Spark Plug Gap and.....

[dgielow]

Hey Guys...

I was hoping someone could help me...

I have a 2006 M45.

I just purchased some NKG Iridium IX plugs.

Are these plugs pre-gapped at the factory? Or do I need to gap them myself? If so...what gap should I use?

Last...is there anything special I need to know before I start this little project?

Thank you very much for your help!!!

I love this forum!!!!!!!!!

[dieselm35x]

I don't remember if they come pregapped, but you could always check and measure it yourself. I know the gap size according to Infiniti should be 1.1 mm.

Hope this helps.

[szh]

I agree ... I'd certainly check them for the correct gap when putting them in.

The Service Manual is available at our site - link is in my sig - for a lot of information that will help depending on what you are doing to your car.

And, of course, thanks for the kind words about our forum.

Z

[ken in az]

They should be pre gapped....be careful when installing them because if accidentally dropped into the hole (which is ealily done) they could loose the gap.

Be sure to use a plug socket that can securely keep the plug in the socket so that doesn't happen and you should be good.

[ken in az]

Oh and please report how it goes, I'm interested in changing the plugs sonn and some insight would be helpful!

thanks!

[dgielow]

Thank you for your help.

I purchased NKG Iridium IV's. Each plug was pregapped to .040 so I adjusted them to .043 like the manual says...thank you again.

I have a 2006 M45 with 95,000 miles.

I am headed on a 1,000 mile trip this week and I will report back any differences in MPG/ performance, etc.

The engine does idle slightly smoother than it did before I made the change...guessing my wife wouldn't notice the difference...but I do.

Changing out the plugs took about 90 minutes. The 2 plugs near the back of the engine/ near the fire wall/ were pretty tough...especially the one on the drivers side. I would make sure you have a variety of extensions and an angle/elbow extention (not sure of the technical term of this one...this piece allows you to get into angles...straight to almost 90 degree's). You will certainly need this...especially for the 2 plugs closest to the firewall. Also...make sure your spark plug socket does not have a death grip on your plugs...if it does you might find out that when you pull your extention out of the manifold your socket is still in your engine. The plugs reside very deep in the engine...I used a standard socket, 3 inch extention and my adjustable angle piece and it barely stuck out of the manifold...just enough to hand tighten the plugs...then I gently wiggled the socket (and everything attached to it!!!!) off of the plug.

Other than that...it's very straight forward.

The old plugs all measured between .045 and .046 and looked pretty worn.

I'm pretty good at the basic maintenance...oil change, light bulbs, tire rotation, cabin air filters, etc. I've never tackled flushing the transmission or diff. If I can change the plugs then I'm guessing most people on this forum can easily do it too.

Thanks again!

[jbillion]

I'm pretty good at the basic maintenance...oil change, light bulbs, tire rotation, cabin air filters, etc. I've never tackled flushing the transmission or diff. If I can change the plugs then I'm guessing most people on this forum can easily do it too.

Thanks again!

Since I have less than 7K (I have 72,000 miles right now) left on my entended warranty, I was going to have th edealer change the plugs on either this or the next oil change ( I do every other oil change at the dealer, so they have a record of changes within 7,500). I read somewhere on this forum to have the dealer change them under warranty in case they find something that needs to be repaired.

[maxnix]

Hey Guys...

I was hoping someone could help me...

I have a 2006 M45.

I just purchased some NKG Iridium IX plugs.

Are these plugs pre-gapped at the factory? Or do I need to gap them myself? If so...what gap should I use?

Are those the NGK plugs the FSM specifies? The last two numbers are the gap in tenths of a mm. Do not alter unless you have a professional gapping tool that will maintain a parallel electrode!