My big Cat has 84K now, and she was idling fine. But not the "champagne glass" fine. So I went and pulled the original NGKs out, and replaced them with Iridium NGKs. What a difference!!

Gentlemen,......change your plugs! It's worth it.

 

what are NGKs daniels? are those spark plugs? lol and how did they make a huge difference..i almost have the money to fix my kitty! i should be calling gabriel in about 2 weeks..what a long journey it has been without my car! LOL

 

Yep. Still firing is not the same as firing well.

If you look at the electrode tip under a magnifying glass you will see some rounding.

Plats are a good compromise because they are inexpensive enough that changing more frequently does not hurt.

The new Denso Platinum TT design is very interesting and only $1.84'ish each at rockauto.

The key design feature is the ground electrode which has a "pin" tip to unshroud the flame kernel.

 

Yup, the spark plugs. Like Plums says: "still firing" vs. "firing well". A lot of people neglect changing plugs on the modern cars (manufacturers claim 'lifetime' plugs and such).

My VDP was running "well". the idle could've been a little smoother, but there was no "loping", misfiring, or anything like that. When I pulled the original plugs, I was amazed! The gap was WAY too big, electrode was completely rounded off, but they were perfect color, and I was glad to see that the engine is as healthy as I thought it to be.

The new plugs made a BIG difference though. She idles VERY VERY smooth now, and just seems "happier". My wife's car WAS "loping" a little, and it seemed like it's misfiring too. Plugs did not show any signs of misfire when I pulled them out. With new plugs there is no loping, no hickups in the idle,....nothing. This thing also had the original plugs at 102K.

That's why I said "gentlemen (and ladies in this case!) change your plugs".

"Goddess",......when will we do the lunch? I am in SB today at the lunch time (two blocks from you). Call me and let me know.

 

Rest assured Danielsand, I change my plugs at every annual service even if the car has only done 5000 miles.

Just one more inexpensive thing to rule out.