New sparkys

[ambermarine]

Just changed out the spark plugs on my Mark 4,the first change since new I believe they have 47k on them and I know the recommended change is 60k but the ones that were in were 23 years old and a few of them were burnt on the porcelain which points to excessive heat in the core.

I believe on start up the engine sounds better and I will keep a close eye on mpg in the future.

[Tulpen]

13 minutes ago, ambermarine said:

Just changed out the spark plugs on my Mark 4,the first change since new I believe they have 47k on them and I know the recommended change is 60k but the ones that were in were 23 years old and a few of them were burnt on the porcelain which points to excessive heat in the core.

I believe on start up the engine sounds better and I will keep a close eye on mpg in the future.

I think most of us, even Malc, will be OK with you changing 23 year-old spark plugs.   😄

[ambermarine]

1 hour ago, ambermarine said:

Just changed out the spark plugs on my Mark 4,the first change since new I believe they have 47k on them and I know the recommended change is 60k but the ones that were in were 23 years old and a few of them were burnt on the porcelain which points to excessive heat in the core.

I believe on start up the engine sounds better and I will keep a close eye on mpg in the future.

Just to update the supply, they cost me £57 around £7 each and are genuine Denso SK20R11 from Sparkplugs UK .

[runsgrateasanut]

Reading your article reminds me that apparently there are fake Spark plugs around and I have been toying with which Oil Filter to buy for the next oil change.  Seen filters on eBay marked as "Toyota" and with a box,  but slight variation in code made me do an online check to see if there are any articles on possible fakes. Research has made me buy from Rock Auto in the hope of getting a genuine product.

Many of them on the bay look like added labels.

A Bosch filter from Rock costs me under £15 on arrival. 

If it doesn't look right I'll have learned a lesson.  

[Malc]

4 hours ago, Tulpen said:

will be OK with you changing 23 year-old spark plugs.   😄

I think mine were bought for 100k miles life so the next change could be at @ 300k, maybe 5/6 years at " normal " motoring  ( that 300k less the now 233k )

wot a waste maybe for prior owners not to have enjoyed her for at least 23years of elegant, luxurious cruising whatever 

Malc

[Malc]

4 hours ago, Tulpen said:

I think most of us, even Malc, will be OK with you changing 23 year-old spark plugs.   😄

never one to skimp on servicing and using where possible OEM stuff where it matters most .....  21+ years driving 250k miles or so in my 3 x Ls400s is testament to how these wonderful cars can be when sensibly looked after mechanically and with actually, in my case, quite shallow ££££ pockets ...............  I've never actually been inside a Lexus Main Dealership 

now then .  if I won the Euromillions this week ( does she do it I wonder ! ) I might go get myself this amazing Bentley S3 I've been hankering after for ages and then .........  permanently rent the recovery truck for it to go on down to my indy for those constant likely fixes 

Malc

[steve2006]

I watched this a while ago.

[Cotswold Pete]

Interesting video with some tips for people who insist on thinking a cheap product must be as good as the original.  

Had quite a few mates who have set up production lines in China, for food companies, IT and office equipment manufacturing.  Thir stories were always that the local workers believed they did not need to adhere to the details that the USA/EU HQ said was paramount, so after a very short period of time the Quality was dropping like a stone.  The only way to cure it was to have a USA/EU Manager in there every day telling the locals to stop thinking they knew better.  If that was the case when the original manufacturer had set things up, then Lord help us with the copy-cats.

I worked very closely with Chinese at the start of the 80's over here in UK when setting up the early days of the Internet, and lovely people who did things at 100miles an hour and never seemed to check their work as much as the rest of the team.  Mind you they made amazing Chinese food like nothing you would get in any takeaway.

[ambermarine]

There are some issues with this video and its inference of fake parts being the norm first of all the presenter is a dyed in the wool Toyota devotee his constant harping on of being safe in buying from dealerships and he's employment history concerns me as to weather he as been sponsored by Toyota to do this video.

I am not denying there are fake parts out there and I have managed to steer clear of them through time but there are also bargains out there that have become available for a multitude of reasons so don't take it as gospel that because something is half price of a dealership it is a fake.

I have taken some pics of the carton the plugs came in and it can be seen from the print and info they are the real thing the plugs have all the characteristics  of genuine manufacturing by Denso which brings me to another point in relation to the price. Denso manufacture multitudes of electrical and electronic components for a vast range of vehicle builders and these spark plugs alone go into a range of vehicles outside of Toyota and Lexus. So a lot of spark plugs have been manufactured and some of the vehicles they were made for no longer exist and the engine they fit are no longer manufactured this leads to overstock which costs money so they are sold off cheap to clear the warehouse for space.

This is going to become more relevant in the future as the transition to non petrol and diesel gathers pace so more and more of the cheap consumables will fill the shelves and they will not be fakes.

[Malc]

going back to the mid 90's when I had my car sales business we decided to try to sell bikes .  and I mean scooters actually ...  via a good UK guy who oversaw the production of " his " product in China .................  the first few months produced brilliant good quality fantastic for value bikes ...........  then as above, inevitability set in, just as we were likely to start to order and sell in some useful and profitable volume ...  the quality of his product fell like a stone .  he was horrified and told us not to buy them, he couldn't oversee the production run 24/7 ........  just before we started in earnest ....  a lucky escape for my business BUT set my thought train forever to be wary of Chinese products thereafter ......

a simple salutary first hand tale

Malc

[runsgrateasanut]

The specific item seen in this thread is what concerned me to buy from Rock Auto a Bosch 3330 filter.

https://www.whichcar.com.au/news/counterfeit-oil-filters-are-putting-engines-at-risk

 

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=1217138&cc=1363542&pt=5340&jsn=408&_nck=ZExt1ysfqhqWnq%2BEvUNdS4kQ4ZFqctuXoVauwVeFXZZPyH34YRhCpnqMmRiyR6RMR0pvfZNrVqgItLV%2B16iaMBSxmosI%2FCDszZqZMoClwwxVQTUXHxFb6cJ%2Bga5wiqKlDStXImLZyVtY%2BU6s0eryJGomDmAYFnUuRExlAQ31J%2FJGigBRfFqQayUslNFc8jjDkavI0zGfD0V%2F97UPZWEpu7lH5UrEzLdJOzGpFIlfi4OSJPPo8c2%2BF1WQ2ZzapGBisOYkp7xVwfn80FYfZ%2BPaFcHwkUezy4i0MOd%2BE%2FDU0RgG5VeSfhZyMWFWaE1rQaqtdB5PnePjzOIQi7BHy3CShf82GGTlaMW8