27k miles on spark plugs abt right?

My 2000 Mazda Protege has abt 27, 000 miles on the
spark plugs (copper ones I think).

The car seems to be idling rough. Is 27k on a set of
plugs abt right? Time to change them out?

Also....what abt copper vs platinum plugs. Any real
serious advantage to platinum plugs worthy of the extra
cost?

I'm unemployed full time college student right now..so
cost is an issue. I don't mind going platinum IF the
extra cost is really worth it in reduced maint tho.

In article >,
wrote:

> The car seems to be idling rough. Is 27k on a set of
> plugs abt right? Time to change them out?

The plugs should be fine for twice that. The plugwires may be due,
though. You want the blue NGK set, about $30.

> Also....what abt copper vs platinum plugs. Any real
> serious advantage to platinum plugs worthy of the extra
> cost?

No, for a stock engine the OEM plugs are best.

Lanny Chambers > wrote:

>The plugs should be fine for twice that. The plugwires may be due,
>though. You want the blue NGK set, about $30.

Hmm..... what kind of life do plug wires usually have
in miles? replace plug wires every 60k? More? Less?

In article >,
wrote:

> what kind of life do plug wires usually have
> in miles?

The OEM wires on NAs had a reputation for failing around 30k miles. The
Miata fires each plug every engine revolution, not every other rev, so
the dielectric breaks down twice as fast.

My blue NGKs are still working fine at 80k miles. Buy new wires--if they
don't solve the problem, at least you'll have a spare set.

Lanny Chambers wrote:

> The OEM wires on NAs had a reputation for failing around 30k miles. The
> Miata fires each plug every engine revolution, not every other rev, so
> the dielectric breaks down twice as fast.

He was asking about a 2000 Protege.
Does it use the same setup as the miata? Also, do the NB's and NC's only
fire every other rev?

> My blue NGKs are still working fine at 80k miles. Buy new wires--if they
> don't solve the problem, at least you'll have a spare set.

Agreed. If the engine starts stumbling at all, I swap them out. If that
solves the problem, I throw the old set away and get another.

I got closer to 60K or so out of my NGK's on the stock miata, and I have
seen a few sets fail earlier than that.

The "fancy" red Magnecors that came with my current car are still going
strong at about 40K miles.

Pat

> The "fancy" red Magnecors that came with my current car are still going
> strong at about 40K miles.
>
> Pat

I still vote for the NAPA lifetime wires! They replace them w/o hesitation
whenever I decide it's time.

Chris
99BBB

"Chris D'Agnolo" > wrote:

>I still vote for the NAPA lifetime wires! They replace them w/o hesitation
>whenever I decide it's time.

Hmm...I will chk into that for my Protege then!

On Aug 6, 7:31 am, wrote:
> "Chris D'Agnolo" > wrote:
> >I still vote for the NAPA lifetime wires! They replace them w/o hesitation
> >whenever I decide it's time.
>
> Hmm...I will chk into that for my Protege then!

I'm within about 700+ miles of needing my 3000K service on my 2000
Miata. But is is running great. And being I put less than the 3,000
miles/yr on this car, having two other vehicles, I plan on waiting
till next spring/summer to have the 30K service done. Should only be
less than 2,000 mi over. And can't see that making any difference. I
see where the spark plug wires connectors on the top of the engine are
almost flush with the engine itself (Not sticking out like other cars.
Do they just pop off without any special twists or tools???

"Jazz_Azz" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> On Aug 6, 7:31 am, wrote:
>> "Chris D'Agnolo" > wrote:
>> >I still vote for the NAPA lifetime wires! They replace them w/o
>> >hesitation
>> >whenever I decide it's time.
>>
>> Hmm...I will chk into that for my Protege then!
>
> I'm within about 700+ miles of needing my 3000K service on my 2000
> Miata. But is is running great. And being I put less than the 3,000
> miles/yr on this car, having two other vehicles, I plan on waiting
> till next spring/summer to have the 30K service done. Should only be
> less than 2,000 mi over. And can't see that making any difference. I
> see where the spark plug wires connectors on the top of the engine are
> almost flush with the engine itself (Not sticking out like other cars.
> Do they just pop off without any special twists or tools???
>

Yes, just grab as low as you can and pull straight up. When you put them on,
I like to get them sort of lined up and just barely touching then give them
a nice little push straight down to make sure they get down and seat on the
plug, not bounce off and just sit close by.

Chris
99BBB

"Chris D'Agnolo" > wrote:

>I still vote for the NAPA lifetime wires! They replace them w/o hesitation
>whenever I decide it's time.

I cant see where it says anything abt life time
warranty on NAPAS web page? have a link?

http://www.napaonline.com/masterpage....aspx?PageId=2