Spark Plugs

[Burkov]

Sorry if it a stupid thread, but i'm a bit confused.

I have a 6 gen from 2003. It is california model.

In the dowlnoad section i find only 2006 and above manual.

That manual recomended two types spark plugs:

IMR8B 9H for temps below 41 degrees and IMR9B 9H for above.

I ride the bike with the 95 octane fuel, which is around 93 in Us calculated octanes (RON, MON and so ON).

From a search online, i find that the colder wheather type spark plugs are everywhere and can't find the other type being recomended for the bike.

My bike is suffering at the moment from very low MPG (less than 25 in traffic and around 35 in back roads and highways) and i bought the colder wheather temp spark plugs on good price.

Do you think i should try them, or just find the other type?

The temp here is around 60 at the moment and going up to 95 in the summer.

[Rush2112]

Sorry if it a stupid thread, but i'm a bit confused.

I have a 6 gen from 2003. It is california model.

In the dowlnoad section i find only 2006 and above manual.

That manual recomended two types spark plugs:

IMR8B 9H for temps below 41 degrees and IMR9B 9H for above.

I ride the bike with the 95 octane fuel, which is around 93 in Us calculated octanes (RON, MON and so ON).

From a search online, i find that the colder wheather type spark plugs are everywhere and can't find the other type being recomended for the bike.

My bike is suffering at the moment from very low MPG (less than 25 in traffic and around 35 in back roads and highways) and i bought the colder wheather temp spark plugs on good price.

Do you think i should try them, or just find the other type?

The temp here is around 60 at the moment and going up to 95 in the summer.

You need the IMR9B plugs. The cold temp plugs will run too hot in the Summer. They will be ok for right now but you will need the right plugs when the weather warms up. Also, try using regular gas instead of the premium (87 in the US). This is what the engine is made for and unless you've done some changes to ignition timing or compression you are wasting your money on the higher octane gas... and burdening your catalytic converter by sending unburnt gas out your exhaust pipe

[Burkov]

Ok, got it about the plugs.

But for the gas, this is the lowest on the market.

In our mesurement system the fuel with 95 octane is around 93 ot US spec.

We also have 98, 100 and 100+ but it is too expensive.

This is one of the reasons i was thinking about power comander, so i can tune the maps to the fuel.

[spud786]

yeah run the 9 plugs, no matter the temps unless maybe you ride 2 miles everyday in sub artic temps.

[Burkov]

Ok guys thanks. I'll leave these for the winter and order a new set. Damn expensive plugs though. $120 for a set of 4 is a little too much. I hope they fix the mpg issue.

[GadiantonRob]

Ok guys thanks. I'll leave these for the winter and order a new set. Damn expensive plugs though. $120 for a set of 4 is a little too much. I hope they fix the mpg issue.

Uhh....NGK? I would never, in my entire existence, pay more than $10 a plug, and that's pushing it. Maybe shop around and find better prices or a suitable sub. It's just a plug, for pete's sake.

[spud786]

The hotter plug, just retains more heat to prevent fouling and deposits, if your not fouling plugs then a hotter plug wont do much. HOws your water temps holding up out on the road, that would be the first area to look at with poor mileage. The bike will not work well mpg wise below 160 degrees.

[MadScientist]

He's also in Bulgaria, so plug price is probably not what we are used to. You can get those same plugs off Amazon for ~11.50/each w/free shipping. I don't know how much it would cost to ship from the US to Bulgaria, but I would guess is much less than $75. Know anyone in the US well enough to pay them and have the plugs shipped?

[Burkov]

Well i found a set in ebay for around 60$ so i'll order them tomorrow. About the temps, yes the bike warms up quick an on high speeds it keeps 175-185. In the heavy city traffic it goes to 223 and the fan kicks in. I checked the fuel pressure regulator, but it is not leaking.

[spud786]

The standard iridium plugs are good to at least 40,000 miles assuming the bike is running right. Ive ran them as high as 56,000 miles, and they were totally shot but no performance issue.

[spud786]

Well i found a set in ebay for around 60$ so i'll order them tomorrow. About the temps, yes the bike warms up quick an on high speeds it keeps 175-185. In the heavy city traffic it goes to 223 and the fan kicks in. I checked the fuel pressure regulator, but it is not leaking.

I wonder if your o02 sensors have been disabled? Really on a stock bike in city stop and go 33 to 35 mpg and 37 to 43 mpg on back road and highway, is realistic expectation in todays world, and that's not using a conservative throttle hand. and I use throttle blip shifting techniques which is also fuel dilutive

My bike is totally stock and been on a VP leaded race fuel diet since it was new, a cup or so pertank every fillup unless on a trip which is rare, Ive maybe ran 2 bottles of fuel cleaner in over 105,000 miles, no valve check either. My cat will never plug cause it has no carbon blockage, the exhaust has a grey pwder with clean metal underneath, that's the best medicine you can buy as far as Im concerned to keep a motor healthy from a baby..

I put a lot of success in that fuel, it eats carbon like crazy and offers lubrication to top end parts.

also with water fuel of today, and have had lawn mowers and weed eaters fail every couple of years due to such fuels, I just run them on straight leaded race fuel. fuel can sit in them forever without issue.

[Switchblade]

NGK Laser Iridium Spark Plug (IMR9B-9H)

Part No. 4888 Warranty

Be the first to write a review

| View Customer Q&A

$9.99

Quantity

Advance Auto Parts.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/ngk-laser-iridium-spark-plug-imr9b-9h-4888/20651117-P?cm_mmc=ET-_-Trans-_-Confirmation-_-General#utm_source=et&utm_medium=trans&utm_campaign=confirmation&utm_content=general

[V4 Rosso]

Damn expensive plugs though. $120 for a set of 4 is a little too much. I hope they fix the mpg issue.

That is expensive. Is that a quote from a Honda dealer? Try louis.de, they ship to Hungary too and they offer a fair price for shipping.

But like spud786 I doubt it will fix the bad milage. Have you checked if all four headers get hot immediately after starting the engine?

[Beck]

Ok guys thanks. I'll leave these for the winter and order a new set. Damn expensive plugs though. $120 for a set of 4 is a little too much. I hope they fix the mpg issue.

Uhh....NGK? I would never, in my entire existence, pay more than $10 a plug, and that's pushing it. Maybe shop around and find better prices or a suitable sub. It's just a plug, for pete's sake.

Last time I changed my plugs they did not have the iridium tipped plugs I wanted to try........then the guy behind the counter told me after that that they also did not have the platinum tipped plugs that I was using on the bike for many years already......So I bought the basic standard NGK plugs for my 4th gen and was dreading how badly the bike would run after just a few miles with the "cheap" plugs (IIRC, I paid less than 10 bucks a plug for them)...Surprise, surprise! the bike is running as smooth and as powerful as I ever remembered it to do so, even the idle seems to be smoother and all the cylinders firing really nice....

Lesson learned..... I was just wasting my money all those years I was buying the more expensive plugs. Even if I end up changing them earlier than my previous platinums, they are so cheap that I will not mind doing so,.....if I even really have to....

So OP, I suggest that you don't bother with the expensive fancy plugs and save the money for other better things for the bikeor your gear!

[Burkov]

I have cleaned the air filter yesterday. I also did the flapper and PAIR mods.

Will do a few miles today and see how it feels.

@SPUD786

I think the MPG is low too, also the bike is at 24k miles, so its not good.

The O2 sensors are connected. What fuel cleaner do you use?

@Swithcblade

Thanks for the link mate, unfortunately they dont offer international shipping. But boy, those thing are cheap over there.

@ V4 Rosso

I just checked them, but they dont seem to offer this plug.

@Beck

Thanks mate, do you have any reference numbers, because i see only iridum plugs listed for the bike.

[spud786]

The bike is designed for thin wire Iridium plugs, the question is whether they lowered coil voltages because of that, reading information on iridiums, that's one benefit is they require less voltage to fire. But the irids last a long time, more than anything on the market. Standard plugs are normally required replacement before 10,000 miles. Platinums are in between those two. But if they did lower coil voltages how well does a standard plug fire in comparison? Unknown

Ive got two vehicles with irids and one has about 124,000 miles on the irids and the other about 110,000 miles, they don't go that far on a bike via 3 times the rpm levels, but still will easily go 40,000 miles, even though Ive ran them as high as 56,000 miles on the vfr. They were totally shot, but there was no obvious performance difference installing new ones. But I wont go more than 40,000 miles or so in the future.

so yeah the irids cost more, but you'll go through 3 sets plus labor on a standard plug in comparison.

[spud786]

I have cleaned the air filter yesterday. I also did the flapper and PAIR mods.

Will do a few miles today and see how it feels.

@SPUD786

I think the MPG is low too, also the bike is at 24k miles, so its not good.

The O2 sensors are connected. What fuel cleaner do you use?

@Swithcblade

Thanks for the link mate, unfortunately they dont offer international shipping. But boy, those thing are cheap over there.

@ V4 Rosso

I just checked them, but they dont seem to offer this plug.

@Beck

Thanks mate, do you have any reference numbers, because i see only iridum plugs listed for the bike.

I rarely if ever run fuel injector cleaner, and if I do its usually the cheap stuff at walmart sparingly. Id say I used about 2 bottles in 105,000 miles. I do also use Vp leaded racefuel as a cleaner and decarboniser, routinally. That's why I don't deal much with fuel injection cleaners.

It could be your fuel injectors arent sealing well too(or leaking), this would add to lower fuel milege. Just in some of the oil analyses Ive done, the vfr is a fuel dilutive bike in general, some may be worse than others or its just my style. I did these tests back with the bike was fairly new and I would see up to 2% fuel dilution inside of a couple thousand miles. That was all done on several hundered mile runs, no short runs, so anything that could burn off would have.

[Dutchy]

IMR9B-9H

I checked online here in NL and yes they are Eur 20 a piece here in NL.......

cheapest shipping to Bulgaria 10 euro

so yep Eur 90.....

Not sure what the usd is doing these days, but that will be a tad over $100

[Burkov]

These are the cheapest in ebay http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/221397412040?nav=SEARCH

I'll finish the tank and see what is the effect with the clean filter.

Btw i think the flapper and PAIR mods do work. I feel the bike smoother when i take off. The side effect is that i hear a pop from the exhausts from time to time.

[Switchblade]

Much better I think ..

[Tightwad]

NGK plugs numbers are different from most other brands. the lower number = a hotter plug.

I would not use anything but the iridium for the VFR. The coil on plug setup is designed for this plug. The iridium gives it longevity, as Spud noted.

Shipping via slow boat overseas is fairly cheap...European prices would kill me!

[Burkov]

Ok, so after another full tank i got ~23 mpg with very light throttle. This is only city miles.

No Vtec rpms. I just think that there is something wrong with this bike. The temp goes to 140-150 F very easy, doesn't overheat, and keeps good temps while riding.

I tried with 100 octane fuel with the last refill and the bike exhaust seem to pop less.

No other difference. If you say that the plugs aint the problem, so i dont know what comes next

One thing i noticed though was a sound from the rear while pushing the bike backwards. Like a pad or something is dragging. AAAAAND when i spin the tyre on the center stand i think that there is some resistence, because no matter how hard I spin the tyre, is makes only 1-2 full revolutions and stops. I'll do a video later today.

I'll try to put it on a dino, and see what is the A/F ratio.

New oil and filter tomorow.

If the admin think, that the thread needs a better place, just move it.

[Switchblade]

My temp's on my 03 runs from 165-200 degree's but if running way rich the bike runs cooler.

[Burkov]

Yes, those temps are close to mine. If got in bad traffic i go to 223 and the fan kicks in.

If i ride slower than 10 mph the temp goes to fan for less than 10 min.

But what you say is interesting, because when i was riding in colder days, the temp was a little higher, or should i say was getting faster to these temps.

Sooo, with warm weather and not enough oxygen for the bike, now it runs a little cooler. This might be a clue.

Edit:

Here is video, showing the rear tire spinning. The sound i'm talking is not very loud though. You can only hear a slight sound from the rear disk, but i'll try tomorrow with a different angle.

Do you think the tire should stop rotating that easy?

[BCmcrider]

I would guess that your wheel assembly rotates quite freely. Considering the brake pads will always have a bit of contact and the chain isn't a friction-less device I would have thought it would actually stop sooner than it did.