I decided to change the plugs in my truck today. It currently has 70,000 miles and I noticed acceleration wasn't as smooth, idle was a little rough, and mpg dropped slightly. So I went to AutoZone and bought a set of NGK TR-5 plugs and installed them. Idle is smooth again, acceleration is smooth again....and I have a full tank of gas to check mileage. Also, took a nice chunk out of my finger pulling off a plug wire. Still 100x better than paying someone to do it!

Just for the hell of it, I checked the gap on the stock plugs that I took out of my truck and none of them were the same.....they ranged from .030 - .047.

 

this reminds me, i need to do this also, lol, and yeah, those plug wires can be a bitch

 

My factory gaps were inconsistent also, ranging from .040 to .060 (mine were factory platinums and the gap should have been .060, yours should be iridium and are gapped at .040 or .045 from the factory I believe). What did you gap your NGK coppers at btw? .050 to .060 should be good for a copper plug)

 

Are the NGK-TR5 plugs really good. Haven't researched them very much but notice a lot of people use them because I've used the bosch platinum 4's since I've had a vehicle.

 

They're a quality copper plug that costs less than $2 each. Like any copper plug, they will have to be replaced more frequently than a platinum or iridium plug, but if you're constantly under the hood of your rig like the rest of us, that's no biggie. I haven't heard much good about the Bosch plugs, actually heard alot of negative. In a choice between the NGK's and Bosch's, I'd run the NGK's in a heartbeat.

 

Went to NGK's website, selected year, make, model, engine of my truck and it listed the available NGK Plugs. NGK listed a .040 gap for the TR5. I also spoke to a friend of mine who is a mechanic at a local GMC dealership. He is also running the TR5s and set his a .040. So I set the gap at .040 on mine.

 

Hmmm, that sounds a little tight for a copper plug, that's the factory spec for iridium which is a considerably different metal than copper, with different conductor characteristics, plus the size of the electrode is much bigger on a copper plug when compared to the miniature electrode of an iridium plug. If you opened it up to say .055 you'd probably get a healthier spark and more complete burn. I mean, I'm sure that you'll be fine at .040 and the difference is negligible, but for best results I'd recommend going to a spec that's closer to the factory platinum spec of .060. I've been running my NGK TR55's at .055 for a few years now. I have a set of TR55ix's (iridium version of the TR5 or TR55 as they used to be), that I plan to use when I do my LQ9 swap, which I will be leaving at their pre-set gap of .040.

 

i have NGKs in everything i own. good choice