Left is a genuine NGK plug & Right is a 'Fake' imitation. There have been rumours going round a while now that somebody is producing 'copied' NGK spark plugs. The effects of this can vary from a loss in power, excessive plug fouling or possibly failure of your engine.
Aside from poor engine running - as you can to see in the photo (click to make it bigger), there are some tell tale signs of a 'fake' that are not that hard to spot once you know what to look for. The plug on the right in the photo is fake. It has a yellow passivated finish to its body, which is not correct. The NGK lettering printed on the plug is clearly not centralised properly between the grooved area of the plug and the plug body. This is another indicator of a copy. Missing stock number on the box and a very loose washer are also signs of a dodgy plug that needs to be discarded or taken back to where you bough it from. I have linked a website detailing information of these fake plugs for all to look at. Hopefully if enough people start noticing them, the manufacturers will have to stop producing fakes or suppliers and retailers will step in before they make it to the shelves. Be wary of buying plugs on eBay - if they seem to be cheap. they probably are! Thanks to Keith Brown for bringing this to my attention, potentially saved me a lot of hassle.
Aside from poor engine running - as you can to see in the photo (click to make it bigger), there are some tell tale signs of a 'fake' that are not that hard to spot once you know what to look for. The plug on the right in the photo is fake. It has a yellow passivated finish to its body, which is not correct. The NGK lettering printed on the plug is clearly not centralised properly between the grooved area of the plug and the plug body. This is another indicator of a copy. Missing stock number on the box and a very loose washer are also signs of a dodgy plug that needs to be discarded or taken back to where you bough it from. I have linked a website detailing information of these fake plugs for all to look at. Hopefully if enough people start noticing them, the manufacturers will have to stop producing fakes or suppliers and retailers will step in before they make it to the shelves. Be wary of buying plugs on eBay - if they seem to be cheap. they probably are! Thanks to Keith Brown for bringing this to my attention, potentially saved me a lot of hassle.
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