I have a 99' prelude that I bought used. I took it in for the 60k service the other day and they told me someone had replaced the stock plugs with some regular autolite plugs.
They asked me if i wanted them to put in the factory platinum plugs for $90.
I told them not to worry about it, since I wanted to do some reaserch to figure out what might be the best plug to get.

So i have 2 Q's for everyone.
1. can you recommend a good plug to go with or should i just stick with oem?

2. Has anyone changed their plugs themselves and if so did they use a tourq wrench or could i just hand tighten them plus one turn?

 

did you take the car to a Honda dealer? or just a regular shop?

1) Honda uses NGK plugs - I never heard of them using platinum plugs. I recommend NGK's.

2) I don't own a torque wrench but i just hand tighten and then 2 grunts.

 

while on the subject, what about Nology Hotwires? I see all these people using them, but I wonder if it's appropriate. Nology says the plug wires have a built in capacitor which will store engery until it reaches maximum potential, then releases it to the plug. Are hotwires not recommended, or are they a great buy for Preludes (VTEC or H23)?

 

Ever see the drag Honda motors? MOST do not use aftermarket plug wires because they see the stock system is most efficient. I admit I bought some MSD plug-wires, then after reading more, I learned I wasted $90 on some useless wires.

 

I put ngk double platinums in my lude, I would recomend you do the same.

 

platinums are great for long life, but not the best power producing plugs out there. NGK has never done me wrong though whether platinum or copper.
Don't buy into all the spark plug gimmicks though like splitfire and all that split electrode crap. getting the perfect plug for a stock or even slightly modified engine is like splitting hairs. Granted, there are some crappy plugs out there, but unless you are boosted, running nitrous, an aftermarket ignition, or indexing the plugs on a dragster for the perfect combustion event, I would say, just go with a reputable brand like NGK, Bosch, Champion etc. Same with plug wires. There are some great ones out there, but the Nologys are kind of overkill if the car is stock or even slightly modded. Stock wires are good, but you can get a better than stock set for cheaper if you want. I'm running Accel thundersports and they cost me like 50 bucks. I think the dealer charges more than that for stock wires, which is still ridiculous for only five wires. As far as changing them out, it's easy, but I would use a torque wrench to get them all the same. each individual plug box should have the torque spec on it. It's usually somthing like 13-16 lbs. Anyway, sorry for ranting.

 

I'm going to agree here. I have Bosch Plat 4+'s and didn't really notice any big diffrence from switching from the factory ones that were all burnt up.

I got some cheap wires... nothing special. Like $30-40. It's a little crisper and a slight bit more responsive... but not much.

I'd also get a grounding kit. Those are good to have. Hell you could make your own in about an hour for $10..... or spend $150 and take 20mins putting it on.

 

Use only the NGK oem plugs..... you can get them from AutoZone or similar car parts store for 11.00/plug. 44.00 is much better than the 90.00 at the dealer. I wouldn't even touch Bosch or Champion.... I've seen Bosch plugs die at 30,000 miles (cathode opens). They are garbage. Stick with NGK and you're good for at least 80,000.

 

ngk premium platinum!!!!

 

The helm's manual recommends NGK platinum plugs for the vtec engines and just the coppers for the non-vtec... but they can be used if u want. So since you have a 99... I would go to auto zone or wherever and get the platinums... they'll last longer and there's no gapping them.

Make sure your engine is cold when you change them... and put a little anti-seize on them before you put them in... then just make them nice and snug... don't turn too hard... that head is aluminum ya know.