Hi Perf Ignition coils installed (SEE PICS)

Originally Posted by Josh P.

Damn you guys are replacing your plugs at 60k miles? I'm just over 60k, but was planning to wait till 70k.

Now I'm all paranoid that THIS is what's hurting my fuel economy. Well, that and the low tire pressure. And the cold weather. And the corn in my gas tank. And my slowly deteriorating Vanos seals. And . . .

LMAO. You could easily justify swapping plugs at 60k although if you did wait till 70k it wouldn't hurt much. I changed at 80k if you peeped page 1 pics and you can see they were definitely due.

Again, I'll admit that these HP coils probably aren't going to increase much if any performance but given that their price isn't much more than stock coils it doesn't seem like such a bad deal if you're like me with a high mileage bimmer and probably need them replaced anyways.

Originally Posted by Mack

Again, I'll admit that these HP coils probably aren't going to increase much if any performance but given that their price isn't much more than stock coils it doesn't seem like such a bad deal if you're like me with a high mileage bimmer and probably need them replaced anyways.

To reiterate....coils are *good* until they go *bad*....do you do Preventitave Maintainance on all the light bulbs in your house?

I went through my house and replaced all standard bulbs with CFL's a year or two ago. And if 1 of something goes bad (i.e. spark plug, coil, headlight) I replace them all.

Originally Posted by Boile

All that's needed in ONE spark to initiate the explosion.

Exactly.

I remember when I was 22 and had my very first car. I swear I could feel more horsepower even after just changing the oil and adding a container of STP fuel injection cleaner to the fuel tank. Man I miss those times.

As for spark plugs, it all depends on the make and model. My wife's car (a Trans Am GTA) runs way better on regular autolite sparkplugs then on the expensive platinum Bosch plugs.

Nice post and money spent!

Thanks for sharing the Info on Hi-Performance coil but here is my 2-cent, think about the engine as an orchestra: alot of things need to work together to make music: changing only the violinists but leaving the rest of the orchestra (cello, bass, drums etc.) alone is unlikely to improve the music.

Back to the E39, to gain HP --> alot needs to be done:
- ? Hi-performance coil
- ? Better Spark Plugs
- ? Better Gasoline (Higher Octane)
- ? Better Air Flow (? K&N)
- ? Getting rid of the Catalytic (illegal in the US)
etc. and etc.

As others said already, sometimes a good 'old-fashioned' change of new NGK spark plugs will do a fine job. No need for fancy ignition coils.

I think the max performance of the engine has been tuned from the factory, it is hard to improve much on it.

1 coil goes bad, buy an OEM replacement and be done (lots of on-line sellers). Cheap and effective. Assuming one does also preventative maintenance and changes out old sparkplugs. And changing them with the 4 pronged NGK's (OEM spec) will not be detrimental at all to the performance of the car.

I just installed the NGK 2667's iridiums.
I did notice a little more response IMO...

Holy smokes. . I made this thread 2 years ago! I would like to report that after 2 years of having the Bav Auto Performace coils they have caused multiple cylinder misfires. The good part is that Bav Auto has an excellent warranty. . theyve sent me 2 fresh replacement sets everytime one fails. Thats a total of 18 coils Ive gone thru. . . NOT WORTH IT! STICK TO OEM!

Originally Posted by BMW05

Holy smokes. . I made this thread 2 years ago! I would like to report that after 2 years of having the Bav Auto Performace coils they have caused multiple cylinder misfires. The good part is that Bav Auto has an excellent warranty. . theyve sent me 2 fresh replacement sets everytime one fails. Thats a total of 18 coils Ive gone thru. . . NOT WORTH IT! STICK TO OEM!

Wow! Good to know. An original poster comes back to follow-up on an old thread, pretty rare also. Thanks for the update.

Originally Posted by Josh P.

Damn you guys are replacing your plugs at 60k miles? I'm just over 60k, but was planning to wait till 70k.

Now I'm all paranoid that THIS is what's hurting my fuel economy. Well, that and the low tire pressure. And the cold weather. And the corn in my gas tank. And my slowly deteriorating Vanos seals. And . . .

Don't sweat it. I changed my original plugs at 100k miles. With new ones my car idles and performs almost identical as before. I gained maybe a mile more per gallon with the plugs but I've also switched to Shell V-Power which is most likely the reason for the increase in MPG's.

Originally Posted by BMW05

. . NOT WORTH IT! STICK TO OEM!

Thanks for the follow up post-

I bet these guys will still be ranting over this for at least 2 more years.

Originally Posted by BMW05

Holy smokes. . I made this thread 2 years ago! I would like to report that after 2 years of having the Bav Auto Performace coils they have caused multiple cylinder misfires. The good part is that Bav Auto has an excellent warranty. . theyve sent me 2 fresh replacement sets everytime one fails. Thats a total of 18 coils Ive gone thru. . . NOT WORTH IT! STICK TO OEM!

Thanks for the courage to post against the non-OEM coils.

Originally Posted by BMW05

Holy smokes. . I made this thread 2 years ago! I would like to report that after 2 years of having the Bav Auto Performace coils they have caused multiple cylinder misfires. The good part is that Bav Auto has an excellent warranty. . theyve sent me 2 fresh replacement sets everytime one fails. Thats a total of 18 coils Ive gone thru. . . NOT WORTH IT! STICK TO OEM!

Great follow-up! Now wonder these have been on sale for the past several months!

Originally Posted by Fast Bob

I`m Old School, mang....I *snort* the Kool-Aid.... :-)

have we met at a party?

ok-then

Originally Posted by Jason5driver

I just installed the NGK 2667's iridiums.
I did notice a little more response IMO...

I run NGK 2668's

Originally Posted by doru

1 coil goes bad, buy an OEM replacement and be done (lots of on-line sellers). Cheap and effective. Assuming one does also preventative maintenance and changes out old sparkplugs. And changing them with the 4 pronged NGK's (OEM spec) will not be detrimental at all to the performance of the car.

when i did my valley pan, i changed the plugs to single from 4.... big mistake. i can feel the car run not as smooth and power doesn't feel "all there". i mean, she still moves but just lacks "motivation".

when i do my valve covers (missed a chance to do that piece), i'm going to replace the plugs to the 4's. sure they came in singles but go at least dual.

and i have yet to read any 5 series benefiting using "HP plugs"..

All the spark plug mfgrs keep an updated web site that will show you what plug is the latest OEM choice.

Originally, in 97, my plugs were single prong but I think BMW has changed that to multi prong.

Originally Posted by JackEatsEmoKids

I run NGK 2668's

Hey!
Are the 2668's better/ a step colder??

Thanks!
Jason

Trying to tune your engine by changing plug brands and/or heat range is a loosing proposition.

Save your money.