Spark plugs and fuel filter

[markjay]

I am a firm believer that if your car drives better after a service, then you have been putting it off for too long... servicing carried out on time should keep your car in peak condition at all times. And yet....

Last week I had the car serviced at Wayne Gates (thanks again, Terry), including new spark plugs and fuel filter.

These were replaced because they were last done 4 years ago, in spite of the actual mileage being low (20k miles).

And yet the car felt noticibly better to drive, especially when accelerating.

The engine oil and filter change could not have done this... so either the fuel filter was partially clogged, or the spark plugs' performance degraded over time.

But both are well below their recommend service life...

On balance I am guessing that it was the spark plugs that made the difference. If my guess is correct... then changing spark plugs at the scheduled intervals seems like a very good idea

 

[markjay]

To clarify, both the new items and the ones replaced were of the same make and model:


Mercedes Benz 229.5 oil 5w-40

Mercedes-branded spark plugs (NGK Iridium)

Mahle KL-82 fuel filter


So it is not a question of different quality etc.

 

[Yugguy]

Low miles can sometimes be worse on components than high miles. Spark plugs fouled because of lots of cold starts with short journeys not letting deposit burn off.

 

[markjay]

Low miles can sometimes be worse on components than high miles. Spark plugs fouled because of lots of cold starts with short journeys not letting deposit burn off.

Good point.

This was the condition of the old spark plugs, if his helps:

 

[rorf]

Nothing wrong with those platinum plugs - you can get 100 000 kms easily out of them