Friday, June 3, 2011

How often should you change your spark plugs?

I have a '98 Mazda Protege LX 1.5L 4 cylinder with just over 111,000 miles. I was wondering how often you need to change the spark plugs. Also, I heard people say they changed the wires, rotor and cap. Do you need to do that too?How often should you change your spark plugs?The normal rule of thumb is to change the plugs and wires every 100,000 miles. As far as the rotor...if your car has that because most vehicles nowadays are all electronic...I wouldn't replace that until you start having issues with it.How often should you change your spark plugs?Forget about replacing wires, The factory wires should last for the lifetime of the car, unless they have been eaten by squirrels. Power wash your engine for starters. Remove your dist cap and check it INSIDE for the presence of engine oil. Many times, oil under pressure will find it's way here. Wash it out with CRC electronic cleaner. It will remove the oil and evaporate quickly. Replace the cap and rotor at 100,000 miles, using ONLY genuine Mazda (nippondenso) parts. There is a resistor in many dist rotors that go bad with age. Locate, remove and clean your IAC valve (idle air control valve). Use Gum-out spray. Clean the throttle body and plate and PCV valve, too. Run the Gum-out through the engine with car running, warm. Any carbon inside the intake manifold will dislodge and get dispelled. When everything is factory clean, replace the plugs. Use the new Nippondenso Twin Tip plugs ($3 each). Or nippondenso Iridium plugs ($9 each). Engine and sensors should ALL be clean. Plugs are last step. These plugs will give you best power and fuel mileage. Wait and see!!!! If you MUST change the wires, use ONLY factory wires. Never short change the original parts. They were made to last longest and work the best. The plugs I have mentioned will react with modern fuel and burn more cleanly and produce more power. Emissions go down,too. For even better performance, motor flush the engine and use ELF oil (France) made for Mazda (JASO ratings). Change it once yearly. Your engine will LOVE you for it!!!! So will your lifters, rings, and other engine vitals. Good luck!!How often should you change your spark plugs?Read your owners manual. Your car probably needs plugs at 60,000 miles or so, if your car runs on an ignition cap and wires, then yes, replace plugs, INSPECT wires for damage, check your points in the cap for wear (if dull, replace, if they have a sharp edge still, probably ok). If you car has electronic ignition, the plugs probably could go longer. My fathers ford F-250 has electronic ignition, so the plugs need replaced at 100,000 miles... factory stated.How often should you change your spark plugs?you should change it like every 3 1/2 year

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