You generally cannot go wrong with installing the same brand and model number spark plug and wire set the certified car dealership will install. In some instances, a car manufacturer will issue out Technical Bulletins or internal updates when they pick a different model.
Be very cautious when shopping online and seeing claims of massive power increases with a certain wire-set or spark plug. These claims are usually false. If you plan on using a different brand spark plug or wire set, I recommend looking at long term reviews on car forums from people who have the same car.
Some ignitions systems are very sensitive to changes and the programming is specifically fine tunes for factory equipment. You can possibly loose horse power or fuel efficiency if you pick bad equipment. Some spark plugs and wire sets are not durable. I have read complaints about the wires shorting out because the insulation around the wires was cheap. Some people went as far as slicing open the factory wire sets and comparing them with aftermarket wires. They noticed some aftermarket wires were actually thinner than the factory, this can result in less current going into the spark plug itself.
You might be tempted to buy a plug because it is advertised as being platinum or iridium. Silver is actually the most conductive metal. It was originally used in wiring of houses of wealthy owners but because it was able to corrode quickly, we use copper. To get the full benefits of a potential more powerful spark your entire electrical system in your vehicle would have to use silver as the conductor. You then would have to have custom programming / calibration on your fuel and ignition computers to be effective. Assuming you can get silver spark plugs for your car, the spark plug itself would have to be changed very frequently because it would not be made for high mileage.
Category: electrical
Removed the Dealership Installed Karr GPS / Disabler
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For a while now I always thought about removing the dealer installed Karr Alarm / GPS tracking system. I never wanted this installed on my Tundra in the first place. Dealerships will install generic GPS systems like this so the Dealership can save money. They buy the systems at a wholesale price. Because the systems are not specifically designed for you vehicle, you can run into problems with them. After I purchased my Truck I had an after market Auto Start & Alarm system put in. I noticed some days the Auto Start would not work and I would have to disconnect and reconnect the battery. Some days my car was disabled and I would have to again disconnect and reconnect the battery.
So I finally removed it. I basically took of the trim around the steering column of the Tundra and below panel near the pedals. I initially thought I would have to remove the airbag to get to the screws of the steering column panel but I realized I just had to put in the key and manually turn the wheel to the right of left. I was not a fan of the Vampire Clips used in this system. After I removed each clip I covered the exposed wire with electrical tape to avoid a short circuit down the road. Their was only one wire that was not clipped on. I am assuming it was part of the ignition system to prevent the car from starting.
Nitrogen Air and Tundra Fuses
The other day one of my tires became low in air and I remembered I did not use nitrogen to fill the tires I purchased. Nitrogen is used in Aircraft tires because their is little expansion and compression when temperatures change. This prevents the tire from going flat in flight. A big difference between a tire shop for aircraft and a car tire shop that claims to have nitrogen is that the aircraft tire shop will have nitrogen that comes from tanks prefilled with nitrogen. I have seen a lot of tire shops that have a device that supposedly extracts nitrogen on the go. I am not really confident that your getting quality nitrogen that way especially when you can’t see the mechanic use the machine.
So I borrowed my friends tire inflator that uses the cigarette lighter outlet in the vehicle. His inflator instantly burned out my fuse. I tried plugging in my cell phone charger and verified their was no power. I then used a multimeter to determine what fuses had burnt out. I initially looked in the fuse box in the engine compartment. After reading several post I found out it is actually under the drivers side dash board in a very hard to reach location. I had to press the emergency brake pedal down all the way and lay down in front of the seats. I found out the fuses are not just mini fuses, their actually shorter than the mini fuses you see commonly stocked at the parts store. I still was able to get a mini fuse installed because the connecting points had the same dimensions.