15 replies to this topic

[TRACStar]

I've been chasing a rich (10.4-10.1) at WOT issue for longer than I care to remember, car had just always been that way.

Today I swapped out my plugs and figured I'd try a range colder..NGK BKR7E's....AFR's quickly drop to low 11's when going WOT then jump up and hold a rock steady 12.5-12.8. To say the car pulls harder is an understatement, its a totally different animal. What really has me intrigued is that when I ran a 13.7 quarter it was with a 10.2 AFR and the car felt the way it always did.

It never even occurred to me to try a colder plug, up until today the best plugs I used were OEM's, it ran better with them than any plug I tried before it so they're all I've run for the last couple years. And they never really looked burnt/fouled when changing. After today.......I'll never buy them again.

[vmaxx]

I'll try these on my next change interval...thanks.

[GltGreco]

i still like my oem plugs, but i have been tempted to try the NGK BKR7E's i know a few people who run them and had a great response, but i can almost guarantee they will not last nearly as long as oem ones so i would keep an eye on that.

[RobT5.]

GltGreco, on 06 December 2011 - 06:09 PM, said:

but i can almost guarantee they will not last nearly as long as oem ones so i would keep an eye on that.

My old 850 liked to eat NGK's every 7k miles it was missfiring from fouled plugs. finally got tired of it and just bought bosch coppers. didnt eat them.

but yeah it ran better on the ngk's.

[gmsgltr]

gap?

[Snabb T5M]

I gap mine at like 0.025. And at roughly $2 a plug who cares if they only last 7k miles.

gmsgltr, on 06 December 2011 - 09:42 PM, said:

gap?

[TRACStar]

gmsgltr, on 06 December 2011 - 09:42 PM, said:

gap?

Gapped to .030 with a MSD 6A box.

I really don't mind if I have to change them every other oil change since their less than half the cost of OEM plugs. And with how much they leveled out my AFR's and smoothed out the power curve, longevity is a small price to pay IMO.

[vmaxx]

TRACStar, on 07 December 2011 - 03:39 AM, said:

Gapped to .030 with a MSD 6A box.

I really don't mind if I have to change them every other oil change since their less than half the cost of OEM plugs. And with how much they leveled out my AFR's and smoothed out the power curve, longevity is a small price to pay IMO.

I got the ipd MSD coil upgrade, is it the same as the 6A so I can gap the NGKs at .30?

UPDATE: I read the package and it says Blaster SS so i'm guessing it's not a 6A...anyyone have an idea what gap is recommended for NGKs?

Edited by vmaxx, 09 December 2011 - 02:05 AM.

[Hippicus Rebuildacus]

I have run BKR7E for about a year and a half and they do last a long time but you have to re-gap them more often than other plugs. I save about a years worth of used plugs to see any kind of pattern as well and I havent seen any issues other than the occasional higher than normal suitting. Obviously going 1 heat range isnt going to cause issues in regards to fouling but it DOES let your plug become fouled sooner with normal driving / idling. It is a colder plug which means it must run just a tiny bit harder to keep them at the same optimal temperature. If you don't push push your car to the point you feel you need a heat range colder plug in order to eliminate a misfire you could just stick with 6's instead of 7's. If you do a lot of idling or heavy traffic driving or just drive like an old lady never getting past like 3K rpm you will foul the plugs out faster resulting in a misfire or just poorer performance.

I no longer run BKR7E's but I never had an issue with them @ .026 - .028 gap with a MSD Blaster Coil.

My plugs come out Every other oil change so every 6K miles they are back out the car, not to be re-gapped either they just come out & new ones go in. and as someone already stated for under $2 a plug I could care less and it gives me piece of mind.

.030 = stock

anything that people post below that are either trying to compensate for a miss fire or the fact that they are pushing much more air than stock. Obviously as upgrades increase you are pushing more air into the motor and having the ability to blow out the spark like a candle in the wind. a Misfire doesnt always mean that you have to lower your gap as you could have some failing or older ignition components. I thought I had a miss fire after about 3k miles on a set of plugs but I have never had an issue before so I decided to look at everything from the plug back to the coil, turns out it was a 2 year old cap & rotor. The cap was decent but the rotor's saw tooth that rotates around and makes contact with the cap nodes was completely worn down to the point the spark had to jump more than normal to send its current. This reduced the strength of the spark resulting in a weaker ignition in the chamber.

When you upgrade things such as your ignition components you usually will wear out other ignition related items sooner as well. Stronger hotter spark from the ignition coil wears on the cap/rotor as well as the plugs.

[dimka18]

Im running those NGKs in my R as of today, and at 17psi i can feel it misfiring. Gapped at .026. Next time changing cap and rotor.

[the commissar!]

vmaxx, on 09 December 2011 - 01:39 AM, said:

I got the ipd MSD coil upgrade, is it the same as the 6A so I can gap the NGKs at .30?

UPDATE: I read the package and it says Blaster SS so i'm guessing it's not a 6A...anyyone have an idea what gap is recommended for NGKs?

On gap: Start with stock and adjust if you must...

On ignition components: Blaster SS is a coil and a 6A is an ignition controller box...both made by MSD. They do different things as parts of the total ignition system. The coil converts low voltage ~12v used by most of your car, to high voltage (tens of thousands) necessary to make the plugs have enough energy to spark. An ignition controller actually controls the timing of the firing of the plugs in conjunction with the distributor/rotor.

[boxpin]

Watch this video, it will explain what the 6a does. Talking to Hussein, he said that it works great but goes through cap and rotors. COP (coil on plug) may be the solution.

http://www.msdvideos...il.php?mId=8568

[the commissar!]

at the sales pitch in that video...

I have been running the 6a digital and have not had that problem (yet)...I've got about 18,000 miles on my 6aD. I'm sure I don't run my car as hard as many of you but occasionally I step out...When I do I don't want spark blowout causing misfires.

[boxpin]

the commissar!, on 09 December 2011 - 03:09 PM, said:

at the sales pitch in that video...

Agreed, they are a bit giddy over it.

[vmaxx]

hmm..thanks for the video!

My cap and rotor is a year old Bosch unit, i'll have to replace/upgrade my knock sensors,MAF Sensor, fuel pressure regulator, 98+ T5/R injectors, NGK BK7RE plugs to hopefully, completely, cure the sporadic stutter mid to high rpm.

Was good today, 5% of the time it stutters so i'll get those parts cheapest to most expensive soooon,,,,

Oh yeah, stock gap is .28 correct?

Edited by vmaxx, 09 December 2011 - 05:32 PM.

[vmaxx]

the commissar!, on 09 December 2011 - 01:39 PM, said:

On gap: Start with stock and adjust if you must...

On ignition components: Blaster SS is a coil and a 6A is an ignition controller box...both made by MSD. They do different things as parts of the total ignition system. The coil converts low voltage ~12v used by most of your car, to high voltage (tens of thousands) necessary to make the plugs have enough energy to spark. An ignition controller actually controls the timing of the firing of the plugs in conjunction with the distributor/rotor.

Thanks for the explanation Commissar!!

P.S. I WAS gonna say "thanks Commie!" but then I realized....

Edited by vmaxx, 09 December 2011 - 06:29 PM.