[ThatMsport]

this is my 2014 335xi 23k miles bm3 stage 2 vrsf bolt ons the car has started sounding like this on cold starts, no cel. ngk spark plugs gapped to .22 installed around a month ago.

[thejeremyman9]

Did it start after you swapped the plugs? You confirm no shadow codes?

[XxThe_RemedyXx]

I swapped plugs to NGK's at .22 not too long ago. I was racing an S4 and BAM, misfires like mad and I limped the car off the highway. I was able to get home. I pulled the plugs and two of them were pretty much done. Two packing washers under the central electrodes came loose. I pulled all the plugs and replaced them with OEM plugs gapped to .30 and haven't had any issues since. I was running OEM plugs before the NGK's for at least 30K miles and no issues either.

[ThatMsport]

I think it started happening after the spark plug change. I did the tune and bolt ons all at the same time with the spark plugs. I don't know how to check for shadow codes

[thejeremyman9]

Originally Posted by ThatMsport

I think it started happening after the spark plug change. I did the tune and bolt ons all at the same time with the spark plugs. I don't know how to check for shadow codes

As i generally recommend to most people, stick with OEM Bosch plugs first, and only go to NGKs if you have issues. Lots of people, myself included, run the Bosch with FBO and stage 2/2+ tunes, including E30. Stock gap (0.030-0.032) is fine. Some people even run them with meth and PS2. Point is, i would give those a shot; the smaller gap and colder plug is known to cause cold start and misfire issues in some situations. Everyone's car seems to respond differently.

You should be able to scan for both active and shadow codes with BM3 or something like bimmerlink too i believe. Just because you dont have a CEL or drivetrain malfunction popup doesnt mean you have no codes.

[ThatMsport]

I had my buddy at my local independent shop scan the car and there’s no codes. I’m going to tune back in the oem cold start and see if that helps at all. I have no clue what this could be. I can’t really hear it much after driving the car and it drives great no issues at wot

[jv004]

Originally Posted by XxThe_RemedyXx

I swapped plugs to NGK's at .22 not too long ago. I was racing an S4 and BAM, misfires like mad and I limped the car off the highway. I was able to get home. I pulled the plugs and two of them were pretty much done. Two packing washers under the central electrodes came loose. I pulled all the plugs and replaced them with OEM plugs gapped to .30 and haven't had any issues since. I was running OEM plugs before the NGK's for at least 30K miles and no issues either.

For me Idle was doing the same as OPs with NGK plug and tighter gaps, I ran it like that for a long time though since it was driving fine and wasn't too bad to be concerned. Switched back to stock recently and fixed the issue though as well. From my experience stay with stock on a stock turbo.

[thejeremyman9]

Originally Posted by ThatMsport

I had my buddy at my local independent shop scan the car and there’s no codes. I’m going to tune back in the oem cold start and see if that helps at all. I have no clue what this could be. I can’t really hear it much after driving the car and it drives great no issues at wot

Disabling OEM cold start and going to colder plugs with smaller gap are both known to be potential causes of rough idle and cold start issues.

[ThatMsport]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

Disabling OEM cold start and going to colder plugs with smaller gap are both known to be potential causes of rough idle and cold start issues.

Should I go back to running OEM plugs with stage 2 bootmod3 or continue to use ngk gapped at .022?

[thejeremyman9]

Originally Posted by ThatMsport

Should I go back to running OEM plugs with stage 2 bootmod3 or continue to use ngk gapped at .022?

See my post above, quoted below. If you are having issues with the NGKs, yes, i would try stock.

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

As i generally recommend to most people, stick with OEM Bosch plugs first, and only go to NGKs if you have issues. Lots of people, myself included, run the Bosch with FBO and stage 2/2+ tunes, including E30. Stock gap (0.030-0.032) is fine. Some people even run them with meth and PS2. Point is, i would give those a shot; the smaller gap and colder plug is known to cause cold start and misfire issues in some situations. Everyone's car seems to respond differently.