The 8 plug Nissan trucks had some issue with distributors; very expensive issues. Like 800 bucks worth at the time sans cap and wires.
The exhaust plug fired something like 5 degrees after the intake and the main purpose was emissions; not performance. There was a plug to disable the second set of plugs if I remember correctly but it was not highly recommended.
Speaking of insurance jobs, back in the early 70s I guy I know (and definitely not a friend) took his super cherry 1967 GTO (Black on black) out to an oil lease one night and destroyed it with an ax to collect insurance money. Claimed it was stolen and then found by a tanker driver a few days later.
He should have been stomped senseless for committing that crime. And he really didn’t even need the money that much not to mention the value of a 67 GTO in 1973 was pretty scant compared to now.
The spark plug that is installed at the factory has an iridium tip and a platinum plate on the ground electrode. This is the ONLY kind to use. However, I didn’t change mine until I had a 110k miles on it and they still looked like new, but it is your car so do what you think is best.
Spark plug replacement isn’t too difficult on most 4 cylinder engines, but since this is a horizontally opposed engine, it has to be jacked up to clear the frame rails in order to get to the plugs, so cost will be a little higher.
Really? Why? Why not have the plugs on the side that faces the front of the car or the top (like my wife’s accords). Spark-plug change on the Accords were easy.
If this is still the boxer engine, the plugs are two to a side (right and left). Once you get the tricks down it isn’t too difficult. Flex joints in the socket wrench help a lot.
The only catastrophic failure of after market platinum tip plugs appeared to be the result of forcing a wedge type gap tool into the gap and cracking the center electrode insulator which dropped off and destroyed the cylinder wall. But long ago I realized using anything but the factory original brand and part number plug resulted in complaints of some kind. And even then it was necessary to keep up with factory parts updates. there were several for each of the Big 4.