How often you change the spark plugs in your vehicle depends upon the type of plugs you use and how you drive the vehicle. Naturally, better plugs and easy driving conditions are optimal. E3 spark plugs offer a 100K mile warranty, or 5 years from the date of purchase.
The plug wrench (typically 3/8 inch) provided with your vehicle or lawn and garden equipment is all you need to remove the old plug and install a new E3 spark plug. If you are inspecting and/or cleaning an existing plug, E3 recommends cleaning the plug's threads with a wire brush to prevent damage to the threads inside the engine's head.
Check the E3 Torque Chart for the plug that you are installing. You can also check your manufacturer's guide for exact plug torque information for your vehicle's engine.
Automotive spark plugs have their three-leg ground electrode pre-gapped at the E3 factory to meet the OE requirements for the vehicles they are listed to fit. Do not attempt to change the gap.
A fouled plug refers to a build up or coating of carbon deposits, oil or fuel on the plug's electrode tip and ceramic insulator. Sometimes the plug can be cleaned and re-installed. Typically, recurring problems with fouled plugs are indicative of other engine problems.
It depends. In most cases, you do not need to clean your car or truck spark plugs. During routine maintenance, inspecting and cleaning the plug's tip is common.
When something causes the air-fuel mixture to ignite prior to the spark plug firing, you have pre-ignition. Pre-ignition can be very damaging to your vehicle's engine. Detonation is the spontaneous combustion of the remaining mixture in the chamber after normal combustion is initiated by the spark plug. The key here is that detonation occurs after normal combustion. This often causes an engine "ping" that may indicate less than optimum performance.