NGK Spark Plugs. Recent quality

[Hammermechanicman]

As cheap as plugs are the few dollars it adds to the bill is negligible. Like fuel filters. I change about every one that comes in.

 

[ILENGINE]

Pretty much everything that comes through my shop gets a new plug. I probably change a hundred plugs a year that are perfectly fine. I have customers that may only put 10 to 20 hours on a push mower but want me to do full maint every year. I change out new looking air filters and plugs. Then you get the mower that looks like 500 hours of use in a dust storm and the guy says he thinks the air filter is fine.

Same here. Not a good plug vs bad plug thing. More of a, you remove the plug anyway, easier and more reliable to just replace than go through the motions of cleaning and regapping. And I have seen brand new looking air filters be plugged to the point that black smoke rolls out the muffler when installed, and will clear as soon as the filter is removed.

 

[tom3]

And the electronic ignitions are so strong they fire about anything.

 

[TylerFrankel1]

IT goes like this
And is a two forked problem.

The first bit is the EPA mandating things like 0.00 % lead in exhaust.
THis means that spark plugs can no longer have a glaze on the insulator on the center electrode thus attempts at mechanical cleaning leave a trail of metal particles to make a conductve path down the side of the electrode.

Second part is the mixture of random organic solvents masquerading as petrol that gets pumped into our vehicles .
Regularly what we get is a very light fuel oil with some aromatics tossed in so it can start when the air & engine temperatures are low.
This rubbish is conductive at cylinder compression pressures and will coat and stick to the non insulated center electrode and complete the alternative path down the side of the insulator to the root of the plug rather than jumping the gap.

This is what creates the "bad out the box" syndrome.
Once a plug is wetted like this it will nt work till it gets hot enough t burn off all of the crud so that cylinder will pump unburned fuel strait into the atmosphere till either it gets really hot or you swap it for another.
So once again we have a case of the EPA making things worse in an ignorant attempt to make things way better than they need to be .

As for plugs I could not express it any better than Hammarmechanic.
The right grade is far more important than the brand.
FWIW I have Champions & NGK's in my shop + a job lot of Bosch I got for 20¢ a plug a while back

My work in Small Engines has only increased my disdain for big government. Everything the EPA has done for small engines sucks. Crappy gas cans, crappy 2 stroke carburetors, crappy 4 stroke OHVs, spark plugs, etc. It's a frickin lawn mower! And of course more regulations = more expensive product = company has to cut costs = crappy quality products = short lifespan = more garbage/waste. Genius.