[PURE340i]

Originally Posted by blckz06

While Champion plugs may be used in other OEM applications, those applications are not running under increased stress of higher boost. MP themselves said that running higher boost places significantly more stress on the spark plug.

I'm relying on the tuner to be knowledgeable on the appropriate supporting mods (including spark plugs) needed for their specific tune.

To be clear, I'm not blaming MP for anything. But I would think twice if you're getting their tune and planning to install their Champion plugs.

You pay to play, no issue here. If warranty gets denied I'll pay out of pocket. Will just have to pass on my C8 allocation next year.

Don't pay out of pocket for BMW to replace your engine there are plenty of low mileage B58 engines listed on eBay and websites for under $4000.

[BMW in NE]

I had a factory spark plug crack and it was causing misfires. It was replaced under warranty.

[blckz06]

Originally Posted by PURE340i

Don't pay out of pocket for BMW to replace your engine there are plenty of low mileage B58 engines listed on eBay and websites for under $4000.

will keep that in mind.

[B58togo]

Originally Posted by j1980mac

I don't know if y'all know it, but Champions came in a lot of the 2018 B58 builds, including my X3 M40i.

It's also important to note that the plugs BMS sells on their site for the B58 aren't even designed to go in our engines, all through they do technically work.

97506 is an incorrect plug. Don't use them.

silzkgr8b8s (94201) is the correct plug! Only use these.

Campions came in my 2017. On my third set at 43k with no issue. They look identical to the NGK 94201. What happened here could happen with any plug brand, so not sure why everyone’s jumping all over Champion.

[j1980mac]

Originally Posted by B58togo

Campions came in my 2017. On my third set at 43k with no issue. They look identical to the NGK 94201. What happened here could happen with any plug brand, so not sure why everyone's jumping all over Champion.

They are definitely comparable to the NGKs, but I naturally trust Champion less.

[jackstrath]

Originally Posted by j1980mac

They are definitely comparable to the NGKs, but I naturally trust Champion less.

In the boosted zetec world (ford) We stay well clear off champion plugs and always run NGK's, a much better plug imo!

[BMWILUVU]

Any of the brand ceramic insulators can crack and cause this problem. MP is just saying whoever installed it damaged the plug or it was just a bad plug already cracked.

[kern417]

Originally Posted by blckz06

I'm relying on a tuner to know and recommend the most appropriate set-up. This includes recommending top quality parts.

I was not inclined to do anything with the plugs until MP strongly recommended switching to Champion plugs (referred to as a perfect plug for B58) and re-gapping them.

Having now researched this plug, I would not touch it with a 10foot pole.

MP called out so that others don't make the same mistake when following their recommendations.

If the same happened with an NGK plug, would you think the same? Even OEM parts fail. But you increase the chances of failure by swapping parts without a problem being shown.

So I'll throw it out there again. Until I see a bunch of people failing with stock plugs on the B58, there's no reason to change them IMO. All I see are people changing them based on recommendations, or running fine on stock plugs. I have yet to see anyone having issues with stock plugs that were fixed by swapping replacements. I feel like it's just a default recommendation from the n-series engines that needed it.

[GT500R]

Originally Posted by blckz06

I'm relying on a tuner to know and recommend the most appropriate set-up. This includes recommending top quality parts.

I was not inclined to do anything with the plugs until MP strongly recommended switching to Champion plugs (referred to as a perfect plug for B58) and re-gapping them.

Having now researched this plug, I would not touch it with a 10foot pole.

MP called out so that others don't make the same mistake when following their recommendations.

What research can you share? The new stock BMW plugs are now NGK IIRC.

[Daftasabrush]

I'll chime in here. I have a 340i MPPSK at 55K miles. Plugs were done at 38K and since then I had problems when it was very wet outside - I had a horrible misfire to the point where I thought the engine was going to suicide itself. This happened a total of three times (two very near service requirement) so brought this up at the next service and then the fun started.

They ended up keeping the car for 4 weeks with no resolution. They weren't able to replicate the issue (that seemed to only happen in heavy rain) and there were no errors logged. They managed to get it to 'hiccup' once while idling but helpfully the workshop team weren't aware of the test and there was no monitoring going on (again, no errors).

After 4 weeks they'd decided nothing was wrong, BMW UK was no help but I managed to convince the dealer to perform a compression and leakdown test which came back fine. After this, I was essentially forced to collect the car despite not trusting it. I collected the car, pretty pissed off that nothing had changed. Engine was up to temp so I knocked it into second and floored it. Bang, again we had the same horrible misfire. The engine sounded like shit and there was no power but this time I had a drivetrain error. Took it straight back to the dealer pretty pissed off and they took it off me and gave me a loaner to get home. The next day they told me they'd replaced spark plugs 1 and 3 as testing had shown they were faulty. They replaced them under the parts warranty from when they were previously done and sent me on my way.

It ran 'ok' but it wasn't the same. I had a very noisy comfort mode, it wasn't as smooth and it just didn't have the torque it used to have.

Today I swapped the plugs out. Cylinders 1 and 3 had NGK SILZKGR8B8S with BMW branding on them, the others had Champion. One of the Champions appeared to have a crack, another had a more dirty electrode than the others.

I have now put in 6 brand new NGK SILZKGR8B8S and driven it for a while. The difference is quite stark. It's now MUCH smoother, much quieter and has regained its torque and seems to have gained responsiveness. If you had told me it was a different engine, I think I would have believed you.

I have retained all old plugs and labelled them just in case but for now I think I'm good.

[Wires]

Originally Posted by blckz06

While Champion plugs may be used in other OEM applications, those applications are not running under increased stress of higher boost. MP themselves said that running higher boost places significantly more stress on the spark plug.

I'm relying on the tuner to be knowledgeable on the appropriate supporting mods (including spark plugs) needed for their specific tune.

To be clear, I'm not blaming MP for anything. But I would think twice if you're getting their tune and planning to install their Champion plugs.

You pay to play, no issue here. If warranty gets denied I'll pay out of pocket. Will just have to pass on my C8 allocation next year.

NO TUNE will put that much extra stress to damage the ceramic in a plug. You can buy a Corvette that runs 755HP out of the box, Dodge Demon / Hellcat / Redeye is pushing close to 800HP out of the box. You're talking 1/2 that power in your setup which makes it not a tuner problem, it's an plug being damaged during gapping or install issue.

Does it suck, sure. Is it MP's fault or the plugs they sell, not at all. All I'm saying, point the blame at the proper location here.

[B58togo]

Originally Posted by blckz06

While Champion plugs may be used in other OEM applications, those applications are not running under increased stress of higher boost. MP themselves said that running higher boost places significantly more stress on the spark plug.

I'm relying on the tuner to be knowledgeable on the appropriate supporting mods (including spark plugs) needed for their specific tune.

To be clear, I'm not blaming MP for anything. But I would think twice if you're getting their tune and planning to install their Champion plugs.

You pay to play, no issue here. If warranty gets denied I'll pay out of pocket. Will just have to pass on my C8 allocation next year.

They're not Mission's Champion plugs, they're "BMW's" Champion plugs.

[240zman]

A damaged/cracked spark plug would have had issues under high load/even at idle when first installed. Having driven for so long before having issues, sounds like maybe extreme detonation may have occurred causing damage to the plugs. Maybe bad fuel? I have over 28,000 miles and have been running jb4 on map 5 and now bef/race gas on map 5 since 800 miles with the original champion plugs and have not had any issues.

[B58togo]

Originally Posted by Daftasabrush

I'll chime in here. I have a 340i MPPSK at 55K miles. Plugs were done at 38K and since then I had problems when it was very wet outside - I had a horrible misfire to the point where I thought the engine was going to suicide itself. This happened a total of three times (two very near service requirement) so brought this up at the next service and then the fun started.

They ended up keeping the car for 4 weeks with no resolution. They weren't able to replicate the issue (that seemed to only happen in heavy rain) and there were no errors logged. They managed to get it to 'hiccup' once while idling but helpfully the workshop team weren't aware of the test and there was no monitoring going on (again, no errors).

After 4 weeks they'd decided nothing was wrong, BMW UK was no help but I managed to convince the dealer to perform a compression and leakdown test which came back fine. After this, I was essentially forced to collect the car despite not trusting it. I collected the car, pretty pissed off that nothing had changed. Engine was up to temp so I knocked it into second and floored it. Bang, again we had the same horrible misfire. The engine sounded like shit and there was no power but this time I had a drivetrain error. Took it straight back to the dealer pretty pissed off and they took it off me and gave me a loaner to get home. The next day they told me they'd replaced spark plugs 1 and 3 as testing had shown they were faulty. They replaced them under the parts warranty from when they were previously done and sent me on my way.

It ran 'ok' but it wasn't the same. I had a very noisy comfort mode, it wasn't as smooth and it just didn't have the torque it used to have.

Today I swapped the plugs out. Cylinders 1 and 3 had NGK SILZKGR8B8S with BMW branding on them, the others had Champion. One of the Champions appeared to have a crack, another had a more dirty electrode than the others.

I have now put in 6 brand new NGK SILZKGR8B8S and driven it for a while. The difference is quite stark. It's now MUCH smoother, much quieter and has regained its torque and seems to have gained responsiveness. If you had told me it was a different engine, I think I would have believed you.

I have retained all old plugs and labelled them just in case but for now I think I'm good.

And your car would be running just as well if you'd put in six new Champion RERX4ZWYPB.

[B58togo]

Originally Posted by 240zman

A damaged/cracked spark plug would have had issues under high load/even at idle when first installed. Having driven for so long before having issues, sounds like maybe extreme detonation may have occurred causing damage to the plugs. Maybe bad fuel? I have over 28,000 miles and have been running jb4 on map 5 and now bef/race gas on map 5 since 800 miles with the original champion plugs and have not had any issues.

I started getting misfires around 26-27k with JB4 Map 3 and catless DP. You're getting close. Change them sooner, rather than later.

[jackstrath]

Originally Posted by Wires

NO TUNE will put that much extra stress to damage the ceramic in a plug.

Do wonder if the excessive pops and bangs are doing the plugs any favors tho"

[GT500R]

I would ask BMW to see the plug, I wonder what specifically fell in... center electrode or ground electrode...

[Wires]

Originally Posted by jackstrath

Do wonder if the excessive pops and bangs are doing the plugs any favors tho"

Probably not much to the plugs since that's on the way out of the engine. I would argue that your turbo is feeling the brunt of that pain, and one day might be just as unhappy as the OP's engine.

[MTWO]

Champion plugs are garbage

[BMWILUVU]

Originally Posted by blckz06

While Champion plugs may be used in other OEM applications, those applications are not running under increased stress of higher boost. MP themselves said that running higher boost places significantly more stress on the spark plug.

I'm relying on the tuner to be knowledgeable on the appropriate supporting mods (including spark plugs) needed for their specific tune.

To be clear, I'm not blaming MP for anything. But I would think twice if you're getting their tune and planning to install their Champion plugs.

You pay to play, no issue here. If warranty gets denied I'll pay out of pocket. Will just have to pass on my C8 allocation next year.

Are you getting a replacement engine?

[blckz06]

Originally Posted by BMWILUVU

Are you getting a replacement engine?

Yep, new engine is being installed. Luckily, it was covered by warranty.

[chenry]

Originally Posted by blckz06

Yep, new engine is being installed. Luckily, it was covered by warranty.