7 Best spark plugs for 5.7 hemi (Dodge Ram) & Buyers Guide (2023)

When I was writing an article about a must have mod for you truck, I was thinking if spark plugs is a mod or not. No, it's not, it's a necessity, but some models could improve truck performance. Before you choose a spark plug, you have to know which main characteristics should be taken into account and if they are worth being paid for.

The main challenge when choosing a spark plug is to weigh up all the pros and to see if they have a really reasonable price for them. A lot of spark plugs have very similar characteristics, however, really significant price difference. So, if you don't want to spend your time searching for the spark plugs, just go through this article.

Which type of spark plugs do you need?

In the engines, to ignite the fuel mixture the spark is fed through a spark plug. At first glance it seems that no special requirements for such details are presented, however, when a motorist visiting a specialized store, sees a wide range of spark plugs, he doesn't know which of plugs he needs.

Spark plugs differ in terms parameters:

The manufacturer: NGK, Denso, Autolite, Brisk, ACDelco, Champion.

The design is one-piece or multi-electrode; gray number; spark gap

The metals from which the electrodes are made are:

1. iridium => longevity: 75-80 thousand miles;
2. platinum => longevity: 55-75 thousand miles;
3. copper alloy => longevity: 15-20 thousand miles;

All these features affect the choice of your spark plugs. So if you want to choose some best plug for your car, you must pay attention to these parameters.\ \

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Nowadays automobile market is developing rapidly and it’s really hard to catch up with it even for an expertized driver, let alone those ones, who have just started their driving experience. However, any of them needs to be aware of the products that the market has on offer.

All products have a nice price, but some of them have a little difference. The difference lies in the fact that some product has more spark plugs in the complete set comparable to others. For example, the set of NGK CR9EK, has 16 spark plugs. The cheapest price is a spark plug made of copper. Also, the price depends on longevity quality.

NGK manufacturer is one of the most popular brands on world market. Japanese production. Most people use this brand. What about Champion brand, it is one of the unpopular brands, because many people say that spark plugs of this brand quickly wear out.

The main feature you must to consider when buying a product is the material and the price. Do not forget that plugs can be from iridium, platinum and copper alloy. So if you live in town and don’t ride very often you will be comfortable to use a cooper one, but if you ride often and for long distances, we recommend you to choose iridium or even double platinum spark plug. If you want your spark plug always to be in order, you must change it every 10-20 thousand miles. Installing a spark plug is not a difficult task, it can take you from 5 to 15 minutes.

Producers give a recommendation, that spark plugs always need to be changed during a maintenance plan, this is after 10-15 thousand kilometers.

Experts say that the time of change is every 15-20 thousand miles, but compact cars need to change the spark plugs more often about every 5-10 thousand miles of the run.

There are also such situations as the parching of plugs due to the bad-quality fuel, in such a situation, the driver feels the deterioration of plugs as the engine starts to run unevenly and the falls traction.

There are also drivers who forget to change their spark plugs and ride on them 25-50 thousand miles, at the same time, without thinking that it is more difficult to ride with worn-out plugs.

Automobile loses its power, gasoline is spent more, and in cold weather, the engine is much harder to start. Therefore, it is better to change your spark plugs on time.

In cold weather due to bad candles you can not start the car.

There are three types of spark plugs and each of them has own longevity.

That iridium spark plug is the strongest plug. Also iridium spark plugs are suitable for older car models, improving their performance, but many people think the opposite

It is high-performance, spark plugs with a central iridium electrode, which consist of durable alloy. Longevity: 75-80 thousand miles.

What about platinum spark plugs, I can say that it is also a good spark, especially when a spark plug has double platinum. Longevity: 55-75 thousand miles.

And the worst spark plug is a plug which consists of copper alloy. Longevity: 15-20 thousand miles.

These numbers are approximate, due to the style and area of driving. To be honest, as a mechanic with 30 years of experience, I don't even try to reach these numbers. Though you can still hear your pistons turning on those scales, one time your engine could die and even God himself won`t be able to help you. So if you don't want to go risky, change your spark plugs as it is required.

Before professional diagnostics you can check your spark plug independently. First of all, you need to pay attention to the size of the gap between electrodes and carbon. All plugs have a marking on which there is information on the gap between the electrodes on them, this is the last digit in the marking, which is indicated in millimeters.

If the gap is more than 0.31 inches, or the last digit in the marking, then it means that the plug should be changed urgently.

The plug should not be soiled, as with the correct combustion, the plug electrodes are self-cleaning.

If the plug has a black or white soot, you need to go to the diagnostician, and if the plugs are different in appearance, and one of them may be with soot, and second may be wet, then you need to change all spark plugs.

There are two types of spark plugs - those ones that are pre-gapped and those that are not.

The perfect gap for the 5.7 HEMI is 0.43”, means that on every spark plug recommended in my article you should gap them on your own.

Here is a link how to easily do that.

If it’s bigger or less nominal, what’s the impact? The bigger gap is good for fuel ignition, because there is a lot of fuel-air mixture between the contacts, but it increases the probability of the misfires. The smaller gap means the spark will be powerful, but short. Because of the lack of access to the fuel-air mixture, the spark plugs will be the first to suffer.

To sum up all the information mentioned above and give a little piece of advice at the end, we’d like to add that you don’t have to follow someone’s example or fashion trends. Stay cool when choosing the plug for your particular car. Regard all the characteristics it has and if they match with your demands and your automobile requirements.

The main feature that should be considered when buying a spark plug is the metals they are made of. Experienced drivers highly recommend to choose iridium ones. Nevertheless, the price is much higher but you shouldn’t be scared of overpaying, since they will really do a good service for you. This metal has really high ignitability feature and melting point as well.

Another important characteristic is spark plug longevity. You are definitely not ready to pay extra, unless you are sure that you’ll be able to use the plugs for a long period of time.

Iridium plugs can guarantee long service life. However, it doesn’t mean that they don’t need to be changed ever since. No matter which spark plug you choose for your car, you need to take into consideration that there is a particular amount of miles that they can be used for. And this number varies depending on your car model initially.

Whatever spark plugs you choose for you Dodge Ram 1500 as a result, they all have their particular strong sides. It can be protection of your car electronics, a smooth start, long service life, good performance in extreme weather conditions, the price and many others. There is no universal choice. What you need is be aware of what a plug offers you and how you can use it in your particular experience. If it is too pricy for you, you can always find a cheaper option with really competitive features!

Resources:

1. NGK spark plugs, NKG sparkplugs official
2. Spark plug construction, wikipedia