Iridium Sparkplugs vs.

Current Sparkplugs

For this topic I looked up a variety of websites, including forums, and spoke to a few
people I know who have tried them out. The iridium type plugs for our engine are around
£12 compared to £7 for the standard type. They are predominately used within turbo cars
due to their higher operating temperatures and slightly more efficient spark. Main
advantages are that they tend to put less stress on the ignition system and create a more
efficient spark which in turn increases fuel efficiency. They can also create better throttle
response but do not directly increase bhp or torque. The plugs tend to only see noticeable
results in higher capacity engines and where there are more than four cylinders.

Conclusion

In a bike the sparkplugs are usually of a higher quality than their car engine cousins. Bike
engines achieve their power output through using high quality materials and manufacturing
processes. Everything is built with tight tolerances. In most cases I investigated the
Iridium plugs were being used as replacements for more standard forms. Our engine is
also only 600cc, thus we would observe no real benefit over a good set of standard plugs
(that were built for our type of engine). In honesty we would see greater results if we
replaced the current plugs with new ones of the same type (I am unsure if these plugs
have ever been replaced) and set the plug gaps to the value stated in the Haynes manual.
If the plugs have never been changed by us they will most likely be the originals and will
have begun to break down. Also even if they were recently replaced it is unlikely the gaps
were set to the correct values (they don’t always come out the box preset).