1.2TSI Spark Plugs: Iridium or Platinum?

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2226
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1.2TSI Spark Plugs: Iridium or Platinum?

Post by 2226 »

Are the OEM spark plugs on the 1.2TSI CJZD platinum or iridium plugs?

Part number 04E 905 601 B.

Want to order some plugs and was going to with the NGK PZKER7A-8EGS. Pricey enough for me to back off the purchase button. Feels painful this time of year. Januworry and all that.

However, while doing a bit of searching it seems some places list the factory sets as iridium.

Was this perhaps the change between 04E 905 601 to 04E 905 601 B? Platinum to Iridium, or the other way around.

I'm sure I don't need iridium. It's still freaking me out that I'm only looking to change them now. I'm used to plug change with each service on my old mk1. :)
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Re: 1.2TSI Spark Plugs: Iridium or Platinum?

Post by Mikeso51 »

OEM plugs are platinum. Both my cars were factory-fitted with Bosch parts.

NGK plugs have a very good reputation, and I used NGK part PZKER7B-8EGS (double platinum) as replacements. The part you mentioned with the "A" rather than the "B" in the part number is listed as obsolete, replaced by the part with the "B". No information available on the difference.

The Bosch part with the "B" in the part number is platinum, same as the earlier part.

Iridium is harder-wearing than platinum, so Iridium-electrode plugs last longer than platinum. Against this they are more expensive. NGK say the platinum plugs are good for at least 60,000 miles, which is good enough for me.

Word of warning: NGK plugs are commonly counterfeited, so be very wary of buying from anyone other than genuine NGK distributors. There are guides on the internet explaining how to spot the fakes, but much less hassle to only buy from genuine NGK distributors.

HTH

Mike
2226
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Re: 1.2TSI Spark Plugs: Iridium or Platinum?

Post by 2226 »

Thank you.

Yes, only from official retailers.

Information is all over the place on the internet about what's what.
Thought I could find an iridium equivalent of these NGK plugs, but not much luck. Or at least I can find iridiums but no guarantee they actually are.

Platinum is perfectly fine for me, too.
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Re: 1.2TSI Spark Plugs: Iridium or Platinum?

Post by RUM4MO »

I replaced the spark plugs in my wife's August 2015 VW Polo 1.2TSI 110PS in 2019 and 27.5K miles, I aimed to buy the NGK packaged B version of these plugs, but maybe due to lack of stocks of the NGK packaged version, my online NGK seller sent out a set of B version VW Group packaged ones. So, this year for its second spark plug change, I went looking initially for VW Group version B but found that quite a few online sellers were offering the A version of the VW Group packaged ones as well, but both the A version and B version prices were either too high or only being sold in blocks of 3! So I ended up buying NGK packaged version B. I have/had noticed that when you waste too much time trying to find out if you should be buying the A or the B version of the VW Group packaged spark plugs, the "correct" version changes over between same age and same engine cars (Polo/Ibiza/Fabia) which is not good, but that car has run well on the B version of VW Group spark plugs while it was supplied new with the A version of VW Group spark plugs. It used to be the same when searching for Lambda probes for the old 1.4 16V 75PS engines, for example the official NGK website, back when I was first needing to buy a new pre-cat sensor, did not list a pre-cat sensor for that engine in a Polo, but it did when that engine was fitted to a SEAT Ibiza, all a bit silly really - seeing as it was a NGK ie NTK Lambda sensor that had been fitted at the factory.

I guessed that when VW Group dropped the Iridium version of spark plugs from this market sector of car/engine, the change period moved back to 4 years from 6 years.
2226
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Re: 1.2TSI Spark Plugs: Iridium or Platinum?

Post by 2226 »

I'd be interested in knowing which one is currently in my car, but I need to get a socket first and then find some time on the weekend.
I'm at 66K km so I think that's the stated plug change time. Nothing wrong with how it's running. It's actually been very smooth this week after the oil flush and change on Sunday.

Will just order up the NGK plugs when I have the money.

How I miss the days of spending just a few coins for plugs for my golf.
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Re: 1.2TSI Spark Plugs: Iridium or Platinum?

Post by RUM4MO »

I had an issue when I went to change the plugs for the first time, I had bought a very long spark plug socket made by Laser Tools back in maybe 2008 to change the plugs in my wife's previous Polo 1.4 16V 75PS as the plugs in it were also deep down in the cylinder head, this long socket worked well as it had magnets built into it. Also it worked well changing the plugs in my 2011 Audi S4.

So, when the time came to change the plugs on this 2015 Polo for the first time back in 2019, I was more than a bit disappointed to discover that this "perfect tool" would not get down deep enough onto the spark plug, ie the hex end of the socket was being stopped as it just made contact with the hex area on the plug - so back to using older short spark plug socket and extensions!

Anyway, the root cause of this problem was that these newer form of spark plugs are longer or maybe just slightly wider for longer than the older version of spark plugs, so the counterbore in that tool was enough to clear older spark plugs but not these newer ones. That meant that I needed to buy in a couple of special sized drill bits and very slightly open out that counterbore and now it fits the spark plugs in this Polo - at leas the old plugs that came out, it will get used for the first time on this Polo this Summer!

When I contacted Laser Tools really just to highlight this so that they could slightly alter the drawing for this tool - they came back and said that the actual tool that I bought must have been faulty - so either they are being silly and someone had already caught up with this issue, or I'm the most unlucky home mechanic there is!
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Re: 1.2TSI Spark Plugs: Iridium or Platinum?

Post by Mikeso51 »

Something else you need to be aware of if you haven't removed plugs from this type of engine before is that you need to remove the individual coil packs before you can get at the plugs. These can be very tightly attached to the plugs if they've been in place for a long time, and they are not that easy to get a decent grip on. Some people manage without it, but there is special tool, T10530, which fits into the hole securing the coil pack to the head (after the screw is removed) and makes it much easier to get a straight, controlled pull. The tool is very expensive as a genuine VAG part, but you can buy Chinese copies for about £10 sterling. I bought one from China and although the thread on one part was a bit sloppy it worked just fine.
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Re: 1.2TSI Spark Plugs: Iridium or Platinum?

Post by 2226 »

RUM4MO wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 3:32 pm I had an issue when I went to change the plugs for the first time, I had bought a very long spark plug socket made by Laser Tools back in maybe 2008 to change the plugs in my wife's previous Polo 1.4 16V 75PS as the plugs in it were also deep down in the cylinder head, this long socket worked well as it had magnets built into it. Also it worked well changing the plugs in my 2011 Audi S4.

So, when the time came to change the plugs on this 2015 Polo for the first time back in 2019, I was more than a bit disappointed to discover that this "perfect tool" would not get down deep enough onto the spark plug, ie the hex end of the socket was being stopped as it just made contact with the hex area on the plug - so back to using older short spark plug socket and extensions!

Anyway, the root cause of this problem was that these newer form of spark plugs are longer or maybe just slightly wider for longer than the older version of spark plugs, so the counterbore in that tool was enough to clear older spark plugs but not these newer ones. That meant that I needed to buy in a couple of special sized drill bits and very slightly open out that counterbore and now it fits the spark plugs in this Polo - at leas the old plugs that came out, it will get used for the first time on this Polo this Summer!

When I contacted Laser Tools really just to highlight this so that they could slightly alter the drawing for this tool - they came back and said that the actual tool that I bought must have been faulty - so either they are being silly and someone had already caught up with this issue, or I'm the most unlucky home mechanic there is!
I am planning on buying a similar long socket down here. Hopefully I don't have this issue. Otherwise, just 50p for a regular short socket. I just have a weirdness for specific-purpose tools, though. :)
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Re: 1.2TSI Spark Plugs: Iridium or Platinum?

Post by 2226 »

Mikeso51 wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 4:33 pm Something else you need to be aware of if you haven't removed plugs from this type of engine before is that you need to remove the individual coil packs before you can get at the plugs. These can be very tightly attached to the plugs if they've been in place for a long time, and they are not that easy to get a decent grip on. Some people manage without it, but there is special tool, T10530, which fits into the hole securing the coil pack to the head (after the screw is removed) and makes it much easier to get a straight, controlled pull. The tool is very expensive as a genuine VAG part, but you can buy Chinese copies for about £10 sterling. I bought one from China and although the thread on one part was a bit sloppy it worked just fine.
It would take me around 3 months to get hold of the T10530 from China, so I'm going to the cable tie route instead. I might just pull the coils without the boots and then use compressed air to get the boot out.
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Re: 1.2TSI Spark Plugs: Iridium or Platinum?

Post by ciclo »

I recommend Iridium's.
NGK 97153 💎 (03F905600A)

Tool: BGS 2460 💎 (1.2 TSI CBZ A/B/C)

viewtopic.php?p=589410#p589410

---
'Do not buy the tool on Ali, it does not have the appropriate measurements'. :lol:
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Re: 1.2TSI Spark Plugs: Iridium or Platinum?

Post by Bepis »

Rather than getting the genuine tool have a look for BGS 9094
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07 ... UTF8&psc=1

Might be easier to get ahold of and I find it to be of good quality but haven't compared it to the VW tool.

Something which may help with the coil pack removal. I did mine on a warm engine, not hot and they came out with a bit of force but nothing excessive. When I tried recently on a cold engine I pulled the ignition coil off of the boot, luckily without damaging it.

Most advise to only change the plugs on a cold engine so I guess you could pull the coils off and let the car sit overnight to replace the plugs with the engine cold in the morning. I had no issues doing them on a warm engine although an ea888, not an ea211 so take that with a pinch of salt.
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Re: 1.2TSI Spark Plugs: Iridium or Platinum?

Post by RUM4MO »

2226 wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 5:35 pm I am planning on buying a similar long socket down here. Hopefully I don't have this issue. Otherwise, just 50p for a regular short socket. I just have a weirdness for specific-purpose tools, though. :)
Good plan! I have a similar problem/way of thinking.
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Re: 1.2TSI Spark Plugs: Iridium or Platinum?

Post by RUM4MO »

I've probably complained about this in the past, but, I saw the cheapish probably "made in China" versions of the coil puller tool, and thought that I'd prefer the tool that Laser Tools provided, it looked well made in the online catalogue, so I ordered it from my preferred tool seller via their ebay store - at good discount.

What arrived looked like something that someone in a garden shed had hand made - very rough, but it was a tool and not a ornament so I calmed down for a day, then thought maybe some naughty person had bought the proper tool, and when it had been delivered, had swopped it for a "made in China" version and returned it especially as the wire staple that held the packaging together was missing - so I emailed my seller and they sent another one out after checking the packaging for integrity.

When I arrived it was exactly the same as the one that had been sent out first time, so I returned that one unopened and suggested that they approach Laser Tools as I didn't find it a good plan to show a quality picture of a quality finished tool in the online catalogue - and then start supplying from a cheaper source ie a source that I could have bought from for much less money!

The tool supplied does the job okay, I was just annoyed by what I consider is a "newish quality" supplier of tools in UK to have started rebranding cheaper suppliers items - and they look to be doing a lot of that now where a cheaper option exists.
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Re: 1.2TSI Spark Plugs: Iridium or Platinum?

Post by RUM4MO »

Bepis wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 7:09 pm Rather than getting the genuine tool have a look for BGS 9094
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07 ... UTF8&psc=1

Might be easier to get ahold of and I find it to be of good quality but haven't compared it to the VW tool.

Something which may help with the coil pack removal. I did mine on a warm engine, not hot and they came out with a bit of force but nothing excessive. When I tried recently on a cold engine I pulled the ignition coil off of the boot, luckily without damaging it.

Most advise to only change the plugs on a cold engine so I guess you could pull the coils off and let the car sit overnight to replace the plugs with the engine cold in the morning. I had no issues doing them on a warm engine although an ea888, not an ea211 so take that with a pinch of salt.

How is the coil pack extension fixed to the coil pack, I'm asking as I have bought a spare coil just to have in the car, and have been tempted to separate the two parts to see how/why they can end up coming apart, the rubber extension is available as a spare part I've noticed?
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Re: 1.2TSI Spark Plugs: Iridium or Platinum?

Post by RUM4MO »

Maybe prices have risen over the past 4 years, but I'd currently be happier buyer from one of the cheaper sources, when I ought my Laser Tools version, the outer surface of the expanding "plug" on all the tools on sale was smooth and so not ridged, but it grips the steel ferrule in the coil pack and so allows me to lift the coils out.

Now, on the other hand, there was a guy in Japan, on this forum, was having trouble getting the coil packs out of his 2002 VW Polo BBY engine - maybe in 2011 and he thought that this was the first time that these coils had been removed - and they were not playing ball! He ended up using parts from a proper puller and adding jacking bolts to force the coils up and out of the cylinder head. So long service spark plug, or leaving them in for a very long time, can cause problems it seems.
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