Your favorite spark plug?

[Snakeoil]

Those little spark plug cuff links and tie tacks were “Swag” as it’s called today, received by someone who is long gone now when he was manager of a Sears Auto Center. He gifted them to me when I was a high school motor head that aspired to be an automotive engineer, among a few other things, I settled on outsmarting heavy objects . They are my favorite spark plugs .

Happy trails,
Jaybird

They gorgeous little gems. I'll bet they were made from model engine spark plugs. I say that because of the thumb screw on them. Pretty sure you can still buy those tiny spark plugs for vintage model engines.

[harryball]

Amazon WARNING about NGK spark plugs. It's been a few years, but I stopped ordering sparkplugs from Amazon after a got a box of 6 counterfeit NGK plugs. My first tip off was the bike was not running right so I switched to two more, same issue. I ended up switching to my spares which solved the issues.

Then, the plugs, I noticed in reviews when I went to return them many "I got counterfeit plugs" reviews. So, I followed one of the links and sure enough, fake as Hollywood Double Ds. Amazon returned them for a full refund.

https://www.ngkntk.com/newsroom/blog/emea/fake-or-not/

[GHGoodwin]

BPR7HIX

[jaybird]

Those little spark plug cuff links and tie tacks were “Swag” as it’s called today, received by someone who is long gone now when he was manager of a Sears Auto Center. He gifted them to me when I was a high school motor head that aspired to be an automotive engineer, among a few other things, I settled on outsmarting heavy objects . They are my favorite spark plugs .

Happy trails,
Jaybird

They gorgeous little gems. I'll bet they were made from model engine spark plugs. I say that because of the thumb screw on them. Pretty sure you can still buy those tiny spark plugs for vintage model engines.

I had never considered that they might be actual functional spark plugs, and other than admiring someone’s work, I’ve never been a model guy.

https://www.google.com/search?q=model+e ... afari#ip=1
That link looks like a rabbit hole that I don’t have time for today, I’ll check it out later .

Happy trails,
Jaybird

[Snakeoil]

I had never considered that they might be actual functional spark plugs, and other than admiring someone’s work, I’ve never been a model guy.

https://www.google.com/search?q=model+e ... afari#ip=1
That link looks like a rabbit hole that I don’t have time for today, I’ll check it out later .

Happy trails,
Jaybird

Yup, there is something alluring about RC model engines. I bought an RC Hydro with a nitro outboard from a cousin and I actually got it out last year and got it running, but never put it in the water as conditions did not permit. I went to a big hobby show in NYC with a friend once. They had 5 cylinder radial aircraft engines you could hold in one hand. Kawasaki had a honest to goodness jet engine that was about 10 inches long. They are just gorgeous little machines. But I could never get into the whole RC thing because in the long run, it is still not real. It would be like having and RC Ural. About 10 minutes of messing with it would be enough.

You should try to hook one of those up to a coil, Jay and see if it will fire. I'll bet that they are real.

[Tpex]

Amazon WARNING about NGK spark plugs. It's been a few years, but I stopped ordering sparkplugs from Amazon after a got a box of 6 counterfeit NGK plugs. My first tip off was the bike was not running right so I switched to two more, same issue. I ended up switching to my spares which solved the issues.

Then, the plugs, I noticed in reviews when I went to return them many "I got counterfeit plugs" reviews. So, I followed one of the links and sure enough, fake as Hollywood Double Ds. Amazon returned them for a full refund.

https://www.ngkntk.com/newsroom/blog/emea/fake-or-not/

Yes, counterfeits have been rampant for name brand and high priced items which are then offered at very low prices online. A big one are/were counterfeit OEM oil filters.

Were the counterfeit NGKs you bought the BP7HS?

If so, I'm a little surprised as these are $3 plugs, I wouldn't expect the counterfeiters to go through the trouble compared to the more expensive Iridium CR9EIX as discussed in the link you provided.

The plugs I bought at Amazon are sold & shipped by Amazon, so I would expect genuine. If bought on eBay from a seller of many brand name items at very low prices, then I'd pass.


Look forward to hearing from you which plugs you bought that were counterfeit, the seller on Amazon and the price you paid vs retail store prices (O'Reilly, Autozone, NAPA, etc.).

[harryball]

The plugs were purchased in Feb 2019 and were BPR6HS for about $3.50 each sold by "Prime and Done". I suspected nothing, had no reason to suspect anything, I just ordered along with several other items. I didn't even notice "Prime and Done" I assumed it was Amazon.

When I got them, I didn't think anything of it. When I installed them, instead of the bike running the same or better, it lacked power and ran rough. I thought it was odd because I'd just installed new plugs. I swapped in 2 more, checked gaps etc... same issue. I then pulled the spares the PO had left in the trunk and despite being rusty, I installed them and it ran better.

When I discovered counterfeits was a thing, I tried to find out. The more I looked and measured compared to the "real" plugs the more obvious it was they were fake. Most obvious was the NGK was faint, not well stamped and not straight. There were other tells too, but without one to compare, it would be tough for the average person to know.

[bratmanxj]

Just placed an order earlier this week for some 20k service supplies, guess I'll have to inspect my parts before installation.

[Tpex]

The plugs were purchased in Feb 2019 and were BPR6HS for about $3.50 each sold by "Prime and Done". I suspected nothing, had no reason to suspect anything, I just ordered along with several other items. I didn't even notice "Prime and Done" I assumed it was Amazon.

When I got them, I didn't think anything of it. When I installed them, instead of the bike running the same or better, it lacked power and ran rough. I thought it was odd because I'd just installed new plugs. I swapped in 2 more, checked gaps etc... same issue. I then pulled the spares the PO had left in the trunk and despite being rusty, I installed them and it ran better.

When I discovered counterfeits was a thing, I tried to find out. The more I looked and measured compared to the "real" plugs the more obvious it was they were fake. Most obvious was the NGK was faint, not well stamped and not straight. There were other tells too, but without one to compare, it would be tough for the average person to know.

That's a shame you got counterfeits, especially for the modestly priced NGKs. Since the BP7HS are $3 plugs, I hope it isn't worth the effort by counterfeiters to make. Local NAPA can get just one plug and I may have them get it from their warehouse to compare to the ones I'm getting from Amazon. I'll test them for 1 ohms reading (per NGK's web page specs listing for the BP7HS) and look them over closely for clues as described on the web pages discussing NGK counterfeits.
Thanks

[Wildhorse Cafe]

Her name was Kathy, made light up and pay out in silver dollars.

[chaos2]

Her name was Kathy, made light up and pay out in silver dollars.

My plugs never did that, but I didn't named them.

[Desantnik-VDV]

Last night, armed with a multimeter I went to local Advanced Auto Parts store where I picked up a pair of BP7ES's and asked to replace the bad plug. One out of two was showing infinite resistance and I haven't even try installing them. Had to test the replacement just to make sure it was good.

A pair of Autolite 273 plugs (a little used from previous 2002 BC75 sold with 445 km) still have 0-1 Ohm resistance.

[harryball]

That's a shame you got counterfeits, especially for the modestly priced NGKs. Since the BP7HS are $3 plugs, I hope it isn't worth the effort by counterfeiters to make. Local NAPA can get just one plug and I may have them get it from their warehouse to compare to the ones I'm getting from Amazon. I'll test them for 1 ohms reading (per NGK's web page specs listing for the BP7HS) and look them over closely for clues as described on the web pages discussing NGK counterfeits.
Thanks

I'd have never thunk it, but, I guess if no one suspects cheaper counterfeits they are easier to sell and if there is enough volume, making something for 25 cents each and selling them at $3+ each adds up. Either way, I don't shop at Amazon much anymore, cancelled Prime over a year ago, I've discovered stuff mostly arrives just as fast when I do order from them and shipping is still free. Maybe it is a nuisance occasionally because there is a $25 minimum for free shipping, but honestly, if it is less than $25 and I need it so fast I can't wait to order something else, I should just go get it locally.

[Snakeoil]

I gave up on NGK plugs. I started checking them one day because I was suspect of how they were made. I also found infinite resistance when checked with a DMM. Some were NIB. I thought it could be part of the design and the spark has to jump a small space inside the plug and then the larger gap outside. But that just did not make sense to me. I use Champions now when I need to buy plugs. But plugs do seem to last forever these days.

[Bar None]

The spark plug replacement requirement is ridiculous. I haven't changed spark plugs in a newer vehicle in many years.

"Ordinary copper and nickel spark plugs should be changed every 30,000 to 50,000 miles, unless otherwise suggested by the spark plug manufacturer. Platinum and iridium spark plugs tend to last longer than standard copper and nickel spark plugs. Expect to change them every 60,000 to 150,000 miles unless otherwise noted."

For my 2019 Nissan Frontier
"Replacing the spark plugs should be done every 105,000 miles."