spark plugs...

[hypo]

I know that quite a few of us wrench our own bikes, and was wondering what everyones favorite spark plugs were and why. Or do you just go stock with what you run? Coming off a VTwin I use to run the E3's E3 Spark Plugs cuz they burned cleaner and it was carb'd... interested to know what all the fuel injected crowds do.

Our FZ8's take the NGK/CR9E plugs... which can be switched out with E3's E3.38 (or Champion G57/59's or Autolite 4302's or 4303's... but this information is general in nature, please verify exactly WHICH plug will work from Champion/Autolite if you decide to use different plugs.)

E3's compatibility matrix

 

[kbrink]

I personally have not put enough miles on my bike to warrant a plug change yet. But I am curious about these E3 plugs you were running, did you notice a difference between the stock plugs and the E3's? It seems to me the FZ8 does have a bit of fuel that goes unburned, and if these (E3's) are more efficient, than I might give them a shot. Did you notice any downfalls to the E3's?

Sorry about not answering your questions.

________________________________
Ride safe & have FUN!!!!!

 

[hypo]

I switched out the NGK's at about 7000 miles for them and saved the old ones to compare later. Two changes:

1. immediately noticed smoother idle with immediate response on throttle. (carbs sometimes choke a little on the gas.) But with newer components you would expect that type of improvement.

2. a definite change in gas mileage and fuel burn for the better. Again probably due to newer components.

On carb'd bikes, it usually comes down to what you've done with your fuel delivery system. If you ram-aired it, jetted it, stuck performance pipes on there and beat on it with lots of high RPM demanding riding, you're going to abuse your plugs as bad as you're abusing your oil/lubrication. Pretty sure fuel injection doesn't do much more than control it a lot more delicately than twisting a carb screw. So either way you should be checking your plugs every other oil change just to see if you're firing correctly and you're not damaging your plugs/engine with bad fuel/fuel flow/rich/lean....

so after 3000 miles I pulled out the E3's and laid them down next to the NGK that I had replaced (same cylinder location.) There was definitely consistency between which one had leaks and which ones burned normal, but overall I think that the more conductor available for firing contact will allow the plug to last longer and work better.

I like to think of my bike as a more refined mixture of art and performance than a car. And yes, spark plugs can get expensive if you go for the crazy expensive ones, but I tend to replace my plugs every 9k to 12k minimum depending on how they are wearing.

 

[hypo]

Since my 6600 oil change is coming up before January if I keep riding, I'm gonna go ahead and swap out my plugs for the E3.38's and save the old ones for a comparison at 12k.

 

[FaZerick8]

Has anyone tried the NGK Iridium spark plugs (CR9EIX)? It's supposed to be NGK's performance plug for the FZ8.