Frankie_B Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Hello everybody, I have a 98 ES300 and was going to change the plugs today. From what i've read here, NGK are one of the better ones, so i went to a store to buy them. The guy asked me for the "Engine Code" (8th letter of the VIN, whether it was an "F" or not). Mine is "G". He then said NGK Iridium or Platinum plugs are not compatible with this engine and I'd have to go with Bosch <_< Is this right? Does anybody know the part number of the iridium NGK's that would fit? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Your owners manual tells you the exact part number of the exact NGK or Nippondenso spark plug to use. Then drop by any Toyota dealer to get the plugs. If you don't have a manual then tell the Toyota dealer counter person you need spark plugs for a '98 Camry V6 engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexusk8 Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 I never heard of the 8th letter of the VIN number being used to determine the type of spark plug to use. To me it sounds a little fishy, and if I were you, I'd probably play it safe and use the factory ones for replacement, which are the NGKs. Your owner's manual should tell you whether it's the platinum or iridium kind of spark plug. If you're looking for decent prices for plugs, I'd drop by http://www.sparkplugs.com. You can order most kinds from that site directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mburnickas Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 I never heard of the 8th letter of the VIN number being used to determine the type of spark plug to use. To me it sounds a little fishy, and if I were you, I'd probably play it safe and use the factory ones for replacement, which are the NGKs. Your owner's manual should tell you whether it's the platinum or iridium kind of spark plug.If you're looking for decent prices for plugs, I'd drop by http://www.sparkplugs.com. You can order most kinds from that site directly. that is where I got all my Iridium plugs for all my engines I take care off. Good prices. What I like is no people to deal with. Your owners manual tells you the exact part number of the exact NGK or Nippondenso spark plug to use. Then drop by any Toyota dealer to get the plugs. If you don't have a manual then tell the Toyota dealer counter person you need spark plugs for a '98 Camry V6 engine. I like to think Toyota parts people are correct; however, last time I wanted a part, they screwed up. for the life of me, I can't find a rad cap for my 98. I tried online and local and they are always the inncorrect cap (too small). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenore Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 I just bought Iridium plugs at the local Lexus Dealership for 10.50 apiece, which was less than the online stores when considering shipping. they were Denso plugs (note this is for the 3.0 liter RX300) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Genuine Toyota Spark Plugs are always made by Denso and the correct Toyota spark park number for the '98 ES300 is 90919-01194 (Denso number PK20TR11) These cost only $6.94 each at Bob Bridge Toyota https://www.1sttoyotaparts.com/partscat.html You pay no sales tax so that offsets most of the 10% FedEx Ground charge. sparkplugs.com charges $7.16 for PK20TR11 Denso plugs, but since they are a generic version of the PK20TR11 spark plug (for many makes and models of cars), they may come set to a wider spark plug gap than the genuine Toyota version of the PK20TR11 spark plug. A wider plug gap typically results in reduced low and medium speed throttle response as though the engine lost around 10-20% of its power. So ordering from sparkplugs.com offers no price advantage + there are possible unpleasant surprises when you order from them because they don't sell Toyota specific parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toysrme Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 <insert post where brandon says, "that parts guy is a dumbass" here> I wrote everything you might ever want to know about sparkplugs here http://lextreme.com/v6/viewtopic.php?t=22&...ef4436029e08943 The final breakdown on what I recommend: Cars: Engine: - plug code, part number, pre-set gap Stock VS 1 heat range colder w' stock gap VS 1 heat range colder w' no preset gap (0.0315"). (Where applicable.) 2vz-fe - BCPR6ES-11 6779 0.044 - BCPR7ES-11 1095 0.044 - BCPR7ES 3330 0.0315 3vz-fe - BCPR6ES-11 6779 0.044 - BCPR7ES-11 1095 0.044 - BCPR7ES 3330 0.0315 1mz-fe - BKR6ES-11 5553 0.044 - BKR7ES-11 2387 0.044 3mz-fe - BKR6ES 3783 0.044 - BKR7ES-11 2387 0.044 Trucks: 3vz-e - BKR5ES 2460 0.032 - BKR6ES-11 5553 0.044 5vz-fe - BKR5EKB-11 3967 0.044 - BKR6ES 5553 0.044 - BKR6ES-11 5553 0.044 - BKR6ES 3783 0.015 Then you get into copper VS iridium. Iridium plugs are better. The ceveat is that for the cost of ONE iridum plug, you can change all the spakr plugs to copper, drive around 60,000 miles, then change them again for the cost of one more iridium plug. Platinums are now irrelevant. If you want more expencive than copper plugs, don't be a cheap butt & just go for iridiums. Some of yall paying sub $10 a plug for iridium plugs take note. Those are most likely old style OEM iridium plugs. Not the newer style. ;) Toyota specifies both Denso, and NGK, while every dealer I know of sells NGK. NGK > Denso because it's the same damn thing, but less expencive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie_B Posted June 10, 2006 Author Share Posted June 10, 2006 Thanks a lot, Been a great help. I ended up buying NGK Platinum's. The durabilty isn't such an issue for me, as I rarely keep a car for more than 2 years/50,000 kms. Just wondering though, "Platinums are now irrelevant" - as in totally horrible waste of money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 I ended up buying NGK Platinum's. "Platinums are now irrelevant" - as in totally horrible waste of money? Platinums are good because that's what your owners manual recommends. And using what the owners manual recommends is the least risky (but boring and unexciting for some owners) way to maintain your car. Specifically the '98 ES300 owners manual says: "Use only twin ground electrode platinum-tipped spark plugs" and "do not adjust gaps for your engine performance." DENSO: PK20TR11 NGK: BKR6EKPB11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toysrme Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 Na platinums are just useless now in the parts lineup. 1) Drop the price 50% & you've got a copper plug that sparks better 2) Increase the price 100% and you've got iridium plugs that spark better 3) You're not - but for anyone that's into making power - platinum is icky (they don't handle heat at all) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie_B Posted June 10, 2006 Author Share Posted June 10, 2006 I see The reason i changed plugs was because we just bought the car and the installed plugs appeared to have never been changed! I'm hoping for increased fuel economy more than for power. P.S. speaking of that, do I have to reset the ECU for it to "recognize" the plugs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toysrme Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 No. But you can do it anyways. Unless the old plugs were just shot, you won't really see anything. :'( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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