spark plug sticker shock

"parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis" (parkrndl)
02/27/2016 at 12:11 • Filed to: None

ok, so fellow old-timers can feel free to correct me if I’m wrong... but weren’t spark plugs about a buck fifty each not too long ago? as a kid in the ‘80s, I went through a series of shitbox GM V8 cars from the early ‘70s. maybe I’m getting old and forgetting shit, but I would swear that at the time, I could get a set of AC R44s with a $20 bill and still have change for lunch at McDonald’s. (And I’m talking Quarter Pounder with Cheese and Supersize Me here, none of this dollar menu shit... but I digress.)

at any rate, I stopped at Auto Zone today to get a set of plugs for my DD, a 2007 Altima 2.5 with 150k on the original plugs. while I appreciate that a tuneup now can be accomplished solely by changing 4 plugs and there’s no longer the issue of points and cap and rotor and all the other farm-equipment-related parts from the previous century, those motherfuckers are TWENTY DOLLARS EACH. to be fair, that’s for the NGK Iridiums, and there are Autolite Iridiums available for $6.99 and Bosch Iridiums somewhere in the middle. but I’ve read that using the NGKs really makes a difference. anyone have experience or advice to the contrary?

DISCUSSION (17)

Berang > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
02/27/2016 at 12:14

Plugs for my car are like $2.50 each?

I don’t really know if they make a noticeable difference, performance wise, some types just last longer than others.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
02/27/2016 at 12:16

Which NGK Iridiums?

Acura recommends these for the TL and they’re usually under $10 a piece

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
02/27/2016 at 12:16

$10 seems about right. Try Amazon

iSureWilll > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
02/27/2016 at 12:16

NGKs obviously work great as so many people use them and speak in high regard. I've used Bosch plugs in a lot of cars and always worked great. Autolites are alright too. Especially if they're going in a DD Altima. No offense. I'm comparing to say a C63 or something where performance is more important. Even if the Autolites lasted only 2/3 the life of the NGKs you'll get rid of the car before you need to replace them 3 times.

Little Black Coupe Turned Silver > Berang
02/27/2016 at 12:24

That’s the difference between a copper and iridium plug. The new technology means you probably only will have to change the plugs once or twice, but at a slightly higher cost.

crowmolly > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
02/27/2016 at 12:30

I run R44LTS plugs @ $2.50 each. Not terrible.

Urambo Tauro > Little Black Coupe Turned Silver
02/27/2016 at 12:37

My car and my truck are both from 1995 and both take copper-core plugs. When I had my ‘96 Thunderbird, it called for double-platinums, but they were good for about twice as many miles...

AkursedX > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
02/27/2016 at 12:44

Yeah, $20 for a conventional iridium plug is way too high. They should be in the ~$10 range.

But for RX8's spark plugs really are close to $20 a piece. And they only last about 20k miles.

Master Cylinder > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
02/27/2016 at 12:44

Last time I bought plugs for my 944 they were about $2 apiece. I only use the plain old copper types, though.

parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis > Little Black Coupe Turned Silver
02/27/2016 at 13:02

I’ll give you that. Nissan recommends the first change at 105,000 miles.

parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
02/27/2016 at 13:06

I’m sure this is an Auto Zone stock number and not an NGK part number, but it’s all i have at the moment...

Kinja'd!!!

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
02/27/2016 at 13:13

Are your spark plugs more than $10/ea? If you’re not driving a(n) [insert vintage/exotic/supercar name here] then you are paying too much for spark plugs. NGK Iridiums for my motorcycle (the most expensive plugs I have ever bought, a special order because no one stocked them) were $12.95 ea.

deekster_caddy > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
02/27/2016 at 13:25

Old school copper plugs are still cheap, but not as cheap as they used to be. I remember when they were under $2 each too, and heck most of the time all you really needed to do was check the gap. New plugs are kind of insane. Such is life for the “maintenance free” engine. 100,000 miles on a set of plugs is also impressive compared to the old school.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
02/27/2016 at 13:32

You're telling me... When I change my plugs it's 24 plugs. At $6 ish a peice .

parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
02/27/2016 at 13:40

Just checked Rock Auto... they have the NGKs for $15.99. They also have two different Denso Iridiums... one for about 5 bucks and one for about 10. Looks like there’s tons of threads on Honda/Nissan/Toyota forums debating the relative merits of NGK vs. Denso, so I’m guessing they’d be fine either way for DD duty...

CAR_IS_MI > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
02/27/2016 at 13:49

The plugs for my S63 cost $159 for a set of 8... so about the same...

Granted a set of 4 for my Miata costs about $11 for the OEM equivalent.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > parkrndl is enjoying his midlife crisis
02/27/2016 at 14:00

Theyre $17 on amazon