General Spark plugs and Thermostat replacement. Stilo 1.4

[BillyStilo]

Bought a 2nd hand 2005 1.4 16v Stilo which needs a new thermostat and spark plugs.

A mechanic quoted me 100 quid to supply and fit the spark plugs alone. Is that a bit steep? Insisted that he would need to order Fiat OEM plugs because anything else tends to fail.

I also need to get a new thermostat. So my question is do I need to buy Fiat original plugs and Thermostat, Or will another brand do the job? Also, how much should I be looking at to get those fitted? Thanks for any info.

 

[g8rpi]

Hi and welcome to Fiat Forum.
£100 for changing spark plugs is a bit steep. You would pay around £30 for a set of NGK, Denso or standard Bosch plugs any of which should be OK. Even top of the range plugs would be about £80 from Eurocarparts. Maybe a Stilo owner can chip in if the standard plugs are OK or not butI can see no reason why not if a good make.
A thermostat is under £15 and you also need coolant but it does not look like a difficult job.
Where are you located? maybe someone can recommend a garage.

Robert G8RPI.

 

[Peter Pick-Up]

Have a look here for actual part prices:

www.mister-auto.co.uk

My Fiat DOHC 16V engines run perfect on Bosch +4 plugs, btw.

 

[dtimmins1985]

Just stick with original NGK ones (that where supplied with the car) theyre quite cheap and only take about 30mins to fit (once yoimu have removed airbox).

Where are you based?
I reckon a decent garage could do it all £60 to £80 quid.

Including parts and labour.
My thermostat in the 1.2 cost £32 with collant and labour. Basically 30mins labour and job done.

 

[Peter Pick-Up]

Just stick with original NGK ones (that where supplied with the car)

Any reason why, besides they are cheap..??

Fiat bought them in large quantities at a rock bottom price, but that doesn't mean there are better parts out there...

 

[dtimmins1985]

Have a quick dig around on here.

NGK sell more than any othet mfr in the world so that may explain the price difference.

Also using other compatible brands / models can cause issues depending on engine wear, age and mileage etc and think about what the engine has been running with already.

Aldo some people notice pinking, detonating, missfiring etc when changing plug type / model... ecu may also have to re-learn etc

I personally use original or whatever came out if it was different to oem (providing the car was running fine).

 

[Peter Pick-Up]

Oh, I see...
I personally just use the best part available, no matter what came out...as every factory part is a compromise between quality and cost...
There are FAR better parts available out there (sometimes at a price though...).

 

[BillyStilo]

Thanks guys. I'll get the NGK plugs to be on the safe side then.

Is there any particular brand I should be looking at/looking to avoid when it comes to the thermostat?

I'm living in Enniskillen but will be based in the Republic of Ireland for a bit in the new year. I might just buy the parts now and find a place that will fit them for me in the new year.

 

[Peter Pick-Up]

Valeo is OE. ( original equipment)

 

[Peter Pick-Up]

Thanks guys. I'll get the NGK plugs to be on the safe side then.

Here comes the next question: which NGK plug to choose....several options here, Iridium plugs are state of art these days.

 

[dtimmins1985]

Go with bog standard NGK... irridium or other different / multiple tipped electrodes can cause issues.

Example.. i put bosch super 4's in my Nissan and it ran like a dog... missing and popping intermittently. Checked spark plus gaps and where fine.. it never ran right until the original cheap NGKs where back in.

I tend to notice people running irridiums, super 4s, doubled tipped etc in tuned engines... a remap can marry things like this or an ecu re-learn...

If its a daily driver and stock, just go with original oem (more than likley the cheapest of the brands, so not iridium or double / quad electrodes).

 

[jim cooper]

Facet thermostats (Italy) are excellent. Go for Denso plugs. Get the code number from their website.

 

[Peter Pick-Up]

Don't compare a japcar with an Italian car if you will...
A sparkplug can hardly, by any means, cause any issue you describe at all.
Just go for the best and latest technologie, so (NGK) Iridium would be my choice here, if it must be NGK...
(The thing only creates a spark, nothing more...)

There was a time, not so long ago, Italian cars ONLY ran on (Golden) Lodge sparkplugs, nothing else...

 

[g8rpi]

For the 1.2 16V engine standard NGK's will be fine. So called "performance" plugs can cause all sorts of issues and are not generally much benefit in normal engines. Even OEM's can get it wrong Ive had a car where the OEM recommended plugs caused slow loss of power (as in you got to full throttle and it still didn't produce enough power to keep going) in cold rainey conditions. They issued a bulletin to change the type but few dealers seemed to know about it.
It's hghly debateable but why not just fit standard and see how it goes. better than spending lots on fancy plugs and finding they don't do well.

Robert G8RPI.

 

[Ralf S.]

The standard Fiat plugs are currently made by NGK but that's because Fiat has a supply deal with NGK at the moment. In the 1970's Fiat plugs were supplied by Champion; in the 1980's they were Marelli , in the 1990's they were "Golden Lodge" and in the noughties, they were probably Denso.

All of these manufacturers sell millions of spark plugs a year and have done for decades. None of them do a "bad" plug.

Multi-tipped and plated plugs give a better performance across the typical heat range your car might face.. fouling up less when you're cold-starting in the frozen wastelands of the north (Aye... you can tell I've been to Sheffield.. ) .. to hanging on better when they get very hot (round the Nurburgring in August etc.)

Otherwise a regular plug will do the job, if your car warms up most trips (>5 - 10 miles) and doesn't have to threaten any lap records in the boiling hot summer, then just go with a basic plug. Modern car injection and ignition systems don't put half as much grief on the plug as they did when there were things like carburetors and contact points (ask your dad).

NGK list a Stilo 1.4 (16V) as DCPR7E-N (so it looks like you need a projecting nose, built in resistor and a nice "middle of the road" 7 heat rating) for around £25 a set. Not a bad place to start.

Ralf S.

 

[BillyStilo]

Thanks for all the info guys! I'm still a little confused though because I'm getting some mixed information about compatibility on amazon.

Are DCPR7E-N and DCPR7E-N-10 the same product? Halfords have a set of 4 for £9. I can't post a link on the forum because I'm a new user. But if you search 'DCPR7E-N-10' on Halfords website, you'll get it.

Interestingly, Amazon list this same DCPR7E-N-10 plugs as not being compatible with my 1.4 16v Stilo, are they mistaken?? I've noted that there are 2 versions of the 1.4 16v stilo, the 90hp and the 95hp, so perhaps that is important to choosing the right type of plug? Mine is the 90hp. Will the Halford plugs I'm looking at be compatible with mine?

 

[Peter Pick-Up]

-10 means a gap of 1mm, and according to NGK, they are the correct plug for your Stilo.

https://www.ngkntk.co.uk/

 

[g8rpi]

Hi,
The full part number includes the -10 but some suppliers may leave it off. This is the orginal fitment according to ePer and http://www.sparkplug-crossreference.com/convert/fiat/46750545

Halfords is an easy option if there is one close to you.

Robert G8RPI.

 

[Ralf S.]

The important bits about the spark plug are the D, P, R and 7.

"D" is the size of the thread. In NGK language, "D" is a 12mm x 1.25 thread. The other most common type is "B" @ 14mm (tends to be older/2 valve per cylinder cars where there was more space in the cylinder head). You can't fit a plug with the wrong thread size by accident...

"P" means the central electrode pokes out beyond the end of the thread. Technically all central electrodes extend beyond the end of the thread... but on a "P" plug, the electrode is longer, so you can see the ceramic insulation if you squint at the plug sideways on. If you fit a P plug to an engine that isn't expecting it, the plug will make contact with the piston... so you need to know when to "P" and when not to.

"R" is a resistor plug and fairly ubiquitous these days. It has extra internal shielding so that the plug doesn't cause electronic interference with your car ECU etc. In the old days (points) this wasn't such a big deal apart from your radio would crackle a lot but these days it's more important. A non-resistor plug doesn't actually break anything if you fit it by mistake.

"7" is the heat range. 8 is a harder/colder plug and 6 is a softer/hotter plug.. so if you lived in Abu Dhabi etc. you might fit an "8" and if you lived in the North Pole you might get better performance from a 6, rather than a 7. Fitting a way-too-out-of-range plug can cause fouling (if the plug is too "cold") and plug melting/pinking if the plug is too "hot" .. a bit like sticky tyres melt and hard tyres don't grip. You want the right one for the temperature of your environment (or engine, in this case).

Champion (just to confuse everything) run their heat ratings the other way round. A Champion 6 is almost the same as an NGK 7 and an NGK 6 is about the same as a Champion 7.

The E just denotes the length of the thread. I think it's c.15mm. Obviously (as with projecting nose) you want the right length of thread so that the electrode is not too far into the combustion chamber, nor "not enough" into it.

N - I have no idea.

The "10" is the electrode gap in tenths of millimeters.. so as above, set the gap to "1mm" (i.e. anywhere between 0.9 to 1.1).

It sounds like DCPR7E-N and DCPR7E-N-10 are the same thing... but anyway, if the plug has all of "DPR7E" in the name, regardless of any other letters, it'll work.


Ralf S.