[IN54NITY]

Finally got a camera and I finally changed my plugs. I need to get ready for summer. I started taking photos on the 4th plug... Arrow shows how to pull the coil clamp, which is towards where wires enter the coil (which for my 2009 N54 was towards the front of the car for all 6 cylinders) and then up towards yourself. If you forget that fact simply take your time and look at where the hinges are. I even just used my fingers to pull all 6. BTW, it's worth it to vacuum it out (see the photos #4 as the "before" and #5 the "after"). A magnet also comes in really handy. #5 plug is the hardest: the strut brace gets in the way and you will have to find the right length extension, but it's no big deal, it's still really easy. Spark plug #6 is also easy, with plenty of room. Spark plugs #1 - #4 truly are a piece of cake. All in all it was a really easy job. Throttle response, is like, dude, night and day. I can now change all 6 in under 20 minutes.

[IN54NITY]

Last pic is of plugs themselves.

[IN54NITY]

Looking at the photos, I need to clean my DCIs. Bimmer This, I need to buy your old DCIs, if they are still for sale.... give me a call. Three Oh Three Six 4 one, 8370.

[raceyBMW]

Yeah, the N54 is pretty picky on the plugs, for those tuned it is definitely recommended to change at 15k or so. It made a difference on mine too when I did it last summer.

[Evil///M]

Nice. Did you just get factory plugs from the dealer?

[IN54NITY]

http://www.autohausaz.com/search/pro..._term=ZGR6STE2

They had the best price on the interwebs at the time I bought them, but don't know if that's still true.

[MR. BONEZ]

Have you tried the NGK plugs yet you should give them a shot if you got upgrades here is the link http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=790094

[IN54NITY]

Iridium tip even. I'll try them. Thank you.

[Evil///M]

You have to gap them. Did you need to gap the Bosch ones?

[MR. BONEZ]

Originally Posted by Evil///M

You have to gap them. Did you need to gap the Bosch ones?

Yes you have to gap them and no the Bosch you do not thy are pre gaped cause they are 4 prong plugs unlike the NGK which is 1 prong but the NGK'S are better I would choose NGK over Bosch any day of the week.

[Evil///M]

Originally Posted by MR. BONEZ

Yes you have to gap them and no the Bosch you do not thy are pre gaped cause they are 4 prong plugs unlike the NGK which is 1 prong but the NGK'S are better I would choose NGK over Bosch any day of the week.

Thanks. I guess I know which ones I'm going to get then.

[MR. BONEZ]

Originally Posted by Evil///M

Thanks. I guess I know which ones I'm going to get then.

Yup no problem.

[IN54NITY]

i'm ordering 12 of these.

http://www.sparkplugauto.com/ngk/las...park-plug.html

[svg95gt]

These are just for high boost applications though right? I'm just running DCI and JB+.
I do need to look into swapping out plugs soon. What would work best for my application?

[MR. BONEZ]

Originally Posted by svg95gt

These are just for high boost applications though right? I'm just running DCI and JB+.
I do need to look into swapping out plugs soon. What would work best for my application?

Im using the NGK plugs run just fine nothing wrong with upgrading to the NGK plugs then you are always ready to upgrade.

[svg95gt]

Originally Posted by MR. BONEZ

Im using the NGK plugs run just fine nothing wrong with upgrading to the NGK plugs then you are always ready to upgrade.

cool, thanks

[MR. BONEZ]

Originally Posted by svg95gt

cool, thanks

Yup no problem.

[IN54NITY]

Update: changed at 15k yesterday, used Bosch but next time NGK. Moving up to 10k, plugs didn' look much better than spark plug #1 in the pic above.

[raceyBMW]

Honestly, they don't look that terrible Alex (in your original pic). The N54 tends to wear plugs a little different than in previous cars because of the direct injection.

[IN54NITY]

Originally Posted by raceyBMW

Honestly, they don't look that terrible Alex (in your original pic). The N54 tends to wear plugs a little different than in previous cars because of the direct injection.

Interesting and thanks for the pic. I only say I am moving up to 10k because I had been getting a "silent" limp mode: no turbos and severe reduce of power - seems like more than just a full waste gate bypass - and yet no codes were thrown. It only happens during highway cruising (low load) with a warm/hot (i.e. normal operating temperature) engine. WTH? I realize there are other threads on this and need to read more. I do have Procede IV but I have been running it in "bypass/off/map0" mode or whatever Vishnu calls it, i.e. "stock", for like the last 4 months. So maybe changing the plugs is not the answer to that problem, but I am going to start there (next stop removing Procede all together). Besides I have changing plugs down to 20 minutes even with a quick vacuum to get dirt/soot out after you take out the old plug. 10 minutes for plugs #1-#4, 10 minutes for #5 and #6.

[IN54NITY]

I suppose I should replace coils next (they are fairly cheap), but I don't like shooting from the hip. The fact that I get a no code limp mode sucks. I'd dump the car if this happened when I was going WOT frequently, i.e. @ track, but that hasn't ever happened. In fact, the car runs really well at the track and my butt dyno says that the car is really happy for like a week or two after a track warrior day or weekend.

[raceyBMW]

Alfred is getting the same thing as you I think....no code limps and stuttering. Yeah, throwing parts at the problem sucks, but in a lot of cases that what others ended up doing. Coils do go bad in these cars. Could also be vanos solenoids, though you will usually get a code with those (I have to replace mine).