Spark plug replacement impressions

I replaced my spark plugs this past weekend and I thought I'd share my experience.

I bought my car with 28k on it in July of 2011. At that time the service timer said I had 70k miles left on the current set of plugs. I am now at 58k on the car

At that time it also said that I had two years left on my brake fluid, which is the service interval. But when I inspected the fluid (late 2011) it was dark black looking. I changed my fluid at that time and to this day it is clean. I can only assume that the interval was reset without the work being done...thanks BMW

So needless to say, I was sceptical about ALL of the service resets on my car and have been though most of them since. But spark plugs was near the top of the list and this is what I found.

The service interval on my car is 100,000 mile to service the plugs! I was shocked.

The plugs I pulled from my car were not in good shape.

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As you can see the gap has changed and the old plugs are sporting quite a bit of corrosion.

The car, since getting the new plugs, feels like it has new life. It has more power and less delay at the pedal.

The job itself was not bad at all. If you go in expecting to remove stuff to get at the plugs, the job is pretty straight forward. I used a couple of universal joints, but was able to torque all plugs with a minimal amount of extraneous links. I took my time, but the job is not that bad.

Bottom line is don't wait till 100k to change your plugs. For $80 (Thanks Vincent @ BimmerZone) and a few hours of your time it is well worth putting new ones in.

Thanks for the photos, I've been thinking about changing mine recently too. The Service schedule syays there's still 35k miles remaining life in my plugs.

Originally Posted by rebel.ranter

Thanks for the photos, I've been thinking about changing mine recently too. The Service schedule syays there's still 35k miles remaining life in my plugs.

I was surprised at the different feel in the car. It seemed to really appreciate the new plugs and proper gap.

The plugs look like someone was using cheap fuel, to save money. That is the bad thing about getting an off lease car, people don't care how they take car of them.

Good Job!

Thanks for sharing nice work! Pictures are always a ++++

Originally Posted by HerbP

The plugs look like someone was using cheap fuel, to save money. That is the bad thing about getting an off lease car, people don't care how they take car of them.

Good Job!

I don't think it was leased. I don't think a leasing company would allow the guy to swap out bumpers, skirts and wheels But that doesn't mean he ran decent gas either.

But based on the CarFax, the car was hardly driven for the first two years of its life. I think it got 8000 miles in two years. Then he (or she) put 20k on it in a year before letting it go to me. I wonder if that may have contributed to the heavy corrosion.

Mulchman,
I have 67000 miles on mines and I got it with 26500. Its a 2005 645ci vert and I got it in May 2009. Do you think I should change mine soon?

Blake
What kind of plugs and they wasn't pre gapped?

Originally Posted by blakedanatural

Mulchman,
I have 67000 miles on mines and I got it with 26500. Its a 2005 645ci vert and I got it in May 2009. Do you think I should change mine soon?

Blake
What kind of plugs and they wasn't pre gapped?

This is a cautionary tale for all of us with mid to high mileage. Since you bought your car with low mileage you can be assured that the plugs have never been changed. If you think you might have degraded plugs you could at least confirm the condition by removing the easy plugs in the front to check whether they are corroded. I am in the same boat, I bought my car with 27k miles, I now have 54k miles. I plan on changing mine regardless at this point, it never hurts to have fresh plugs!

I removed mine at around 55k. The plugs looked great, with the exception of running a little lean. I was shocked at how good they looked! If the car was driven very little the 1st few years, the fuel could have been sitting for quite some time?

I changed mine at 100k they looked great! Just a little white on them otherwise I could have cleaned them up and put them back in. But I would recommend that they be changed sooner.
After I changed them the car ran much better very steady. It will never hurt to change them early, only make things better.

Originally Posted by blakedanatural

Mulchman,
I have 67000 miles on mines and I got it with 26500. Its a 2005 645ci vert and I got it in May 2009. Do you think I should change mine soon?

Blake
What kind of plugs and they wasn't pre gapped?

Bosch OEM replacements and yes they came pre-gapped. I'll look back and see the exact model...or if Vincent happens to look at this, maybe he'll post the model number. You can also just call him at Bimmerzone.com. Dealer wanted $200+ for 8 plugs.

I always check the gap on plugs before I put them in. I checked the old ones just to see if they had changed.

But, to answer your question. Yes, I would swap them out if I were you. If they look like mine did, you will be tickled with the change in your car.

Originally Posted by Mulchman

Bosch OEM replacements and yes they came pre-gapped. I'll look back and see the exact model...or if Vincent happens to look at this, maybe he'll post the model number. You can also just call him at Bimmerzone.com. Dealer wanted $200+ for 8 plugs.

I always check the gap on plugs before I put them in. I checked the old ones just to see if they had changed.

But, to answer your question. Yes, I would swap them out if I were you. If they look like mine did, you will be tickled with the change in your car.

Will NGK plugs be ok to use on the E63?

I'm planning to give it a shot myself sometimes too. My 09 iDrive doesn't show when I need to replace spark plug but my car is reaching 68,000 miles soon. Still drive like new. Just wondering if it's necessary.

I saw there are many types of NGK in the market for 6ers with wide range in price. But I think I'll just go with Bosch. Will the more expensive better for the car or it's just last longer. I'm happy to change it every 70,000 miles. 100,000+ is unecessary IMO

The expensive ones are long life plugs which is what you require, ( a spark plug is not just a spark plug) better to change at your current mileage, than wait until they degrade, and keep your car running well, don't forget the electronics on your car will adjust to cope with plugs deteriorating!!!

If I am not wrong, BMW uses NGK from the factory. A NGK number should be on the plug, with BMW name on it. This should be the OEM plug, BKR6EQUP Laser Platinum.

My car came with Bosch plugs from the factory. Here is another picture. The plugs are duel branded Bosch/BMW

[IMG][/IMG]

Originally Posted by 07 E63650i

Will NGK plugs be ok to use on the E63?

Yes, they will be fine.

I personally prefer NGK over Bosh but both are excellent plugs.

Ordering my plugs...

Thanks for the mention Mulchman!!! Glad that your 6er is feeling great

Tampamark, wow, those are really good prices, basically our cost price, I need to talk to my supplier to get me our plugs cheaper!!

There must have been spark plug energy in the wind as I got the same bug and swapped mine out too. I'm at 83k miles and had had some episodes of rough idle that I thought were related to my persistent "increased emissions" Warning. I actually had the plugs already when that gremlin was finally killed by a new vapor pump (DIY posted on that elsewhere). But back to the plugs. As you say, not that bad as long as you go in expecting to detach a couple of things that might get in the way like the battery cable and AC ports. Be sure to have universals, and be sure to tape them together.

My comments:

1 Makes a HUGE difference in the power & smoothness of the car.

2 I really think 100K is waaay too long. And my car had original NGK/BMW quad electrode plugs that came out in perfect condition. Nice gray dusting on tip and electrodes. But you could see some erosion on the tips which would mess up the gap. The active electrode would likely migrate around the plug as a new expanded gap was created leaving the spark to the now narrowest gap. Their behavior would likely become similar to a single gap plug under this scenario. I would imagine this would be MUCH worse on a traditional single arm plug where erosion would be always in basically the same place... hence the huge gaps you show.

3 I THINK that the plugs you show as having been pulled are already replacements!. The spec I read was that the cars were shipped with the quad electrode plugs in either Bosch or NGK flavors. My research into this showed this to be true, but what do I know, and who believes the internet where there is only so much signal to noise ratio.

Anyway, to anyone on the fence... it is not that hard. The DIY steps elsewhere on the forum will show you the way. Just take your time and enjoy an afternoon of wrenching. And there is nothing like an extra $500 in your pocket from not having to pay the dealer. AND you get time in the sun!

Originally Posted by Skarv

There must have been spark plug energy in the wind as I got the same bug and swapped mine out too. I'm at 83k miles and had had some episodes of rough idle that I thought were related to my persistent "increased emissions" Warning. I actually had the plugs already when that gremlin was finally killed by a new vapor pump (DIY posted on that elsewhere). But back to the plugs. As you say, not that bad as long as you go in expecting to detach a couple of things that might get in the way like the battery cable and AC ports. Be sure to have universals, and be sure to tape them together.

My comments:

1 Makes a HUGE difference in the power & smoothness of the car.

2 I really think 100K is waaay too long. And my car had original NGK/BMW quad electrode plugs that came out in perfect condition. Nice gray dusting on tip and electrodes. But you could see some erosion on the tips which would mess up the gap. The active electrode would likely migrate around the plug as a new expanded gap was created leaving the spark to the now narrowest gap. Their behavior would likely become similar to a single gap plug under this scenario. I would imagine this would be MUCH worse on a traditional single arm plug where erosion would be always in basically the same place... hence the huge gaps you show.

3 I THINK that the plugs you show as having been pulled are already replacements!. The spec I read was that the cars were shipped with the quad electrode plugs in either Bosch or NGK flavors. My research into this showed this to be true, but what do I know, and who believes the internet where there is only so much signal to noise ratio.

Anyway, to anyone on the fence... it is not that hard. The DIY steps elsewhere on the forum will show you the way. Just take your time and enjoy an afternoon of wrenching. And there is nothing like an extra $500 in your pocket from not having to pay the dealer. AND you get time in the sun!

Interesting. So I guess they come with both NGK and Bosch duel branded plugs. I am pretty sure that those were the original plugs in my car. Otherwise they would've been replaced before 27k. The first owner did all his work at a dealer in Miami and plugs were not reported. Maybe they went to a single head plug for the 07 model year or when they updated the N62 engine?

I just had my plugs changed as i was getting an error message on the I-Drive (Car running too lean etc)

Night and Day in terms of smoothness and responsiveness!!!

Originally Posted by bigscore

I just had my plugs changed as i was getting an error message on the I-Drive (Car running too lean etc)

Night and Day in terms of smoothness and responsiveness!!!

How many miles?

I remember in certain years, both NGK and BOSCH were OEM, I guess BMW gets what they can at that time?

Originally Posted by Mulchman

Interesting. So I guess they come with both NGK and Bosch duel branded plugs.

Hey Bimmerzone...


It does seem that they used both brands... but the part I'm most curious about is whether they changed styles outright. My 05 had quad electrode plugs, and when replacing them, I was given the option of NGK or Bosch but only in that style. The picture earlier in the thread is of a conventional single arm plug. Did they change spec in 07? Or do you think they had been changed? I ask because you as a vendor probably have access to the real answer.