Mods may come eventually, but not in the forseeable future. Wife and 2 kids take up a lot of fundage. :-)

Looks like I'll just get some NGK ILZKBR7A-8G and be done with it. Will the extra 2 thousandths gap help?

 

stock? I wouldn't think so just go with the .032-.034

 

Thanks.

 

of course let us know how it goes use a dab of copper anti seize on the threads of the plug and a dab of die electric grease on the coil boot where it contacts the plug

 

Will do. I've got 63k on my Clubman S. I've had it a year so I don't know if they were changed out prior to my getting it or not but I'm going to change them anyways.

 

that's what'd Id do you'll know when you take them out if they were changed for sure

 

Yeah, its been running a little odd lately. Every now and then when getting on it, most notable in 2nd gear going past 4000 rpms, the rpms continue up but the car feels kind of flat.

Then 2 minutes later, going at it again, it pulls hard. Weird.

 

is it automatic or manual? is it feel like it's slipping?

 

Manual. Doesn't seem that way. Seems like slipping would lead to brief bouts of rpms rapidly going up. Not happening like that.

Sometimes it'll just rip through the rpms and pull hard the whole way. Other times, it'll still run through the rpms but it feels sluggish at the same time. Not sure if I'm making sense, lol.

 

do you always use 93 octane dp u have a scan gauge of any sort

 

Don't have a scan gauge but always use 93 octane.

 

I always felt 4 cyl turboed cars are funky I feel some days my car is so fast and some days it feels like something is wrong lol but I would try to read some data as you are driving and compare when it feels strong to when it feels weak

 

And I thought I was the only one, I always thought it was fuel pressure fluctuations and that's why I originally thought my HPFP was on its way out. There's definitely a flat spot or maybe a boost cut.

 

haha nope not just you I monitor FR pressure doesn't change from day to day although with the manic stage 2+ on map B it just always pulls lol

 

I know my HPFP was replaced in my car before I owned it.

It happened again this morning on the way to work. I don't feel any kind of stuttering, sputtering or what I've historically thought was misfiring.

Running 2nd gear (manual) up and beyond 4000rpms it just felt like there was no real pull even though it still accelerated.

Came to another stop and went through it again and this time it pulled hard up to, through and past 4k.

I would think older/faulty plugs or wires could cause this but if they were truly faulty the symptoms would kind of be all over the place, not just above 3 grand.

 

well I had an issue kinda similiar but a lot worse above 3k it would feel that way than progressevly got worse and than becaame a sputter and backfire above 3 k and that was because the factory plugs couldn't handle the extra boost from the manic tune.

in your case since your changing plugs anyway see if it cures it could be a turbo Wastgate issue or DV issue

 

[do you know the proper gap for these plugs]

 

Seriously how many times you go to ask the same exact question? There is no documentation on this information anywhere, not even in my Bentley service manual, not even the Mini dealer can tell you because their a bunch of blockheads.

 

I replaced my stock plugs with the NGK's and never checked the gap. I have been told many times over that Platinum and Iridium plugs are pre-gapped, and that using a gapping tool to change that gap could cause issues. Like removing some of the fine metals used. Maybe I have been fed a line of BS? I suppose if there were a plastic gauge to measure the gap, just to verify, there would not be an issue. I remember a long time ago, I tried to use a standard metal gapping tool to check and adjust the gap on a Platinum plug, and the Platinum "pad" actually broke off as I did so! Granted, this was probably 15 or 20 years ago, so I hope that they have found a way to attach the "precious metal" a bit better than back then! The NGK's that I bought recently for my MINI came with individual protective plastic sleeves, in order to preserve the pre-set gap. Boxes were not crushed or damaged in any way. I installed as they were, no issues. Now I want to pull my plugs, and verify the gap! Thanks, guys! LOL!

 

I just received four NGK ILZKBR7B8DG spark plugs from ECS Tuning. I was expecting them to be preset at 0.032", but they they were all 0.028"(=0.71 mm), instead.

 

They are OEM and they are made in France. I just replaced mine and it fixed my issue.

 

That's where the gap should be, .028 or even .026 on JCW or Manic Stage 1 Tunes.

 

This is a frustrating subject. I've been working on cars for more than 40 years and I need to replace the plugs on my daughter's 2011 Cooper S. In all that time, I've never accepted plug settings as accurate from the factory, and I just confirmed again that assuming they are gapped correctly is a mistake.

On checking the BERU plugs I just received from ECS Tuning, the "preset" (har, har, good joke) gap varies from a snug .25 (.006 mm) to a loose .28 (.007 mm) thousandths - and this variance was found in just FOUR plugs. This is not a knock on ECS, they're just passing along the plugs as they receive them from Beru.

Clearly, the "preset" spec is a joke, and meaningless in terms of the plugs you actually receive from the factory. If the factory settings were anywhere near accurate, I would not find this variance.

Therefore, it is NECESSARY to check the plug gap and adjust it. and it's also necessary not to mess with that tiny electrode tip, which isn't a problem because plugs are adjusted on the bent portion, not on the electrode tip. By adjusting plug gap thoughtfully, it's not hard to avoid causing damage to the plug.

Question then occurs - just as it has hundreds of times in this forum - WHAT is the correct plug gap for a 2011 Cooper S? "Preset" is not an acceptable response, as it's a recipe for error.

By searching, on MiniMania, I find a spec of .028" (.07 MM) for the 2011 Cooper S, which at least is a real number.

The good news is that plug gap isn't critically finicky, and it can vary a thousandth or two without fire raining from the skies and large cracks appearing in the earth.

Unless I can find better info than "preset" somewhere, I'll set them all at .28 and call it good for now. It wouldn't take more than 15 minutes to pull them and change the gap in the future.

If anyone has an actual, accurate plug gap in real numbers for a stock (no mods) 2011 Cooper S, I'd be grateful if you would share it with me.

 

I think for the most part, re-gapping plugs are for guys like you and me who are very **** about what we do with cars. I even re-gapped the ones for my Honda Element and those were from dealer. Why, habit I guess.

How much are they off ? For a DD, doubt a variance of.001-.002 will make much of a difference to the car or even be felt with stock coils.

Gaps for these cars range from .028 to 0.32. And unless you also index your plugs working for performance gains, variations you may be finding are not terribly critical.

 

A very good thought, and I agree with you. In a stock system variations of a few thousandths probably matter very little. Just make sure that if you adjust the gap, you're bending on the curved external element and leaving the center electrode alone.

I used a 30-year-old gapping tool like this...the little prongs on each side work nicely for opening the gap...to narrow it, tap the bent end of the plug carefully on a hard surface. More force is not better.