Civic VX & CX Spark Plug Gap

[flydude1221]

I have been doing some research into Platinum and Iridium spark plugs for my VX, unfortunately I am coming to realize there are none made

However in my search I have found that the Denso website (DENSO SPARK PLUGS)

Has the plug gap for the D15B8 (CX) and D15Z1 (VX) @ 0.032" instead of the regular 0.044" for pretty much every other Honda Civic D series engine, except for the GX which is a natural gas D Series engine that runs a compression ratio of 12.5:1 !

NGK has the gap @ 0.044" for the CX & VX.

I also checked plug gap on a 1988 Toyota Celica All Trac Turbo is 0.032 on both NGK and Denso (O.E. for Toyota)

A regular 1988 celica is a 0.044" gap


To sum it up I believe that Denso has spec'd a tighter gap on the VX, CX, and GX is because of high EGT in running Lean Burn mode and Natural Gas in the GX's case.

I only have 10k KM on a set of NGK's in my VX which I gapped @ 0.044 but I may check my gap and regap if necessary on the low side of 0.044"

Cheers!

[TomO]

I've always run NGK-V power plugs (OEM) in my VX and gapped them at the standard 1.0mm (±.1) with no problems.

I wouldn't recommend running platinum or iridium plugs in the VX as they have issues with the heat generated from lean burn. not to mention, those type of plugs don't even really run in the proper heat range for the VX ZFR4F-11

[flydude1221]

I have heard some horror stories about Bosch Platinum plugs breaking down and loosing a side or ground electrode. Although I did run Bosch +4 Platinum plugs in my Escort 1.9 EDIS engine and it seemed to run alot better.

When I first bought my VX some silly dilly had ZFR5F-11 plugs in her and a 1/2 clogged PCV valve, the cat also was completely plugged.

[TomO]

Originally Posted by flydude1221

I have heard some horror stories about Bosch Platinum plugs breaking down and loosing a side or ground electrode. Although I did run Bosch +4 Platinum plugs in my Escort 1.9 EDIS engine and it seemed to run a lot better.

For some cars those fancy plugs do work better

Originally Posted by flydude1221

When I first bought my VX some silly dilly had ZFR5F-11 plugs in her and a 1/2 clogged PCV valve, the cat also was completely plugged.

you wouldn't believe how common that is for the VX. Mostly due to the parts store's computer not having accurate information. My VX ran like complete dookie when it had the 5 heat range plugs in there from the previous owner. The EGR system was clogged as well as the Cat Converter was falling apart. the Previous owner told me that he usually got 260 miles out of a tank when he owned it.