Changing to NGK Iridum IXs

I used Platinums on my first car, a Proton Satria 1.6 long ago. This will be my first time with Irirdiums.

My car runs at least 90Km per day and this means, I would be servicing my car every 4 months.

This daily commute seems slightly shorter compare to when I was an Engineer decades ago and I am used to driving such distances by now. And to be honest, I enjoy driving on long roads (except when I am going to be late). Unfortunately, this also translates to higher wear and tear on the car. I think it's time I need to do some serious maintenance on this decade old car.

First off, I would be changing the spark plugs. Based on my experience with Perodua, the spark plugs are changed every 20,000Km for about RM52.00 despite their Service manual stating it has to be changed every 100,000Km. At my current job which service European cars, they are changed every 40,000Km. Lastly according ton NGK's Iridium IX, they are changed at every 100,000Km. A lot to think about because there is a theory that the original sparks when I first got the car could be very, very good. But you know, 10 years later, this is not so important anymore.

I won't compare with Service Intervals because that's too long. I mean, for 100K, this would mean 10 service intervals or 5 years. Let's look at mileage instead. Of course, I would need to bump up the normal plugs five time since Perodua changes mine about every 20K.

Perodua: RM52.00 x 5 = RM260 = RM0.0026/Km
Iridium IX: RM158 = RM0.0016/Km

So, yeah, despite what everyone says and their own theory of cost saving, I want to try some NGKs. Because I can.

This time, I decided to try PH Auto located in SEA Park,Petaling Jaya. The total cost set me back quite a bit since I also bought a thermostat, an air filter and some Toyota Long Life coolant.

Before you can start replacing the spark plugs, you need to deal with the Air filter compartment first. The first thing is to unlock all six clamps.

It is also a good time to change the air filter too. We used to just blow away the dust with compressed air but after some time, it is better to change to a new one. I think the older one was about a year ago, or 3 services past...

The you need to unscrew the three 10mm bolts. Note that the bolt above is the shortest of the three.

 

Carefully pull the tray up and then move it to the right, making sure the clipped tube and wires are not pulled out (I can pull them all out but I'm too lazy to today). Again, remove the four 10mm bolts which secures the ignition coils.

Starting with the rightmost which I call this #4, after pulling out the ignition coil, I unscrew the plug with a tool I borrowed. For Perodua, I used a 14mm socket. The plug looked a little burnt and some oil though.

Things got a little worrying with #3 as there are some oil residue on the tool and also on the ignition coil.

I started to worry once I reached #1 as there are more engine oil on the coil and the plug well. Even the plug is wet.

This is Plug #1 and it is wet with engine oil

Spark Plug conditions from left to right

Anti-Clockwise starting from bottom right

Conclusion
After starting up the car, the idling is much smoother and from the brief test drive, it seemed like the car is getting impatient with my slow driving. I cannot prove this but I did take a before and after video where the sounds from the Engine has changed slightly.

I will know more when I commute come Monday...

But one thing for sure, I cannot ignore the engine oil in the spark plug wells. It is a serious condition where (according to the Internet) it could be failing gaskets or maybe just the o-rings. Still, that means more money gone.