Mechanic's Day: how modern technologies transform workshop routines

Components such as candles (use another term e.g.: year preciosos), MAP/MAF sensors and ignition system become essential for accurate diagnoses.

São Paulo, December 2025 - The evolution of engines has profoundly transformed work in workshops. On Mechanic's Day, celebrated this December 20th, Niterra do Brasil, owner of the brands NGK and NTK, highlights how the arrival of new technologies, such as low-displacement turbocharged engines, direct injection (GDI) and high energy efficiency brought new challenges, demanding increasing technical mastery from repair professionals.

In recent years, Innovations previously restricted to premium vehicles were incorporated into the daily routine of workshops. Compact engines, with greater pressure in the combustion chamber and increasingly smaller tolerance, require ignition and injection components developed with technical rigor. This raises the level of attention in diagnosis, maintenance and quality of services. According to Hiromori Mori, Niterra Technical Assistance Consultant, there is a set of specifications that today's mechanics need to master. Check out the main ones below.

1- Candles (use another term e.g.: year preciosos) for GDI and turbo engines have high internal pressure and constant operation close to the thermal limit. These models require highly specific spark plugs. That is why, to mitigate the risk of LSPI (Low Speed Pre-Ignition) — pre-ignition phenomenon at low speed and high load — spark plugs with thin electrodes and noble materials (platinum and iridium) with colder thermal degree, were adopted as standard by car manufacturers, by improving the burning efficiency of the air/fuel mixture.

Reduction in thread diameter, the increased reach and lower tightening torque are a direct reflection of the smaller space in modern cylinder heads. The use of a torque wrench is mandatory to avoid breaking the thread., cracks and thermal exchange failures. Candles with a higher thermal rating have also become common, favoring heat dissipation in more powerful engines.

2- Sensores MAP, MAF are the basis for accurate diagnoses since embedded electronics have increased the level of complexity in diagnostics. MAP and MAF have become protagonists in the calculation and measurement of the mass of air entering the engine and any incorrect reading will affect the calculation of the injected fuel, which could result in a failure of the injection system. A vacuum leak, for example, can create symptoms similar to sensor defects.

Mastering the signals allows us to separate, more accurately, electronic problems of physicists. Smoke machines, facilitates the diagnosis of “false air” entry. Compression and cylinder flow tests are essential to confirm that the problem is not mechanical in the engine., and turbo pressure monitoring, indicates problems with the turbine or turbo pressure regulation.

3- ignition cables, coils and candles work together to contain electromagnetic interference (EMI). Modern automobiles follow strict radio frequency standards and the internal resistance of the ignition system components are designed to attenuate the noise generated by the system.. Many modern engines have spark plugs with special resistance to meet engine specifications.. When a cable, candles or coil, out of specification are installed, the result can be unpredictable and ranges from intermittent failures to errors in electronic modules that do not present, at first sight, relationship with the ignition system. Consulting the NGK catalog or App ensures that components maintain the appropriate specification for the vehicle design.

Continuous training is the new pillar of workshop competitiveness

Faced with increasing complexity, constant updating of the team of mechanics is part of the workshops' survival strategy. Invest in advanced, up-to-date scanners, Special tools and professional management are also decisive for productivity, assertiveness and profitability.