta area for obvious reasons. My good piece of advise is replace mo na yung spark plug mo to platinum (recommended) or iridium (highly recommended) as a corroded spark plug may not last that long and cleaning may not solve your issues and worst madodoble pa ang labor cost mo. Now going back to the fuel, I use between 95 and above octane such as the V-power Nitro or Blaze. Maganda ang hatak and tipid din ako sa gas, kahit sa city.

About sa fuel, I try to fill up with petron blaze from time to time to increase the octane rating of the gas inside my tank. Recommended din ito sa tsikot kasi they say na mabilis bumaba ang octane rating ng mga gas na may ethanol. XCS and Blaze lang ang ginagamit ko sa GL namin.

@chualie, thanks sa info regarding sa spark plugs. matatapos na this year ang warranty ko so most likely sa iba na ako magpa-tune up. hindi ako aware na ganun pala ang placement ng plugs natin. kaya i think mas ok na yung platinum or iridium na plugs na nga para matagalan.

another thing, please stay away from RAPIDE... hehehe

@chualie:

sir P600/pc lang ang original GL sparkplugs when I had mine replaced at Nissan S & J.

Thanks for the info mga Sirs, good reference to sa thread. By next week dadalin ko na sa casa, I'll update you guys. Does anyone know kung ano ang size or model ng sparkplug na nagfifit sa GL natin? I want to supply the iridium sparkplug na gagamitin for tune up. It's important kasi na malaman natin ito.

Got my GL serviced kanina, and i learned some things that I want to share with you guys. Yun stock spark plug pala natin is NGK platinum spark plugs that cost P531.25 each so sa set of 4 is P2,125. According to my SA, hindi daw adivsable yun iridium spark plugs kasi hindi daw compatible sa GL base on their experince, pumapalya daw kaya might as well go with the stock platinum sparkplugs, hindi din daw advisable yun ordinary splugs dahil short life span lang to Yun tune up pala ng GL is a bit complicated madaming babaklasin like yun intake manifold and some other technical parts na if done outside CASA mostlikely pumalpak dahil may gasket na baka mapunit and baka ma reset yun electronic idling / timing.

Hindi daw maganda yun burns ng sparkplug dahil corroded so mostlikly may moisture na pumapasok dun sa combustion chamber be careful daw sa pag papa engine wash dapat marunong daw yun gagawa and like chairman lydemer said yun fuel choices daw ng owner as much as possible daw trusted yun gasoline station na pinag kakargahan baka kasi nag kakaroon ng contamination sa reservoir tank ng mga station nila., avoid daw yun mga station na binabaha.

Nag papalit na din ako ng ATF 5 liters ata ang dapat ilagay, each one cost P 245.54 kaya sa 5 liters nasa P1,227.70 para hindi masabay sa 40kPMS.

Nag pa top up syntetic oil na din ako P600. one liter and replace oil filter (P406.25) for my GL.

Halos naka P6k ako for my 35k PMS ouch!

Hi Chualie, some observations on your SA's statements:

1. He said that Iridium spark plugs can cause an erratic idling in your engine. This is a false statement since Iridium is a very good conductor and lasts longer than platinum. The main difference is the contact material used in the plugs and does not in any way negatively influence the behavior of the combustion process as mentioned. Baka nga mag-improve pa nga ang idling and mileage ng GL mo. The SA just want you to stay stock.

2. Be careful sa engine wash as it might get in the spark plug and cause it to corrode. This is a nonsense as there is no way for water to seep in the combustion chamber except through the gasoline tanks or if you have run through a flooded street deep enough to have the engine ingest water. The engine is a sealed system and spark plugs have threads that is so airtight that water cannot even get in as the combustion process cannot allow a leak in the system by any means as it will loose pressure resulting to loss of power. The airtight conditions allows the system to compress air and fuel before igniting it to complete the combustion process as in the case of 2-4 stroke engines.

In my humble opinion, you may need to find another SA who is technically sound as I am getting this impression that he is not.

Oh and another thing, do not throw away your extra 1 liter of synthetic oil. Though you may be buying 4 liters of motor oil, everything is not used. What you can do is use the remaining oil from your last oil change on your next oil change which effectively means you will just need to buy 3 motor oils next time. That is what I did last time and just sharing with you so you can save some dough from your oil changes.

They recommend using the stock platinum spark plugs maybe because they don't have iridium splugs, i would like to try the iridium ones kaso you need to provide them and i don't know what size ang magfifit sa GL, i have the old ones here and i can use this as a sample in getting the iridium sp next time. Pero i'm apprehensive doing that kasi nga dun sa recommendation nila to use the stock platinum spark plugs parang pag hindi ka kasi sumunod sa gusto nila eh your at your own risk. Thanks for the feedback Chairman.

What is the spark plug part number when buying iridium or platinum

Hi Nicolite. I remember posting also about the spark plugs somewhere in another topic here. It is still a challenge to me up to now where to get a spark plug replacement, looks like sa casa na ako biibili. Anyway, eto yung naka kabit sa GL na OEM sa akin till now

Brand/Part#: NGK LZKAR6AP-11 (Double Platinum type)
Specs:
Electrode Gap [mm]: 1
Tightening Torque [Nm]: 23
Outer Thread [mm]: 12
Thread Pitch [mm]: 1,25
Thread Length [mm]: 26,5
Spanner Size: 14
Spark Position [mm]: 5
Number of Poles: 1


Other reference plugs na pwede sa GL natin, until now wala ako mabilhan hehehehe:

BOSCH0242135524
BOSCHVR7SPP33
NGK6643
NGKLZKAR6AP11
NGKPLZKAR6A11
NISSAN22401CK81B
NISSAN22401ED815
DENSO FXE20HR11


Other sources: http://japansparkplugs.com/boutique/en/ngk-plugs/599-1x-lzkar6ap-11.html

Eto daw ang pag Gl natin denso iridium IKH16 p1,996 a set, problem is di ko alam saan mshusay magpapalit outside casa. May marerecommend kayo shop? Thanks!

@yoogix, sir ito ba talaga ang part # ng sparkplug natin NGK LZKAR6AP-11? Sabi kasi ng exactautoparts na iridium daw to tapos 950 each, pero tiningnan ko sa ngk site platinum naman. Sabi pa nya boss na nya ang nagsabi tapos yung boss nya raw ay nagwowork sa planta ng nissan.

gergeray wrote:@yoogix, sir ito ba talaga ang part # ng sparkplug natin NGK LZKAR6AP-11? Sabi kasi ng exactautoparts na iridium daw to tapos 950 each, pero tiningnan ko sa ngk site platinum naman. Sabi pa nya boss na nya ang nagsabi tapos yung boss nya raw ay nagwowork sa planta ng nissan.

Hi sir gergeray, yes tama po NGK LZKAR6AP-11 ang original nakakabit sa GL natin. Platinum tip ito, hindi Iridium. Nasa User Manual din natin ang list ng stock spark plugs ng GL if you can would check sa bandang huli na pages:

NGK-LZKAR5AP-11
NGK LZKAR6AP-11
NGK LZKAR7AP-11

As the number goes up, the higher the "heat range" of the plugs. I had mine replaced during my 65k pms with NGK-LZKAR5AP-11 plugs. Either of the 3 is ok for normal driving conditions. Other brands of spark plugs can be used for as long as they matched the stock NGK specifications.

About heat ranges of spark plugs: hope it helps

http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/pdf/DYK_HeatRanges.pdf
http://www.ngk.com.au/spark-plugs/technical-information/heat-range-explanation

By the way sir eto yung topic na pinost ko on 65k pms sa casa:

https://weareloop.forumotion.com/t507p15-65k-pms


Here is the picture of the spark plugs na pinalitan sa GL ko. The new ones look exactly the same

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=568112839903267&set=a.568112779903273.1073741825.100001136671122&type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=568112823236602&set=a.568112779903273.1073741825.100001136671122&type=3&theater

By the way, for original Nissan parts outside of casa sa New Nissman ako bumilbili located in Masangkay Binondo in Manila. You can inquire at 244-7764. Si Ed lagi ko kausap dun at pwede din tumawad. I got the two front wheel hub-bearing assembly sa kanila last year and have it installed sa Servitek Goodyear. So far ok naman.

Tnx sa reply sir, akalain mo sir, ito pa binigay sa akin ngk lzkr6b-10e... Platinum daw to :-) tiningnan ko sa website standard lang.

Sa Casa sir yung NGK LZKAR5AP-11 is 739 pesos lang per piece. itong model ng spark plugs nag GL natin is "Double Platinum" tip. Meaning yung cnetral and lateral electrodes.

Yung standard na platinum ay yung central electrode lang ang platinum.