[Spaceme1117]

I have seen that NGK makes ruthenium tipped spark plugs now. Supposedly even better than iridium tipped plugs.

Supposed to give better cold starting and throttle response.

The part for the LT1 has a double fine electrode which to me looks like they may actually help as it may expose more of the air/fuel mixture to the spark.

Any one try these out or have any experience with them?

[avalonandl]

Stick to Iridium.

[UnknownJinX]

From what I have seen, people just say the car runs smoother, which could be a placebo.

I wouldn't expect anything quantifiable when it comes to power gain.

[BruceWayne1LE]

I definitely wouldn’t go through the a** pounding of changing spark plugs just to find out...

[ember1205]

Stick with stock. GM chose a plug that fit with their engine needs and it will perform well.

I've been down the avenue of swapping to different types and such, and it just doesn't have ANY positive aspect on newer cars (unless you have a specific need to switch the plug due to bolt-on's or a tune). In fact, I've found that overall plug life got worse when changing to "better" plugs and the engines never ran any better.

[UnknownJinX]

Originally Posted by BruceWayne1LE

I definitely wouldn’t go through the a** pounding of changing spark plugs just to find out...

What? I mean, I wouldn't change the plugs for no reason(other than Tinkeritus), but it's nowhere close to a butt pounding.

Ever see anyone change spark plugs on a rotary before? Now that's some effort.

Or better yet, Subaru's...

[UnknownJinX]

Found a somewhat helpful reading for real world usage of these plugs.

https://m.facebook.com/adamtuned/pos...?locale2=pt_BR

[BruceWayne1LE]

Originally Posted by UnknownJinX

What? I mean, I wouldn't change the plugs for no reason(other than Tinkeritus), but it's nowhere close to a butt pounding.

Ever see anyone change spark plugs on a rotary before? Now that's some effort.

Or better yet, Subaru's...

I was not a fan. But maybe because I did my after I did my headers and relocated the wiring harness over the passenger front plugs. Removed the coolant tank for better access. Also lost an old plug to the Camaro gods somewhere deep in the motor mount.

[Jaxcam02]

Ruthenium sounds like some type of material from Runescape

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by UnknownJinX

Found a somewhat helpful reading for real world usage of these plugs.

https://m.facebook.com/adamtuned/pos...?locale2=pt_BR

They basically said that the Ruthenium and Iridium plugs run the same. They did test Ruthenium plugs that were one step colder in terms of when they ignite and showed that it did reduce knock in lower octane fuels. What I -didn't- see anything about is whether they also tested one step colder Iridium plugs in the same situation.

Since a colder plug removes heat more quickly and reduces pre-det / knock, it would seem that colder Iridium would garner identical results and at a lower cost than the Ruthenium.

[UnknownJinX]

Originally Posted by BruceWayne1LE

I was not a fan. But maybe because I did my after I did my headers and relocated the wiring harness over the passenger front plugs. Removed the coolant tank for better access. Also lost an old plug to the Camaro gods somewhere deep in the motor mount.

Yeah I saw you have to remove the coolant reservoir so that can be a bit of work. Still miles better than what Subaru guys have to deal with.

Originally Posted by ember1205

They basically said that the Ruthenium and Iridium plugs run the same. They did test Ruthenium plugs that were one step colder in terms of when they ignite and showed that it did reduce knock in lower octane fuels. What I -didn't- see anything about is whether they also tested one step colder Iridium plugs in the same situation.



Since a colder plug removes heat more quickly and reduces pre-det / knock, it would seem that colder Iridium would garner identical results and at a lower cost than the Ruthenium.

I think they tested the Californian 91 fuel with the Ruthenium spark plugs of the same heat range as the Iridium plugs, but yeah the post isn't 100% clear on that. That, and the Fiesta ST seem to be the only cases where they saw a gain in power, or rather, a conservation in the original power as those cars don't pull timing as much.

Also, wouldn't run colder plugs on a stock or mildly modded car if you are daily driving it. It could foul the spark plugs.

It seems like most people online who notice a difference are either due for a spark plug change anyway(so even new Iridium spark plugs could also have made the same improvements), or are turbocharged(which are harsher on the spark plugs to start with).

So with a stock NA car, I doubt there is much benefit as Iridium spark plugs are already good for 100k miles or so, and there are concerns with spark plugs fusing with the aluminum heads if the spark plugs are left in for too long. With the FI cars, there could be some benefit from the Ruthenium plugs as they don't tend to last as long(I think the FI Camaro's need spark plugs at 60k miles instead of 100k miles).

Even on the NGK website, the performance difference between Iridium and Ruthenium is very small. They quote a 0.2 second advantage with Ruthenium over Iridium over a period of 23 seconds, so with our cars that can do 0-60 in mid to low 4 seconds, the ambient temperature can probably cause more fluctuation than Ruthenium spark plugs ever could.

So... Yeah, I wouldn't try them unless I am due for a spark plug change anyway.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by UnknownJinX

I think they tested the Californian 91 fuel with the Ruthenium spark plugs of the same heat range as the Iridium plugs, but yeah the post isn't 100% clear on that. That, and the Fiesta ST seem to be the only cases where they saw a gain in power, or rather, a conservation in the original power as those cars don't pull timing as much.

Also, wouldn't run colder plugs on a stock or mildly modded car if you are daily driving it. It could foul the spark plugs.

It seems like most people online who notice a difference are either due for a spark plug change anyway(so even new Iridium spark plugs could also have made the same improvements), or are turbocharged(which are harsher on the spark plugs to start with).

So with a stock NA car, I doubt there is much benefit as Iridium spark plugs are already good for 100k miles or so, and there are concerns with spark plugs fusing with the aluminum heads if the spark plugs are left in for too long. With the FI cars, there could be some benefit from the Ruthenium plugs as they don't tend to last as long.

Even on the NGK website, the performance difference between Iridium and Ruthenium is very small. They quote a 0.2 second advantage with Ruthenium over Iridium over a period of 23 seconds, so with our cars that can do 0-60 in mid to low 4 seconds, the ambient temperature can probably cause more fluctuation than Ruthenium spark plugs ever could.

Yes, the specific use case was for people that couldn't get better than 91. The Premium Fuel in our cars, for example, is specifically to avoid knock. If you drop the octane, the risk of knock will go up. That would be a situation where a colder plug could help, but it wasn't clear if they did any sort of test with a colder Iridium...

[cellsafemode]

I imagine these would be the same at the beginning of their life as iridium, then as you reach 75k miles and beyond, the difference gap widens a bit with these outperforming the iridium. With these plugs basically being one-and-done for the life of the car.

I'd expect these to become standard in many vehicles assuming ngk can make enough of them as they turn them into something you'd only need to service if the car was failing in some other way (bad injector causing plug fouling or overheating or bad gas)

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by Spaceme1117

it may expose more of the air/fuel mixture to the spark.

Maybe. And will that result in any measurable performance difference?
The igniter on my weber grill has been sparking to what's left of the rusted plates for 20 years. The gas always seems to find the spark.