2002 Montero Sport Spark Plug and Wire Question
 

First time poster here. My wife's 2002 Montero Sport has been a great vehicle. Up until a week ago, it has run flawlessly. It still runs good, but it has started to hesitate or miss every so often. I think the cause is the plugs and wires, but I am only 70% confident. The coil could be a concern.

It still has the original plug wires on it and I would assume the original plugs. My question to the experts on this board is there anyone who thinks it is a bad idea to use other brands beside Denso, which is the OEM for these parts.

I would like to use NGK Iridium IX plugs and NGK wires for the replacement.

I appreciate any and all responses.

Water?
 

Did you wash the engine or have a nasty rainstorm? Pull the plug caps and spray the plug holes and caps with WD40 and see if the issue goes away. Had the same thing on my car that I drive and it was caused by a bit of moisture in the sparkplug caps.
Rob

I know you are asking about plug choice and I'm not much help in that regard. It's been so long since I changed mine I don't remember what I used. I think it was NGK.

You didn't mention the mileage. My plugs/wires went bad around 110K. Have you looked for sparks/arcing at night? Also, you might want to see if you have any pending OBD error codes - misfiring is sometimes picked up there.

Finally, you may already have found this but here is a great link for plug changers:
http://www.monterosportonline.com/diy-perf2.html

Hope this helps,

Ron

use ONLY factory plugs.
period.

NGK is generally OEM for mitsu.

If the plugs,wires, and coil are fine,u might wanna take a look at the fuel filter.

About the plugs,
My sedan currently using NGK Iridium IX.My dad's sedan is currently using NGK G-Power.
I spend MYR150 for mine while my dad only spent MYR40.
Yes, both Iridium and Platinum makse the engine runs smoother.
Thats it really, abit smoother than OE plugs.Mileage and everything else are the same.
What interesting is there are no different felt between the Iridium and the Platinum.
So, if u really want to use other plugs,Platinum will do just fine.
Otherwise stick to OE.

the material the electrode is made out of will have absolutely NO effect on performance.
the one and ONLY reason manufacturers are using rare metals on spark plugs is for longevity. thats it. Nothing else.
as you can see, it takes a few hours to replace the plugs. Therefore, it doesnt make sense to have to replace them every 15k as you would need to do with a copper based plug.
that, and most people like not having the extra maintenance.

30k miles ago, I replaced my wifes plugs with the Denso Iridium plugs. My monty LTD actually had Denso not NTK. They have been running great. I dont think youll have issue with denso...