[Fairplayer916]

so according to the manual for the bike, LINK: Spark Plugs - Honda VTX1800C Owner's Manual [Page 79]

Standard circumstances call for NGK ifr6l11 spark plugs

And only call for the (presumably) hotter ifr5l11 plugs for severe cold climate riding (Below 41 F)

But if i call any of my local shops, including Honda Motorsports, They tell me to run the ifr5l11 plugs all year round.

In California.

My question is this:

Why the discrepancy? Why is the manual saying different then the shops?


Side note: I have been fighting plug fouling/running rich on the bike since i bought it a year ago.
I checked the FPR, and dont see signs of failure.
Just did the famous Grounding Wires Fix, but havent extensively tested it yet.

i bring that up incase it may be ralated somehow.

 

[darrenbashby]

I run the 5's, and always have.

 

[Fairplayer916]

Thanks for the input.

After some further research, it seems that only the 2002 model year of 1800 called for the colder plugs. For 2003 and up, honda changed their minds and decided to run the hotter plugs as standard. Seeing that the 2002 is the same bike, and that everyone seems to agree about the hotter NGK IFR5L11 being the better option, I'll assume the hotter plugs are the correct call.

But dont take my word for it. Heres the VTX Bible (specifically the entry about Spark Plugs):

Spark Plugs and the Honda VTX 1800 | Bareass Choppers Motorcycle Tech Pages

Plugs tend to be a topic of controversy on the VTX - from the famed "broken electrode" Bosch plugs to the "overpriced" Uber plugs to the "required" iridium plugs from NGK. I find that each plug has its place depending on the rider's choice, riding habits/style and the bike itself. I personally...

tech.bareasschoppers.com

Side note: as stated by the Spark Plug Chart from the link above, it seems the much more economical ACDelco 41-806's are a confirms cross compatible replacement for the much more expensive IFR5L11's.

As such, thats what i picked up for my bike. Ill Try to remeber to update this in afew hundred miles to let you know if they are working well or not.

If i dont remember to update this post in a timely manner, assume all is well.

 

[PaXman11]

Thanks for the input.

After some further research, it seems that only the 2002 model year of 1800 called for the colder plugs. For 2003 and up, honda changed their minds and decided to run the hotter plugs as standard. Seeing that the 2002 is the same bike, and that everyone seems to agree about the hotter NGK IFR5L11 being the better option, I'll assume the hotter plugs are the correct call.

But dont take my word for it. Heres the VTX Bible (specifically the entry about Spark Plugs):

Spark Plugs and the Honda VTX 1800 | Bareass Choppers Motorcycle Tech Pages

Plugs tend to be a topic of controversy on the VTX - from the famed "broken electrode" Bosch plugs to the "overpriced" Uber plugs to the "required" iridium plugs from NGK. I find that each plug has its place depending on the rider's choice, riding habits/style and the bike itself. I personally...

tech.bareasschoppers.com

Side note: as stated by the Spark Plug Chart from the link above, it seems the much more economical ACDelco 41-806's are a confirms cross compatible replacement for the much more expensive IFR5L11's.

As such, thats what i picked up for my bike. Ill Try to remeber to update this in afew hundred miles to let you know if they are working well or not.

If i dont remember to update this post in a timely manner, assume all is well.

There was also the use of different pistons on the earlier model that the colder plug didn't do it any favors.

 

[darrenbashby]

I knew I had read somewhere before about the change in stock recommendaitons, but could not remember where, so did not want to mention it.

 

[HiTechRedNeck]

I actually run the E3 spark plugs... most people laugh at the advertising saying there are benefits... I look at it like this, I run them in all my vehicles (car / truck / motorcycle), they don't overheat the engine, and they have benefits of a better grounding strap... its an upgrade from a standard plug... I get good fuel economy, good power, and I don't have to worry about gapping ever again... I've not put any of my engines on a dyno to see the difference, and I can't even say that I get better or worse fuel economy because there are too many variables to duplicate... I buy & run them simply because I consider them an upgrade to standard plugs that really haven't changed in decades...

take it with a grain of salt, but that's my view... hope it helps...

 

[Fairplayer916]

I actually run the E3 spark plugs... most people laugh at the advertising saying there are benefits... I look at it like this, I run them in all my vehicles (car / truck / motorcycle), they don't overheat the engine, and they have benefits of a better grounding strap... its an upgrade from a standard plug... I get good fuel economy, good power, and I don't have to worry about gapping ever again... I've not put any of my engines on a dyno to see the difference, and I can't even say that I get better or worse fuel economy because there are too many variables to duplicate... I buy & run them simply because I consider them an upgrade to standard plugs that really haven't changed in decades...

take it with a grain of salt, but that's my view... hope it helps...

All info helps. What specifically are the e3 plugs? So someone (maybe me) can just copy/paste the info into google

 

[HiTechRedNeck]

https://www.e3sparkplugs.com/

I've got over 100k miles with these in my Camry alone... Like I said, I put them into every car / truck / motorcycle I have... From Harley on down...

 

[darrenbashby]

I have also run ACDelco RapidFire platinum #5's for troubleshooting a bad plug. They are $6.89 at oreillys. They run great as well. But I switched back to the iridium's.

 

[PaXman11]

I "drank the Koolaid" a few years ago, and for 1 season replaced the stock NGK's with the Bosch 4419. After a year, I didn't notice any real difference, good or bad, and have had the NGK's back in ever since.