Updated August 2013
References:
Denso: http://www.densoautoparts.com/spark-plugs
NGK USA: http://ngksparkplugs.com
NGK Canada: http://www.ngksparkplugs.ca
An NGK and Denso vendor: http://sparkplugs.com
'02 FSM
Not all usable spark plugs listed.
NGK Spark Plug Types
V-Power: Nickel alloy V-grooved center electrode; nickel alloy ground electrode. OEM for all Proteges listed here except the MSP.
G-Power: Platinum alloy tip center electrode, .6 mm diameter; nickel alloy ground electrode.
Iridium IX: Iridium tip center electrode, .6 mm diameter; nickel alloy tapered ground electrode designed to minimize the "Quenching Effect." As a consequence, NGK recommends this as their performance plug for road cars. More on this later.
Laser Platinum: Laser welded platinum alloy tip center electrode; platinum disc welded to backside of ground electrode. Because its platinum surfaces ensure a slow wear rate providing a longer service life, superior anti-fouling, improved fuel efficiency, and lower emissions, it is an OEM approved design. It is OEM for the MSP.
Laser Iridium: Laser welded iridium tip center electrode; platinum disc welded to backside of ground electrode. Its iridium/platinum surfaces give it the longest service life of all NGK plugs making it an OEM approved design.
Denso Spark Plug Types
Original U-Groove: Nickel alloy center electrode; U-shaped nickel alloy ground electrode. OEM for all proteges listed here except the MSP.
Platinum TT: The TT stands for twin-tips. Platinum tip center electrode, 1.1 mm diameter; rather than being flat, the ground electrode's firing pad is a free-standing titanium-enhanced tip. By opening up the space between the electrodes, without increasing the gap, quench is reduced to a considerable extent.
Double Platinum: Platinum tip center electrode; platinum ground electrode. OEM for the MSP.
Iridium Long Life: Laser welded fine wire iridium tip center electrode, .7 mm diameter; platinum ground electrode. Longest sevice life of all Denso's plugs.
Iridium Power: Laser welded fine wire iridium tip center electrode, .4 mm diameter; U-groove niclkel alloy ground electrode. Recommended as the performance plug of choice in street applications.
1999 to 2001, 1.6 L, ZM-DE Engine
NGK ZFR5F-11 V-Power type, OEM fitment
Denso KJ16CR11 Original U-Groove, alternate OEM fitment as listed in the FSM.
NGK ZFR5FIX-11 Iridium IX type
NGK PZFR5F-11 Laser Platinum type
Denso SKJ16CR-L11 Iridium Long Life type
Arranged in order of least to most expensive, the above five spark plugs have a reach (threaded length) of 19 mm (.750"); are pre-gapped at 1.0-1.1 mm (.040"-.044"); have a heat range of 5 (or equivalent); and an extended projected tip.
1999 to 2000, 1.8 L, FP-DE Engine
Same as FS-DE engine listed below.
2001 to 2003, 2.0 L, FS-DE Engine
NGK BKR5E-11 V-Power type, OEM fitment
Denso K16PR-U11 U-Groove type, alternate OEM fitment as listed in FSM.
NGK BKR5EIX-11 Iridium IX type
NGK PFR5G-11 Laser Platinum type
NGK IFR5E-11 Laser Iridium type
Denso SK16PR-L11 Iridium Long Life type
Arranged in order of least to most expensive, the above six spark plugs have a reach (threaded length) of 19 mm (.750"); are pre-gapped at 1.0-1.1 mm (.040"-.044"); have a heat range of 5 (or equivalent); and a projected tip.
Spark Plug Substitution in the FS-DE Engine
Following the recommendation of TheMAN, some of our Forum members with the 2.0 L, FS-DE engine (myself included), and the 1.8 L, FP-DE engine have replaced our spark plugs with those used in the 1.6 L, ZM-DE engine. The two series of plugs have identical characteristics with the sole exception that the plugs for the 1.6 L engine have an extended projected tip. This places the electrodes closer to the center of the incoming A/F mixture with apparently beneficial consequences for power production. These extended projected tip spark plugs are OEM in the JDM versions of the FS-DE and FP-DE engines.
Apparently, the extended projected tip starts the ignition flame front burning physically deeper in the combustion chamber which reduces the length of flame travel required for complete combustion. This has the effect of advancing the ignition timing which in some cases can result in raising engine power output due to the more rapid flame propagation. An additional benefit is that at high speeds the longer insulator nose is cooled by the incoming fuel charge to increase its cold heat range while at low speeds the long nose runs hotter to prevent fouling.
Reference:
Four-Stroke Performance Tuning, Third edition by A. Graham bell; Chapter 7: Combustion and the Ignition System, pages 236-237.
2003 Mazdaspeed Protege 2.0L, FS-DET Engine
NGK PZFR6F-11 Laser Platinum type, OEM fitment
NGK ZFR6FIX-11 Iridium IX type
NGK IZFR6F-11 Laser Iridium type
Denso VKJ20RZ-M11* Iridium Long Life type
* According to TheMAN, this is the Denso equivalent of the NGK IZFR6F-11. However, according to both sparkplugs.com and Denso, this is a Japanese plug only and the part is not available in the US.
Note that the above four spark plugs have the same specifications as the extended projected tip models used in the 1.6 L engine, but are one heat range colder, 6 instead of 5 (or 20 instead of 16 in the Denso nomenclature). This is necessary due to the increased heat production of the turbo engine. Also note that the OEM fitted plugs are double platinum (rather than nickel alloy) electrode types, required to maintain adequate electrode life in the more severe operating environment.
NGK Spark Plug Nomenclature
For those of you interested in, or curious about, NGK spark plug nomenclature, the company uses alpha-numeric characters to denote specific properties. By arranging design symbols in certain orders, it can specify a spark plug's characteristics.
For example, ZFR refers to extended projected insulator, or tip, resistor type construction and either 19 mm (.750") or 22.5 mm reach.
BKR refers to projected insulator, or tip, resistor type construction and 19 mm (.750") reach.
I denotes a plug with iridium/platinum electrodes, and P signifies double platinum electrodes.
The first number in the series expresses the heat range. With Japanese plugs, the higher the number the colder the heat range. Thus, 6 is one heat range colder than 5. In the case of Denso plugs, 16 is equivqlent to 5 and 20 approximates 6.
The last numeral(s) at the end of the series, or after the hyphen, represents the electrode gap. Some examples: 11 = 1.1 mm (.044"); and 8 = .8 mm (.032").
IX before the hyphen specifies the plug as one with an iridium-tipped center electrode and a nickel alloy tapered cut ground electrode.
This has been a non-systematic, very brief overview of the NGK nomenclature. For a more detailed explanation of NGK's design symbols for spark plugs, go to:
Happy Motoring!
References:
Denso: http://www.densoautoparts.com/spark-plugs
NGK USA: http://ngksparkplugs.com
NGK Canada: http://www.ngksparkplugs.ca
An NGK and Denso vendor: http://sparkplugs.com
'02 FSM
Not all usable spark plugs listed.
NGK Spark Plug Types
V-Power: Nickel alloy V-grooved center electrode; nickel alloy ground electrode. OEM for all Proteges listed here except the MSP.
G-Power: Platinum alloy tip center electrode, .6 mm diameter; nickel alloy ground electrode.
Iridium IX: Iridium tip center electrode, .6 mm diameter; nickel alloy tapered ground electrode designed to minimize the "Quenching Effect." As a consequence, NGK recommends this as their performance plug for road cars. More on this later.
Laser Platinum: Laser welded platinum alloy tip center electrode; platinum disc welded to backside of ground electrode. Because its platinum surfaces ensure a slow wear rate providing a longer service life, superior anti-fouling, improved fuel efficiency, and lower emissions, it is an OEM approved design. It is OEM for the MSP.
Laser Iridium: Laser welded iridium tip center electrode; platinum disc welded to backside of ground electrode. Its iridium/platinum surfaces give it the longest service life of all NGK plugs making it an OEM approved design.
Denso Spark Plug Types
Original U-Groove: Nickel alloy center electrode; U-shaped nickel alloy ground electrode. OEM for all proteges listed here except the MSP.
Platinum TT: The TT stands for twin-tips. Platinum tip center electrode, 1.1 mm diameter; rather than being flat, the ground electrode's firing pad is a free-standing titanium-enhanced tip. By opening up the space between the electrodes, without increasing the gap, quench is reduced to a considerable extent.
Double Platinum: Platinum tip center electrode; platinum ground electrode. OEM for the MSP.
Iridium Long Life: Laser welded fine wire iridium tip center electrode, .7 mm diameter; platinum ground electrode. Longest sevice life of all Denso's plugs.
Iridium Power: Laser welded fine wire iridium tip center electrode, .4 mm diameter; U-groove niclkel alloy ground electrode. Recommended as the performance plug of choice in street applications.
1999 to 2001, 1.6 L, ZM-DE Engine
NGK ZFR5F-11 V-Power type, OEM fitment
Denso KJ16CR11 Original U-Groove, alternate OEM fitment as listed in the FSM.
NGK ZFR5FIX-11 Iridium IX type
NGK PZFR5F-11 Laser Platinum type
Denso SKJ16CR-L11 Iridium Long Life type
Arranged in order of least to most expensive, the above five spark plugs have a reach (threaded length) of 19 mm (.750"); are pre-gapped at 1.0-1.1 mm (.040"-.044"); have a heat range of 5 (or equivalent); and an extended projected tip.
1999 to 2000, 1.8 L, FP-DE Engine
Same as FS-DE engine listed below.
2001 to 2003, 2.0 L, FS-DE Engine
NGK BKR5E-11 V-Power type, OEM fitment
Denso K16PR-U11 U-Groove type, alternate OEM fitment as listed in FSM.
NGK BKR5EIX-11 Iridium IX type
NGK PFR5G-11 Laser Platinum type
NGK IFR5E-11 Laser Iridium type
Denso SK16PR-L11 Iridium Long Life type
Arranged in order of least to most expensive, the above six spark plugs have a reach (threaded length) of 19 mm (.750"); are pre-gapped at 1.0-1.1 mm (.040"-.044"); have a heat range of 5 (or equivalent); and a projected tip.
Spark Plug Substitution in the FS-DE Engine
Following the recommendation of TheMAN, some of our Forum members with the 2.0 L, FS-DE engine (myself included), and the 1.8 L, FP-DE engine have replaced our spark plugs with those used in the 1.6 L, ZM-DE engine. The two series of plugs have identical characteristics with the sole exception that the plugs for the 1.6 L engine have an extended projected tip. This places the electrodes closer to the center of the incoming A/F mixture with apparently beneficial consequences for power production. These extended projected tip spark plugs are OEM in the JDM versions of the FS-DE and FP-DE engines.
Apparently, the extended projected tip starts the ignition flame front burning physically deeper in the combustion chamber which reduces the length of flame travel required for complete combustion. This has the effect of advancing the ignition timing which in some cases can result in raising engine power output due to the more rapid flame propagation. An additional benefit is that at high speeds the longer insulator nose is cooled by the incoming fuel charge to increase its cold heat range while at low speeds the long nose runs hotter to prevent fouling.
Reference:
Four-Stroke Performance Tuning, Third edition by A. Graham bell; Chapter 7: Combustion and the Ignition System, pages 236-237.
2003 Mazdaspeed Protege 2.0L, FS-DET Engine
NGK PZFR6F-11 Laser Platinum type, OEM fitment
NGK ZFR6FIX-11 Iridium IX type
NGK IZFR6F-11 Laser Iridium type
Denso VKJ20RZ-M11* Iridium Long Life type
* According to TheMAN, this is the Denso equivalent of the NGK IZFR6F-11. However, according to both sparkplugs.com and Denso, this is a Japanese plug only and the part is not available in the US.
Note that the above four spark plugs have the same specifications as the extended projected tip models used in the 1.6 L engine, but are one heat range colder, 6 instead of 5 (or 20 instead of 16 in the Denso nomenclature). This is necessary due to the increased heat production of the turbo engine. Also note that the OEM fitted plugs are double platinum (rather than nickel alloy) electrode types, required to maintain adequate electrode life in the more severe operating environment.
NGK Spark Plug Nomenclature
For those of you interested in, or curious about, NGK spark plug nomenclature, the company uses alpha-numeric characters to denote specific properties. By arranging design symbols in certain orders, it can specify a spark plug's characteristics.
For example, ZFR refers to extended projected insulator, or tip, resistor type construction and either 19 mm (.750") or 22.5 mm reach.
BKR refers to projected insulator, or tip, resistor type construction and 19 mm (.750") reach.
I denotes a plug with iridium/platinum electrodes, and P signifies double platinum electrodes.
The first number in the series expresses the heat range. With Japanese plugs, the higher the number the colder the heat range. Thus, 6 is one heat range colder than 5. In the case of Denso plugs, 16 is equivqlent to 5 and 20 approximates 6.
The last numeral(s) at the end of the series, or after the hyphen, represents the electrode gap. Some examples: 11 = 1.1 mm (.044"); and 8 = .8 mm (.032").
IX before the hyphen specifies the plug as one with an iridium-tipped center electrode and a nickel alloy tapered cut ground electrode.
This has been a non-systematic, very brief overview of the NGK nomenclature. For a more detailed explanation of NGK's design symbols for spark plugs, go to:
Happy Motoring!
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