[zeikei]

Originally Posted by Rebound

Harbor Freight torque wrenches have failed me twice. I replaced mine with their high end Ikon torque wrench, but I don't know if it goes low enough for spark plugs (grrr!).

You need to use a torque wrench with care. It needs to be true — the head needs to be at 90 degrees and not tilted or twisted. Don't use a wobble extension when measuring torque. If you've properly removed all the instructions (the brace, namely), you shouldn't need a wobble extension.

The u-joint is needed right after the socket because the plug itself is in an angle compared to the ignition coil hole. Without one there is a good chance that your extension will rub against the lower edge of the hole and therefore applies sideways force to the plug, causing the insulation to crack.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

After an unnecessary amount i research, i went with these:
Torque Wrench - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...UTF8&psc=1
Device to verify, because i am paranoid and like data - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...UTF8&psc=1

Note, watch this video regarding the impact of Ujoints on torque specs:

Opted not to get a digital one. If i was going to, gear wrench seems to the best. Harbor freight one also has good reviews and test results.

That wrench may not be accurate at the required TQ setting. Typically the advertised accuracy bottoms out at 20%.


You'd want something like this for low torque applications: 3/8" Drive Micrometer Torque Wrench 30-250 in/lbs. - Gearwrench 85061

[thejeremyman9]

Originally Posted by zeikei

The u-joint is needed right after the socket because the plug itself is in an angle compared to the ignition coil hole. Without one there is a good chance that your extension will rub against the lower edge of the hole and therefore applies sideways force to the plug, causing the insulation to crack.

Yup, this. Go back and see the screenshot of the manual i posted for example. BMW specifically says to use the ujoint, and some of the thin walled sockets have a ujoint built in.

Originally Posted by F32Fleet

That wrench may not be accurate at the required TQ setting. Typically the advertised accuracy bottoms out at 20%.


You'd want something like this for low torque applications: 3/8" Drive Micrometer Torque Wrench 30-250 in/lbs. - Gearwrench 85061

Yeah i am aware of the 20-100% limitations. I didnt see that specifically on the one i purchased however. Also, i bought the electric device in addition to specifically have another way to cross reference/test. 20% would be 20ft lb which is the upper limit of the torque for the plugs. When i actually go to do mine, im am going to first test a in-lb wrench i have (but it maxes at 150) versus the electric device and probably use that to first torque the plugs to 10 ft lb (120in-lb). Then, test the new wrench versus the electric device to confirm 17-18ft lb, then use that to torque the plugs. I may also test the wrench using a 20lb weight (classic test method), because why not.

[Tpriest7893]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

Yup, this. Go back and see the screenshot of the manual i posted for example. BMW specifically says to use the ujoint, and some of the thin walled sockets have a ujoint built in.

Yeah i am aware of the 20-100% limitations. I didnt see that specifically on the one i purchased however. Also, i bought the electric device in addition to specifically have another way to cross reference/test. 20% would be 20ft lb which is the upper limit of the torque for the plugs. When i actually go to do mine, im am going to first test a in-lb wrench i have (but it maxes at 150) versus the electric device and probably use that to first torque the plugs to 10 ft lb (120in-lb). Then, test the new wrench versus the electric device to confirm 17-18ft lb, then use that to torque the plugs. I may also test the wrench using a 20lb weight (classic test method), because why not.

I ordered the FCP socket and the Bosch plugs. Not sure what wrench I want to get it. Still deciding,

[Tpriest7893]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

I'm putting together a list of everything I will need to do this job, assuming using the Bosch plugs. Different options show below.

[COLOR="Red"]Updated in red font what i ordered 4/14/2020[/COLOR]

1. Plugs
[COLOR="Red"]FCP Euro, Bosch - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...037580#fitment[/COLOR]
FCP Euro, BMW Branded (Bosch) - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...ug-12120037582
Any reason to pay more for the BMW ones?
ECS, Bosch (these still show the "S" on the end of the Part #) - https://www.ecstuning.com/b-bosch-pa...20037582~6bos/
Kies Recommended - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GL8S81W...sports_dp_vv_d

2. Thin walled socket 14mm spark plug sucket
[COLOR="red"]FCP (not magnetic but has a rubber ring for plug) - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/12-...mm#description[/COLOR]
FCP (OEM BMW tool, expensive) - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...et-83300495560
ECS (says magnetic) - https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben.../001247sch01a/
Turner (says magnetic) - https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-3...cket-38-drive/
Kies Recommended (no magnet but has clips) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076YLTTZ5...sports_dp_vv_d

3. Torque Wrench - make sure it goes low enough, 23nm +/- 3nm (18 +/- 2 ft lbs)
After an unnecessary amount i research, i went with these:
[COLOR="Red"]Torque Wrench - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...UTF8&psc=1
Device to verify, because i am paranoid and like data - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...UTF8&psc=1[/COLOR]
Note, watch this video regarding the impact of Ujoints on torque specs:

4. 10mm socket, E-18 Torx (external) socket. 3/8 drive, extension, other basic tools. Might need a Ujoin or swivel to use a 3/8 in extension on the plug socket due to the angle of the spark plug hole.
I dont have external torx so i am probably going to order one of these sets:
https://www.amazon.com/CASOMAN-Femal...NsaWNrPXRydWU=
[COLOR="red"]Ordered these - https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-04300A-...18&sr=8-11[/COLOR]

5. "One time use" bolts, replace if you want to or feel necessary.
What is the part # for these? Is it 07147270121 or 31106854219? https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=51_8381
I ordered a few of both. They are used in multiple places so i figured it doesnt hurt to have them.
[COLOR="red"]I think its the 07# based on another thread, but realOEM is confusing - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...20-07147270121
Here is the other one - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...-9-31106854219[/COLOR]

Anything else?

I'm probably going to go with FCP Euro, Bosch non-BMW plugs. I like the idea of having a magnetic socket but i dont think FCP's socket is magnetic.

Note: Good info and pictures of maintenance manual on this thread: https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...55+Spark+plugs
Note2: Another good bit of info: https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...plugs/Hp3ZNwmS
Note3: Someone elses DIY (remove spaces for website): http:// b a d b r e a d .com/2013-f30-335i-spark-plug-change-instructions/

You think I need a u joint if the plug socket has the swivel? I ordered the swivel one from fcp

[nyc_dude]

Torque Wrench and E-Torx Sockets. Also get a looong socket extension 6-12".

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When you lift the coils out, the flip up pull will likely break/split, so order 2-3 of these extras. You don't need to buy a new coil!! You can reinstall a broken piece without a problem. Just a pain the next time you need to do the job.

02 Coil Locking mechanism 6x 12131437986

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...h/12131437986/

If you don't reinsert the coil plug properly, you will get a misfire. So a code reader or Carly will help identify the cylinder. You can see the plug through the hole in the flip up pull go all the way in, so there is no gap.


Cheers

[thejeremyman9]

Originally Posted by nyc_dude

Torque Wrench and E-Torx Sockets. Also get a looong socket extension 6-12".

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When you lift the coils out, the flip up pull will likely break/split, so order 2-3 of these extras. You don't need to buy a new coil!! You can reinstall a broken piece without a problem. Just a pain the next time you need to do the job.

02 Coil Locking mechanism 6x 12131437986

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...h/12131437986/

If you don't reinsert the coil plug properly, you will get a misfire. So a code reader or Carly will help identify the cylinder. You can see the plug through the hole in the flip up pull go all the way in, so there is no gap.


Cheers

Thanks for sharing the coil locking mechanism, didnt even know that was replaceable or a potential issue as no other video or thread mentioned it. I updated my original post, but I had already ordered my parts, so i didnt order at this point.

[Tpriest7893]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

After an unnecessary amount i research, i went with these:
Torque Wrench - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...UTF8&psc=1
Device to verify, because i am paranoid and like data - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...UTF8&psc=1

Note, watch this video regarding the impact of Ujoints on torque specs:

Opted not to get a digital one. If i was going to, gear wrench seems to the best. Harbor freight one also has good reviews and test results.

Did you do the plugs yet? I got everything needed, going to attack this tomorrow I think

[thejeremyman9]

No, not yet. I too have everything; got all the tools i ordered and the plugs and other stuff i ordered from FCP euro.

I am actually planning to try out the E20 tune from MHD today and see how the car responds. Probably do the plugs in the next couple of weeks, but hard to get motivated when the car seems to be running great and ive seen a lot of posts recently with people having issues after plug change.

If you do it, i am very curious to see what the plugs coming out look like, and the gap compared to the new ones (i.e., how much it may have increased from wear).

[Tpriest7893]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

No, not yet. I too have everything; got all the tools i ordered and the plugs and other stuff i ordered from FCP euro.

I am actually planning to try out the E20 tune from MHD today and see how the car responds. Probably do the plugs in the next couple of weeks, but hard to get motivated when the car seems to be running great and ive seen a lot of posts recently with people having issues after plug change.

If you do it, i am very curious to see what the plugs coming out look like, and the gap compared to the new ones (i.e., how much it may have increased from wear).

Yeah that makes sense. I'll let you know. My car is running great now but 82k miles on stock plugs I think it's about time lol. Who knows maybe it'll run much smoother. I'll post pics of old and new plugs so you can see comparison

[TheJungatron]

Thanks for the info on the torque wrenches :-) looking to knock this out next weekend possibly \

[ozymandias435]

Originally Posted by Tpriest7893

I don't have compressed air, you think using a shop vac to vacuum the spark holes would be ideal if you don't have the air?

This is exactly what I did. I used my compressor to blow from around the top of coils while they are still in the car. Then once the coils are pulled I use my super powerful hand held Dyson vacuum to suck out all the black dust out from around the plug. Once the plug is removed there is typically some more black dust down there so I use the Dyson once more. Works great and gets most of it out of there!

[thejeremyman9]

Alright folks, I just finished doing the plugs on my car. Overall not a bad procedure. I probably took twice as long because I was documenting everything and going super methodically.

First, the tools above worked great. The only thing I would add is a wire gapping tool, which is what you are supposed to use on these type of plugs rather than a fueler gauge (although that can work as well, mine wasn’t the right size(s)). This is what I got: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
See this post for more details on tools, plugs, etc. https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...5&postcount=10

The Bosch plugs I got were 0.030 out of the box, not 0.032. I was totally fine with this, since I wanted to err on the side of a slightly smaller gap since I am FBO + MHD E20 2+. If they were 0.032 I probably would not have tried to close the gap though, you really want to run them as is as long as they are within range and consistent.

The plugs I pulled out had 45k miles, were never changed, and about 5k of those miles were tuned. They didn’t look bad, but did clearly show some wear on the tip as it was visibly smaller than the new ones. The gaps were 0.033 to 0.035.

The other thing I would note is that some were very hard to break loose, to the point where I was getting worried. I assume this is just because they were the original ones. Also, the threads were pretty rusty, even though my car is a CA car, has never seen snow, and is overall extremely clean. Because of the rust, the plugs were hard to spin out by hand, and the threads were squeaking as I was spinning them. Also, if you scroll through the picture below, you will see that they left quite a bit of debris down in the plug hole after pulling them out (I cleaned with compress air etc before pulling them, so this was from pulling the plugs out). I used a vacuum with a stray and it worked very well to vacuum that debris out before putting the new plugs in. I also ran the new plugs up and down through the threads a few times to clean the threads since the definitely had some buildup on them (I was actually worried it might mess with torque spec, so I went closer to 20 ft lbs).

Also, you definitely need a locking extension or need to tape your extension to your ujoint and socket if you get the one with the rubber insert, it grips the plugs extremely tight. Overall a good thing but it will get stuck on the plug if you don’t secure it to the extension. The Ujoint worked fine, but I would probably just go for the swivel socket from ECS if you haven’t ordered the socket yet.

Here are the logs taken 2 days ago, same tank of gas, etc:

1-4: https://datazap.me/u/thejeremyman9/1...&data=4-5-7-21

4: https://datazap.me/u/thejeremyman9/4...38-39-40-41-42

4: https://datazap.me/u/thejeremyman9/4...38-39-40-41-42

You can see that timing isn’t too bad, but its pretty inconsistent and in most logs I get a few degrees pulled randomly from different cylinders. Was the same when I was on stage 1 and on stage 2+ 91 octane maps.

Now, here are the new logs taken today, again same tank of gas etc. No changes except the plugs. Bosch plugs from FCP euro at 0.030. I only drove about 5 miles before logging; not sure if there is any adaptation period, but ill log again in the near future and check.

Two 1-4 (both at the link, use the change log dropdown): https://datazap.me/u/thejeremyman9/t...38-39-40-41-42

Three 4 (again use the dropdown to change): https://datazap.me/u/thejeremyman9/t...38-39-40-41-42

In the 4th gear logs, Timing still isn’t perfect, which is a little disappointing. Its similar behavior as with the old plugs, with 1-2 random cylinders getting timing pulled. Maybe a slight improvement, hard to say. The timing does feed back in, so its possible there is just a misfire early on as it generally seems to pull timing on one cylinder right when peak boost hits. I put the 2 before and the 3 after logs in VD and they are basically the same, although one of the new ones (orange line) does show the smoothest curve.

My 1-4 logs actually look worse, which is confusing and annoying. There’s a ton of timing being pulled and I’m not sure why. At this point I am just hoping that I need to put some miles on them. I might also reset adaptations and just drive like 50 miles and log again to see what happens…. Wont happen today though. The weather was warmer but IATs were not considerably higher so I am not sure I would attribute it to that. These 1-4 logs were the last ones I did, after doing probably 6 pulls and driving aggressively in a 5-10 minute window. Could be a factor. I did overboost a bit in the first 1-4 log and I can see MHD start to close the throttle so maybe the timing was a result of that as well.

I would note all of this is imperceptible in the car; the car pulls strong and runs fine. No codes or anything. Hard not to be a little disappointed with the logs, but I’ll give it a little time and maybe another tank of gas and log again. Just strange because ozymandias435 installed the exact same plugs and had perfect timing, although he was running 93 tune (and BM3), not an ethanol map with crappy CA 91 octane gas.

Here’s the album. Photos got a little out of order for some reason, but all the plugs and coils, etc, are shown in here. Also found a bunch of leaves in the passenger side area and tried to get those out, and pulled my filter to take a look.

View post on imgur.com

[Tpriest7893]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

Alright folks, I just finished doing the plugs on my car. Overall not a bad procedure. I probably took twice as long because I was documenting everything and going super methodically.

First, the tools above worked great. The only thing I would add is a wire gapping tool, which is what you are supposed to use on these type of plugs rather than a fueler gauge (although that can work as well, mine wasn't the right size(s)). This is what I got: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...UTF8&psc=1
See this post for more details on tools, plugs, etc. https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...8;postcount=10

The Bosch plugs I got were 0.030 out of the box, not 0.032. I was totally fine with this, since I wanted to err on the side of a slightly smaller gap since I am FBO + MHD E20 2+. If they were 0.032 I probably would not have tried to close the gap though, you really want to run them as is as long as they are within range and consistent.

The plugs I pulled out had 45k miles, were never changed, and about 5k of those miles were tuned. They didn't look bad, but did clearly show some wear on the tip as it was visibly smaller than the new ones. The gaps were 0.033 to 0.035.

The other thing I would note is that some were very hard to break loose, to the point where I was getting worried. I assume this is just because they were the original ones. Also, the threads were pretty rusty, even though my car is a CA car, has never seen snow, and is overall extremely clean. Because of the rust, the plugs were hard to spin out by hand, and the threads were squeaking as I was spinning them. Also, if you scroll through the picture below, you will see that they left quite a bit of debris down in the plug hole after pulling them out (I cleaned with compress air etc before pulling them, so this was from pulling the plugs out). I used a vacuum with a stray and it worked very well to vacuum that debris out before putting the new plugs in. I also ran the new plugs up and down through the threads a few times to clean the threads since the definitely had some buildup on them (I was actually worried it might mess with torque spec, so I went closer to 20 ft lbs).

Also, you definitely need a locking extension or need to tape your extension to your ujoint and socket if you get the one with the rubber insert, it grips the plugs extremely tight. Overall a good thing but it will get stuck on the plug if you don't secure it to the extension. The Ujoint worked fine, but I would probably just go for the swivel socket from ECS if you haven't ordered the socket yet.

Here are the logs taken 2 days ago, same tank of gas, etc:

1-4: https://datazap.me/u/thejeremyman9/1...;data=4-5-7-21

4: https://datazap.me/u/thejeremyman9/4...38-39-40-41-42

4: https://datazap.me/u/thejeremyman9/4...38-39-40-41-42

You can see that timing isn't too bad, but its pretty inconsistent and in most logs I get a few degrees pulled randomly from different cylinders. Was the same when I was on stage 1 and on stage 2+ 91 octane maps.

Now, here are the new logs taken today, again same tank of gas etc. No changes except the plugs. Bosch plugs from FCP euro at 0.030. I only drove about 5 miles before logging; not sure if there is any adaptation period, but ill log again in the near future and check.

Two 1-4 (both at the link, use the change log dropdown): https://datazap.me/u/thejeremyman9/t...38-39-40-41-42

Three 4 (again use the dropdown to change): https://datazap.me/u/thejeremyman9/t...38-39-40-41-42

In the 4th gear logs, Timing still isn't perfect, which is a little disappointing. Its similar behavior as with the old plugs, with 1-2 random cylinders getting timing pulled. Maybe a slight improvement, hard to say. The timing does feed back in, so its possible there is just a misfire early on as it generally seems to pull timing on one cylinder right when peak boost hits. I put the 2 before and the 3 after logs in VD and they are basically the same, although one of the new ones (orange line) does show the smoothest curve.

My 1-4 logs actually look worse, which is confusing and annoying. There's a ton of timing being pulled and I'm not sure why. At this point I am just hoping that I need to put some miles on them. I might also reset adaptations and just drive like 50 miles and log again to see what happens…. Wont happen today though. The weather was warmer but IATs were not considerably higher so I am not sure I would attribute it to that. These 1-4 logs were the last ones I did, after doing probably 6 pulls and driving aggressively in a 5-10 minute window. Could be a factor. I did overboost a bit in the first 1-4 log and I can see MHD start to close the throttle so maybe the timing was a result of that as well.

I would note all of this is imperceptible in the car; the car pulls strong and runs fine. No codes or anything. Hard not to be a little disappointed with the logs, but I'll give it a little time and maybe another tank of gas and log again. Just strange because ozymandias435 installed the exact same plugs and had perfect timing, although he was running 93 tune (and BM3), not an ethanol map with crappy CA 91 octane gas.

Here's the album. Photos got a little out of order for some reason, but all the plugs and coils, etc, are shown in here. Also found a bunch of leaves in the passenger side area and tried to get those out, and pulled my filter to take a look.

View post on imgur.com

Great thread man! I'm hoping to do mine tomorrow. I got all the tools! I just need to grab can of compressed air, I imagine my plugs will loom terrible.. lol

[washufiddyfo]

Extremely helpful! Between this parts/tools list and the kies video I was able to knock out my plugs in a few hours (55k miles on my f34). I definitely needed the straw-taped-to-the-shop-vac approach as well due to the gunk left just from the plug threads.

One question that I haven't seen answered anywhere...did any of you code the system to indicate the plugs were changed? I didn't have this as an option in the in-dash reset menu, and couldn't find it in bimmercode/bimmerlink. Am I missing something there, or so I need to step up to a Foxwell to code this?

[thejeremyman9]

Originally Posted by washufiddyfo

Extremely helpful! Between this parts/tools list and the kies video I was able to knock out my plugs in a few hours (55k miles on my f34). I definitely needed the straw-taped-to-the-shop-vac approach as well due to the gunk left just from the plug threads.

One question that I haven't seen answered anywhere...did any of you code the system to indicate the plugs were changed? I didn't have this as an option in the in-dash reset menu, and couldn't find it in bimmercode/bimmerlink. Am I missing something there, or so I need to step up to a Foxwell to code this?

Hah, i am glad the straw trick i showed worked for you too.

And no, you don't need to code new spark plugs. If you wanted to you could reset adapations... but that isn't necessary. If there was a substantial change in anything due to the new plugs, the car will adapt over time as needed.

[aps]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

Alright folks, I just finished doing the plugs on my car. Overall not a bad procedure. I probably took twice as long because I was documenting everything and going super methodically.

First, the tools above worked great. The only thing I would add is a wire gapping tool, which is what you are supposed to use on these type of plugs rather than a fueler gauge (although that can work as well, mine wasn’t the right size(s)). This is what I got: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...UTF8&psc=1
See this post for more details on tools, plugs, etc. https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...8;postcount=10

The Bosch plugs I got were 0.030 out of the box, not 0.032. I was totally fine with this, since I wanted to err on the side of a slightly smaller gap since I am FBO + MHD E20 2+. If they were 0.032 I probably would not have tried to close the gap though, you really want to run them as is as long as they are within range and consistent.

The plugs I pulled out had 45k miles, were never changed, and about 5k of those miles were tuned. They didn’t look bad, but did clearly show some wear on the tip as it was visibly smaller than the new ones. The gaps were 0.033 to 0.035.

The other thing I would note is that some were very hard to break loose, to the point where I was getting worried. I assume this is just because they were the original ones. Also, the threads were pretty rusty, even though my car is a CA car, has never seen snow, and is overall extremely clean. Because of the rust, the plugs were hard to spin out by hand, and the threads were squeaking as I was spinning them. Also, if you scroll through the picture below, you will see that they left quite a bit of debris down in the plug hole after pulling them out (I cleaned with compress air etc before pulling them, so this was from pulling the plugs out). I used a vacuum with a stray and it worked very well to vacuum that debris out before putting the new plugs in. I also ran the new plugs up and down through the threads a few times to clean the threads since the definitely had some buildup on them (I was actually worried it might mess with torque spec, so I went closer to 20 ft lbs).

Also, you definitely need a locking extension or need to tape your extension to your ujoint and socket if you get the one with the rubber insert, it grips the plugs extremely tight. Overall a good thing but it will get stuck on the plug if you don’t secure it to the extension. The Ujoint worked fine, but I would probably just go for the swivel socket from ECS if you haven’t ordered the socket yet.

Here are the logs taken 2 days ago, same tank of gas, etc:

1-4: https://datazap.me/u/thejeremyman9/1...;data=4-5-7-21

4: https://datazap.me/u/thejeremyman9/4...38-39-40-41-42

4: https://datazap.me/u/thejeremyman9/4...38-39-40-41-42

You can see that timing isn’t too bad, but its pretty inconsistent and in most logs I get a few degrees pulled randomly from different cylinders. Was the same when I was on stage 1 and on stage 2+ 91 octane maps.

Now, here are the new logs taken today, again same tank of gas etc. No changes except the plugs. Bosch plugs from FCP euro at 0.030. I only drove about 5 miles before logging; not sure if there is any adaptation period, but ill log again in the near future and check.

Two 1-4 (both at the link, use the change log dropdown): https://datazap.me/u/thejeremyman9/t...38-39-40-41-42

Three 4 (again use the dropdown to change): https://datazap.me/u/thejeremyman9/t...38-39-40-41-42

In the 4th gear logs, Timing still isn’t perfect, which is a little disappointing. Its similar behavior as with the old plugs, with 1-2 random cylinders getting timing pulled. Maybe a slight improvement, hard to say. The timing does feed back in, so its possible there is just a misfire early on as it generally seems to pull timing on one cylinder right when peak boost hits. I put the 2 before and the 3 after logs in VD and they are basically the same, although one of the new ones (orange line) does show the smoothest curve.

My 1-4 logs actually look worse, which is confusing and annoying. There’s a ton of timing being pulled and I’m not sure why. At this point I am just hoping that I need to put some miles on them. I might also reset adaptations and just drive like 50 miles and log again to see what happens…. Wont happen today though. The weather was warmer but IATs were not considerably higher so I am not sure I would attribute it to that. These 1-4 logs were the last ones I did, after doing probably 6 pulls and driving aggressively in a 5-10 minute window. Could be a factor. I did overboost a bit in the first 1-4 log and I can see MHD start to close the throttle so maybe the timing was a result of that as well.

I would note all of this is imperceptible in the car; the car pulls strong and runs fine. No codes or anything. Hard not to be a little disappointed with the logs, but I’ll give it a little time and maybe another tank of gas and log again. Just strange because ozymandias435 installed the exact same plugs and had perfect timing, although he was running 93 tune (and BM3), not an ethanol map with crappy CA 91 octane gas.

Here’s the album. Photos got a little out of order for some reason, but all the plugs and coils, etc, are shown in here. Also found a bunch of leaves in the passenger side area and tried to get those out, and pulled my filter to take a look.

View post on imgur.com

thank you for the detailed pictures man. I had the same type of debris at the bottom when I did my plugs and I wasn't sure how to clean it out so I just left it alone as I didn't want to stick paper towels or something down there to try and wipe it.

the straw trick seems like such an obvious solution I feel stupid for not thinking of that lol. going to clean that shit out next time for sure.

[bosstones]

Thread revival but I found this thread informative when I recently did plugs and coils on my N55 X1. I went down a small rabbit hole wrt thin-walled spark plug sockets and figured I'd cross post to share with folks here or others that might find the thread via web search.

https://e84.xbimmers.com/forums/show...6#post29794606