Spark plugs

[maverick328]

Hey guys, this may have been covered previously so sorry if its a repeat. My E36 328i takes a NGK BKR6EK. I had them put in at 394k. Im now on 420k. My question is...Do i need to replace them now (done 25k) or do they last longer. Ive done mostly long distance driving but recently the car does just 40km a week. There are no visible signs of plug wear (jerking, slow start etc). Any advice?

 

[LPM320]

It depends on the condition of the plug at present, with regards to wear on the electrode, carbon build up, etc.

Unfortunately the e36 does not use the iridium/platinum tipped plugs, so you wont be getting the mega mileage that those plugs achieve.

In any case, 25000km on a set of normal plugs is a fair service life, so maybe replacing them is not such a bad idea. I'm sure you could get a few thousand km more but the problems (hard starting, poor performance and fuel economy, misfiring, etc) that could arise from bad spark plugs are not really worth it.

 

[maverick328]

Great thanks for the reply, sweet ride there btw!

 

[individj]

i can't see why you can't use a platinum or iridium plug

 

[maverick328]

i can't see why you can't use a platinum or iridium plug

forgive my ignorance, I've heard good things about those plugs but do they make a difference in performance or do they just last longer?

 

[individj]

will give you a better spark for sure. you're not going to notice a difference but is much better.

 

[maverick328]

will give you a better spark for sure. you're not going to notice a difference but is much better.

Aaaah ok cool thanks guys!!!

 

[Nikhil]

So just to confirm I fitted NGK platinum iridium plugs to about 7 or 8, E36 6 cylinder cars so far with no issues and performance drops, they are a bit more expensive but the fact that you will only need to change them about 90 to 100k km later is a cost saving in the long term :=):

 

[Nikhil]

Fitted them to an E46 330i recently aswell and the owner said the car felt a little bit more responsive than normal. That might be the Butt dyno tho :rollsmile:

 

[individj]

also depends on condition of old plugs. i fitted iridiums to my range rover & def better

 

[Donovan2412]

So just to confirm I fitted NGK platinum iridium plugs to about 7 or 8, E36 6 cylinder cars so far with no issues and performance drops, they are a bit more expensive but the fact that you will only need to change them about 90 to 100k km later is a cost saving in the long term :=):

What about a 4 Cylinder?

 

[individj]

same rule you can use them

 

[Nikhil]

So just to confirm I fitted NGK platinum iridium plugs to about 7 or 8, E36 6 cylinder cars so far with no issues and performance drops, they are a bit more expensive but the fact that you will only need to change them about 90 to 100k km later is a cost saving in the long term :=):

What about a 4 Cylinder?

Im sure you can :rollsmile: I was speaking from experience which was only on 6 cylinder models.

 

[individj]

as long as the thread is the same its just a better conductor etc.