What's The Difference Between Copper And Iridium Spark Plugs

Wulandari Wulandari/Shutterstock

The automotive world has evolved successful specified a measurement that engines require spark plugs of a circumstantial type. Using nan incorrect benignant tin lead to misfires and inefficiency, particularly because spark plugs besides travel successful basking and acold varieties. Spark plugs are typically named aft nan type of metallic connected their halfway electrodes, and those pinch fancy-sounding metals for illustration ruthenium are usually much costly but person extended lifespans.

The astir communal and basal type is nan copper plug. It has a copper halfway electrode pinch a nickel alloy outer casing for improved durability. Copper plugs are wide disposable astatine car parts stores, which is nary astonishment since they're nan astir affordable, typically costing $3 to $8 each. Besides nan price, copper plugs person a fewer much merits. They thin to tally cooler than different plugs, which makes them perfect for older vehicles pinch distributor-based ignition systems and turbocharged engines pinch higher compression ratios. 

It each sounds good and dandy, but there's a logic spark plug exertion has moved toward harder, much durable metals for illustration platinum aliases iridium. Copper plugs are awesome erstwhile new, but they don't past very long, pinch immoderate cars requiring caller plugs each 20,000 to 30,000 miles. Copper is simply a soft metal, truthful it tin melt and deterioration retired sooner erstwhile consistently exposed to aggravated power and unit wrong nan cylinder head. And erstwhile it originates to degrade, plugs tin get fouled easy pinch harmful deposits, causing misfires aliases a hard-starting engine.

BLKstudio/Shutterstock

Whereas copper plugs are connected nan basal extremity of nan spectrum, iridium spark plugs were nan large daddies earlier ruthenium ended their reign. Instead of a copper halfway electrode, iridium plugs use, well, an iridium core. Iridium is simply a overmuch harder, non-reactive metallic pinch an highly precocious pouring point. In fact, iridium is nan astir corrosion-resistant constituent successful nan periodic table, making it highly suitable for vehicular applications.

Iridium is astir 8 times stronger and six times harder than platinum aliases copper. That's why iridium plugs outlast astir others — immoderate tin tally up to 100,000 miles earlier they moreover commencement to deterioration out. That's astir 5 times nan lifespan of a comparable copper spark plug, but you'll person to salary for nan privilege.

Iridium whitethorn beryllium nan adamantium of spark plug metals, but it's a uncommon metallic that only makes up 0.001 parts per cardinal of our planet's crust, truthful it's much costly to produce. Most iridium plugs costs $10 to $25 each, much than 3 times nan value of a copper plug. The costs is somewhat negligible if your car has a V6 aliases four-cylinder engine, but nan expenses could emergence importantly for modern Hemi V8 engines pinch 16 spark plugs.

The bully news is that not each engines request iridium plugs, truthful it's champion to mention to your car's owner's manual. Depending connected nan make and exemplary of your ride, upgrading to iridium plugs from copper whitethorn alteration nan motor to sip little substance and springiness it much pep. However, engines that require iridium plugs could persistently misfire, sputter, idle erratically, aliases tally pinch a wide emotion of lethargy erstwhile forced to run pinch copper plugs.