What plug are you using

[roxyflash]

I bought the iridium NGK junk wont waste my money on them I hate NGK plugs then foul to easy same with my dirt bike I think im going to try denso

[CROSSBOLT]

That's odd, since the NGK iridium I had in my first DT 300i worked fine for 15000 miles. Denso has always been a good product in my experience but their plugs will foul if the heat range is wrong or if the ignition system is having a problem. Maybe you have not analyzed your problem properly before you bad-mouth a component NO ONE has had a problem with to date.

[kneeslider]

I have used NGK CR7E for about 70000kms, the past 14000kms were on NGK CR8E.

[ccemn1]

I'm trying to find an iridium plug for my Kymco X-Town 300 i, but can't seem to find one anywhere online.
Does anyone have a clue if these is an iridium plug available for this model?

[stuo]

Plug fouling is a symptom of something not right: wrong heat plug, incorrect plug gap, weak spark, broken piston ring, worn cylinder, etc. It has nothing to do with the brand of spark plug. It would be the same faulty logic as blaming the brand of oil for excessive oil consumption.

[Stig / Major Tom]

I'm trying to find an iridium plug for my Kymco X-Town 300 i, but can't seem to find one anywhere online.
Does anyone have a clue if these is an iridium plug available for this model?

There will be an Iridium alternative listed of the regular plug.....IF there indeed IS an Iridium substitute.
Not every plug has an Iridium version, in my experience.
Use only the proper crossover Iridium plug....of exactly the same heat range. (This info is directly from NGK.....do NOT  change the heat range from orig. plug!
"But Iridiums are hotter, so i need to change heat range...." NGK says this is not true.
Just bought 4 new Denso Iridiums  (in red Toyota box) for my Scion...OEM in that car.
Stig

[kneeslider]

First of all, one must ask themselves why they wish to go with an Iridium plug on a scooter's motor.

To be frank, the engine on these things are's exactly the state of the art. They are kinda basic, air, fuel, spark with some electronics added in. They do not need Iridium plugs, hell! even direct injected turbo charged engines do not have iridium plugs from factory.

So in the world of marketing hype, manufacturers claim that an iridium plug produced more power out of the motor, with everything the same with say an AFR of 1:14, the Iridium plug will not provide more power.

Marketing tactics will claim that with dyno charts the power hike, but please bear in mind, any new plug replacing a worn plug will provide more power out of the engine regardless if its an iridium or copper plug.

The only advantage which I can think of for using an iridium plug for scooters is that their service life is longer. But I personally would prefer to have a fresh copper plug every 10,000km than having one iridium plug running for 40,000kms.

[scooterfan]

First of all, one must ask themselves why they wish to go with an Iridium plug on a scooter's motor.

Easy question to answer.

Firstly - when any given spark plug gets worn, the spark plug loses efficiency, the fuel does not burn properly, unburnt fuel start passing the piston rings, an the unburnt fuel ends up polluting and thinning the engine oil. This obviously means more wear on engine components will start taking place - simply because the spark plug is worn.
Now who on earth would like that - even on a state of art scooter engine ?

Secondly - when any given spark plug start losing efficiency, the engine obviously start losing efficiency as well. That's when it becomes "normal" to open the throttle - when owners try to "force" more power from the engine.
In real life, opening the throttle more than usual only means more unburnt fuel will end up inside the oil sump, and wear on the engine will start taking place even faster.

Thirdly -  iridium spark plugs are not that expensive, and will easily outlast the lifespan of most scooter engines. Even on smaller scooters it makes absolute sense to install iridium plugs - simply due to reasons mentioned above.

I like fiddling on mechanical things, but simply fail to find any good reason why iridium plugs should NOT be used on any of these scooters.  Specially on more expensive scooter models where owners prefer to keep scooters for a long period, I think it makes absolute financial sense to install iridium plugs on their scooters.
After all - who in his/her right mind would like to remove those panels on more expensive scooters just to replace a spark plug ?

Just my 2 cents.

[kneeslider]

mmmmmm, I should give it a try and see how it performs.

[roxyflash]

Ok here’s the deal scooter has less then 2000 miles bought it last year used with 1600 miles it was hard starting after warmed up did the vent cap trick then set valves put new iridium plug which it had been already changed same plug dought it had iridium in it new.Plug was really brown not tan.So finished last summer ran good.Took scooter out this spring wouldn’t fire.Had a copper plus plug new tried it sometimes I get spark sometimes it wouldn’t this is with plug out.Bad thing about doing this is it floods the engine with fuel.So I pulled the injector out of the head so it would fill the cylinder full of fuel I get plenty of fuel so it’s a spark issue.So I have two iridium one used one new and new copper plug finally after a hour of fooling with it I had it running with check engine light on never was on last year.The plug that ran was the used iridium I had a 37 code I believe which is bad ignition coil but I had it unplugged checking for voltage at coil so it warmed up I tried to reset the engine light but flooded it again messing with throttle for reset.So I ordered a new coil figuring I had issues with starting it last summer and that it had a new plug installed earlier.After reading all about plugs my conclusion is it takes a high energy spark to correctly use the iridium plug the best plug for low energy setup is a copper plus plug.Where I work we have lots of small Kubuta engines gas there constantly fouling plugs taking out the coil packs when they miss fire always have NGK plugs.They buy cheap autolite plugs have better performance out of those compare to NGK.So when new coil gets here going to do more testing I’m not sold on the iridium in these small motors I believe I paid almost 9 dollars for it.I don’t drive a lot so I would never wear out a iridium plug my thinking is if a copper plug is more suited for a lower energy spark that’s the route to go plus I can change it yearly and be cost effective.

[scooterfan]

................................................So finished last summer ran good.Took scooter out this spring wouldn’t fire.Had a copper plus plug new tried it sometimes I get spark sometimes it wouldn’t this is with plug out........................................After reading all about plugs my conclusion is it takes a high energy spark to correctly use the iridium plug the best plug for low energy setup is a copper plus plug.................................................I don’t drive a lot so I would never wear out a iridium plug my thinking is if a copper plug is more suited for a lower energy spark that’s the route to go plus I can change it yearly and be cost effective.

You mentioned that you checked battery voltage - but you actually need to check voltage when you hit the starter button and the engine start swinging.
Your scooter probably has a DC CDI, which needs at least more than 9 Volts to supply sufficient power to the spark plug for a proper spark. There are comments from other members at this forum who has experienced this and confirmed this.

You mentioned this problem only started when you took the scooter out just after winter - during spring. No spark plug dies by itself during winter - batteries on it's way out usually do. So I think chances are good that you are sitting with a dying battery, the spark plug is most probably still in perfect condition.

Iridium spark plugs actually needs less voltage to provide a proper spark , an ordinary spark plug needs more voltage.

Long story - but just do a Voltage test on the battery when you hit the starter button. If you get a reading of just over 9 Volts or lower -  the problem is at your battery, not at the spark plug. You actually need to get a proper load test done on the battery to find out whether the battery is still good.
Also check your battery terminals for corrosion, or loose connections.

[CROSSBOLT]

Scooterfan, you are spot on! My hassle with the battery last year showed 9.5 volts during cranking  but would not start the engine but I am not gonna quibble over .5 volts! Roxy, I think you may have "rushed" to a conclusion, something we all have done and try to avoid. Test your battery volts like scooterfan recommended and post back, please.

[stuo]

My 2 cents worth:

I studied to be an electrical engineer, built my own ham radio station and many other electronic devices. I've been wrenching on cars and bikes for 60+ years. I admit ignorance of modern EFI systems but spark plugs haven't changed in 100 years, other than better, longer lasting tips on the center element.

My opinion is that the only advantage to an iridium (or platinum) plug is the longevity. Iridium and platinum tipped plugs are highly heat resistant so the tip doesn't burn away as fast as on copper tipped plugs. On copper tipped plugs you either have to adjust the gap or replace the plug more often.

A spark plug does one thing: it provides a gap for the voltage from the coil to jump across. The spark either jumps the gap or it doesn't. If it does, the gas/air mixture fires, if not, it doesn't fire. If you put a lit match to gasoline, or a blow torch to gasoline, it will ignite and burn exactly the same in either case. The "intensity" of the spark does not make a difference to a gas/air mixture: it fires (burns) or it doesn't.

I also believe in the placebo effect: If you believe iridium plugs make your engine run better then they are worth the extra moola. Plus you don't have to change, or adjust them, as often.

[roxyflash]

You mentioned that you checked battery voltage - but you actually need to check voltage when you hit the starter button and the engine start swinging.
Your scooter probably has a DC CDI, which needs at least more than 9 Volts to supply sufficient power to the spark plug for a proper spark. There are comments from other members at this forum who has experienced this and confirmed this.

You mentioned this problem only started when you took the scooter out just after winter - during spring. No spark plug dies by itself during winter - batteries on it's way out usually do. So I think chances are good that you are sitting with a dying battery, the spark plug is most probably still in perfect condition.

Iridium spark plugs actually needs less voltage to provide a proper spark , an ordinary spark plug needs more voltage.

Long story - but just do a Voltage test on the battery when you hit the starter button. If you get a reading of just over 9 Volts or lower -  the problem is at your battery, not at the spark plug. You actually need to get a proper load test done on the battery to find out whether the battery is still good.
Also check your battery terminals for corrosion, or loose connections.

Ok battery new when bought scooter February 2018 always been on a moose charger never been discharged.Your wrong about iridium plugs.The articles I read tru state there’s plugs for different applications .Like my old truck they don’t recommend iridium but just copper plug.I used a group 31 battery when I was testing for spark.Brand new charged.Like I stated this scooter acted up last summer when I didn’t want to start acted like there was no spark.The only other thing is it’s possible the starter could be drawing to many amps but doesn’t act like that.When it acted up last year I cranked on it then let it sit for a minute then tried it again battery was getting low the battery light would come on then it would start.I did this like a half dozen times.I then did the vent on gas cap and set valves but weather changed from 90degree to 80s.probably why it’s a 2012 with low miles nothing but trouble starting so they traded it off like I said there’s got to been issues with spark being it had plugs that have been changed before I bought it and there’s not many miles on it.I had a cheap Tao Tao 50 scooter same mileage and never changed a plug even after putting a 77 cc kit on it.The worst thing about the downtown doesn’t have a kick starter and has a very small battery with lights on trying to start it.Hopefully I get this figured out but so far my old Tao Tao was more reliable always started.I believe I got someone else’s headache mow it’s mine

[stuo]

The distance from the center electrode to the ground (bent) electrode of a spark plug determines the amount of voltage needed to jump the gap, nothing else matters, except to a negligible degree the conductivity of the fuel/air mixture. Iridium, platinum and copper plugs are equal in their ability to ignite the fuel/air mixture.

I don't understand where all this mis-information about spark plugs comes from. I know in the 80's there was a lot of snake oil claims about various types of "new revolutionary spark plug design", which died away when the claims fell flat. I dare anyone to find one valid study that shows one spark plug to be superior to another.