I am going to be doing a tune up on my 05 mini s. I am wanting to replace the spark plugs, plug wires, oil and so on. I do not know what brand of plugs and plug wires are worth buying. Also what else should I look at while under the hood?

 

What year and model is your car? Is it a JCW? How many miles on car?
NGK plugs. Stock wires are fine. If you want a different color wire, something such as Kingsborne wires are fine.
Check coil to spark plug contacts because the contacts tend to corrode.
When was coolant last changed?
When was brake fluid last flushed?
Has transmission fluid ever been changed?
Check top passenger side engine mount, because they leak (black goo).
Check thermostat housing for leaking (puddled coolant or white residue).
Inspect top strut mount rubber bushing because they tend to crack/tear.
Check crank position sensor for oil leak (o-ring frequently leaks).
Check coolant reservoir for cracks/leaks (white residue).
Check supercharger belt, might want to replace if it has been on for many miles.

I am sure others can add to this list.

 

That's a good list above.

The guys at my local NAPA are clueless about plugs. There are several NGK plugs which their computer system says are OEM.

If you want the exact plug that came in the car, it's NGK BKR6EQUP. If you have a JCW, or a reduced SC Pulley (like 15,16 or 17%), then you'll want one heat range cooler, which is the NGK BKR7EQUP.

In my area, no one stocks the 7 plug, except the dealer who wants $120 for four plugs!!! Plan ahead and order your plugs online if you need the 7. The 6 is not hard to find. Should be less than $40 for a set of four in either case. I know that still is a lot to pay for plugs, but the NGK laser platnums that MINI chose to be our factory plug do last a good long time.

Oil Filters: There's an import speed shop across town that has MANN brand filters. I've read horror stories of people who used a generic, and had the filter implode on itself inside the housing, causing unfiltered oil to circulate back to the engine, or loss of oil pressure all together, so -For me it's MANN or OEM from the Dealer on the oil filter.

If you can't find the right stuff local, the sponsors of this site are good. I personally have been very happy with my dealings with ECS Tuning, and WayMotorWorks. I'm sure that Pelican and others are also good, I just don't have personal experience with others yet.

Hope that helps.

Oh yeah , cabin filter!

Cheers

 

I agree with the comments on many poor oil filters.
The WIX filters are good (I think better than OEM) and can usually be obtained at local auto parts stores. Otherwise order oil filters from one of the OEM vendors recommended by AlexQS.

Along with the cabin filter mentioned by AlexQS, check/change the engine air filter.
Every time I do a tune up I also check all the light bulbs, tires, and brakes.

 

I have a 05 S, with 120 thousand on it. I replaced the plugs about 30k miles ago. It seems to not have as much power any more. I ran Seafoam through the vacume lines a few months ago. I keep the oil changed every 5k miles max. I use fuel injector cleaner every oil change just to be safe also. I replaced the thermastat housing about a year ago. Why they make that part out of plastic I will never understand but oh well. As far as I know the transmision has never been flushed or the coolant. I read that with as many miles that I have, flushing the transmision is a bad idea. Usually you run into problems after a flush. I also have a light out its the little circle one on the bottom of the bumper, I have tried to find a part number and cant. not really to worried about that. im more worried about the power loss i have noticed. What would be some possible causes for power loss? I have a aftermarket air intake also, i clean it out every oil change. I have also noticed in the past few months I am burning some coolant. I am not leaking any where. Could that indicate a blow head gasket?

 

Head gasket is possible. As is a dead or dying blower.

 

It is hard to guess on the power loss.
- For coolant loss, it could be the thermostat housing/gasket again. I had to replaced mine twice within 75,000 miles. I was losing coolant for a while with no visible sign of a leak until I finally saw that the thermostat housing was leaking. The housing was leaking but coolant would evaporate on the hot engine so no real sign of a leak.
- Of course your coolant leak could be a head gasket but that is not very common for our cars unless there was some other problem such as the car was over-headed.
- If your car has a manual transmission there should not be any issue replacing the fluid. It is more of a drain and replace than a flush that could be done on a automatic transmission. I noticed a shifting improvement when I changed fluid at 75,000 miles. I used Redline MTL 75W80 GL-4 gear oil.
- I am not exactly sure which light you are talking about because there are two different lights on the bumper. The lower one is the fog light. The other right below the headlight has two bulbs in it, one bulb is the turn signal and the other bulb is the parking light/DRL. You can go to www.realoem.com/bmw/ to see part diagrams and part numbers.
I will guess that it is the parking light/DRL bulb which is P/N 63217160797. This is a 12V 5W wedge bulb that you should be able to get at most auto parts stores. The Sylvania number is 2825.