After seeing some of the plug destruction here I decided to swap mine today at 35k miles. Low miles, but car is an '07, lots of short trips.

Super-easy to do with the thin wall spark plug socket you can get off Amazon. The OEM NGK plugs for the S ILZKBR7A-8G (this is what was in the car also) come pre-gapped at .8mm. Got these at Amazon too.

Plugs looked good, to my eye, any other opinions?

 

Looks pretty normal.....

 

My 07' just passed the 60k mile mark, so I wanted to know what options were out there for plugs. What made you want to stay with stock plugs? I have some work done and was trying to decide what plugs to go with

 

They may be more expensive than others, but I stuck with stock plugs because they were the right temp range, and what Mini/BMW recommend.

I haven't run anything other than NGK plugs since 2004 in any of my vehicles. I tried Bosch, and they were horrible. E3 are made in China, and I won't trust them as far as I can throw them. I couldn't really find any other alternative that fit.

Call me biased, coming from the Honda world to Mini's, but I won't buy any electronics for my vehicles, unless they were made in Japan. This doesn't mean audio products, however. I work for Polk Audio, and all of our stuff is made in China, but it's designed in the US.

 

I'm a fan of NGK as well. I've had good luck with Bosch in Porsches.

cnolan, did you notice any performance difference with the plug change?

 

When I pulled mine that's what they looked like.


Here is the plugs Genuine MINI

http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2007-Cooper-R56-S-Coupe-L4_1.6L_N14B16A/Maintenance/Engine/ES2592807/



NGK


http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2007-Cooper-R56-S-Coupe-L4_1.6L_N14B16A/Maintenance/Engine/ES2592808/



Bosch


http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2007-Cooper-R56-S-Coupe-L4_1.6L_N14B16A/Maintenance/Engine/ES2594666/





We do carry the best socket for the job with a magnet built in to hold the plugs when you take them out and put them back in.


http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2007-Cooper-R56-S-Coupe-L4_1.6L_N14B16A/Maintenance/Engine/ES2561145/


Thanks and I hope that helps.

 

I see that way motor works has NGK plugs that they say are "cold heat range" and platnium, not iridium like the stock plugs. It says they are for cars that are highly tuned... any ideas what highly tuned means? I have a 2.5" down pipe back (2nd cat removed), Alta CAI, hard pipe, boost tube and access port. I'm basically trying to figure out what plugs will work and improve performance

 

DelR56, I am pondering the same thing... Jerry T from NM said that Way's plugs are the way (no pun...) to go and a good value.

 

I run OEM everything on my car. Its my wife's and other than a few cosmetic things it is 100% stock and OEM.

After plug swap car was smoother and had improved throttle response. I was surprised I noticed a difference.

Porsche recommends a swap every 4 years regardless of miles (at least on my 997.2 911)so maybe there is something to the heat cycles you hear about.

 

Just ordered Way's NGK one step colder plugs since NM recommended it.

 

Melangell, did NM give you any explanation why the colder plugs were the way to go? I'm seeing some information in other places saying Iridium is better then Platinum.

 

The term spark plug heat range refers to the speed with which the plug can transfer heat from the combustion chamber to the engine cylinder head, it has been found the optimum combustion chamber temperature for petrol engines is between 500 degrees C – 850 degrees C when it is within this range it is cool enough to avoid pre-ignition and plug tip overheating which can cause engine damage, while still being hot enough to burn off combustion deposits which cause fouling.

The spark plug can help maintain the optimum combustion chamber temperature, when a spark plug is referred to as a “cold plug” it is one that transfers heat rapidly from the firing tip into the engine cylinder head, which keeps the firing tip cooler. A “hot plug” has a much slower rate of heat transfer, which keeps the firing tip hotter.

An unaltered engine will run within the optimum operating range straight from the manufacturer, but if you make modifications such as a turbo, supercharger, increase compression, timing changes, use of alternate racing fuels, or sustained use of nitrous oxide, these can alter the plug tip temperature and may necessitate a colder plug. A rule of thumb is, one heat range colder per modification or one heat range colder for every 75–100hp you increase. In identical spark plug types, the difference from one full heat range to the next is the ability to remove 70 degrees C to 100 degrees C from the combustion chamber!

 

Thanks Braminator. DelR56, Jerry T from NM went to Way's spark plug site and said that they were the ones who recommended them to Way. Factually correct or not, Jerry T said that with the tune it would be a good idea. Along with what Bram said above, here's what's on Way's page:

Way hasn't led me wrong yet.

In other buying stuff for The Dread Pirate (will it never end?!?) and off-subject, I also ordered a set of Rennline Aluminum Door Lock Pins in black. Just thought they were cool.

 

Ok, its been about 25k since I changed my plugs. Stock engine plus Accessport plus FMIC, this is a daily driver

Should I stick with the stock Iridium, or Way's plugs? I would not think that 1 step colder would be an issue as far as fouling, but what do you guys think?

Melangell, did you notice anything (good or bad) with the Platnium plugs?

Thanks,
Mike

 

JCW is every 30k...you're running a stage 2...one step colder wouldn't hurt