[stroker15]

I wanted to post some tips for gapping plugs for Bootmod3 Stage 2.

I have an N26 motor and it requires either Bosch ZR-5-TPP-330 (8165) , or NGK SILZKBR8D8S (97506) plugs. The NGK's are what the car comes with from the factory.

Champion also makes plugs that fit but we won't get into that, if you want to go that route, they are half the price of the other two plugs on sparkplugs.com. I haven't seen any reviews or mention of anyone running the Champion plugs in their BMW though.

PTF recommends gapping the plugs at .022 or .023 when running stage 2.

On the box, the Bosch plugs say they are gapped at .032, however according to my feeler gauge they are gapped at .028. I pulled out my OEM BMW NGK plugs and they were also gapped at .028. Perhaps my gauge is wrong, but the .030 wouldn't fit and I also double checked with another gauge.

At first I tried lightly tapping the ground strap on a flat hard surface, but they wouldn't budge. I didn't want to tap too hard because the fine wire electrodes are very fragile.

I then used the Torque Solution gapping tool and it worked great for making fine adjustments, very carefully. Made gapping the plugs real easy and safe.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also installed a full set of Bremi coils from Pelicanparts.com I was having problems with my Delphi (not BMW branded) coils failing. I had two out of the 4 coils fail in a matter of months.

I got the coils and Bosch plugs from Pelican parts and they are both made in Germany, stamped on the products and the boxes as made in Germany. Shipping took one day because I live in California, fast.

I installed everything and the car starts and idles fine, haven't driven it yet. We will see what happens when I hit full throttle. Full throttle is where I'd have my Delphi coils fail, twice. I will post an update if I have any problems, but so far it's all good.

I highly recommend that gapping tool, it's $39 but makes getting the perfect gap pretty easy and safe. Bosch actually says not to gap their fine wire plugs, probably because of how easy it is to damage the electrode. Also, make sure you don't leave the feeler gauge in the plug when adjusting the gap. Pull the gauge out, adjust, check, adjust, check. Etc. If you leave the feeler gauge in there and put pressure on the electrode you can damage or break it.

Hope this helps someone.

[sspade]

Great info. Thanks for sharing.

I am also running the NGK 97506 plugs.

I decided to keep factory gap with my Bootmod3 stage 1 / 91 tune.

When I switch to stage 2, I will surely reference this thread.

One note...

My N26 did not come with NGK 97506 originally.

I swear mine came with BMW logo'd Bosch but I could be crazy.

[stroker15]

Originally Posted by sspade

Great info. Thanks for sharing.

I am also running the NGK 97506 plugs.

I decided to keep factory gap with my Bootmod3 stage 1 / 91 tune.

When I switch to stage 2, I will surely reference this thread.

One note...

My N26 did not come with NGK 97506 originally.

I swear mine came with BMW logo'd Bosch but I could be crazy.

Thanks. The OEM BMW NGK's do have a BMW logo on them. When I went to stage 2, I did leave the NGK's gapped at the stock gap, which happened to be .028 in my case. I had no problems, other than the problems with the Delphi coils. So re-gapping your plugs for stage 2 is probably not really necessary, unless you got issues.

I just did a short test drive and my car runs smooth, no issues at all. Actually seems smoother than before and the plugs and coils I had in there were probably 6 months old at most.

Only reason I bought new plugs and coils was because I had 2 Delphi coils fail and I didn't trust them. I could have re-gapped the NGK's, but the Bosch plugs were only $12 each.

When I was removing my slightly used plugs it seemed like one of my plugs was a bit loose, and I know I torqued them all to 23 NM or 17 FT pounds when I put them in. I may retorque these new plugs after a few hundred miles just to make sure.

Anyway, car drives good and smooth, pulls hard, no issues. Basically I did this for peace of mind, and now I got 4 spare Delphi coils in the trunk just in case.

That #4 plug in the back is a bit tough to get to but not that tough.

[GreenF30N26]

Good thread, thanks for the info. I was expecting the gap to be easy to shorten. That tool is $80+shipping up here in Canada which is annoying but I should get it so I don’t damage the plugs.

My ‘16 N26 has OEM NGK’s. BMW switched to them at some point in the build cycles.

[rjd_F30]

Good info, thanks for sharing. I am a member of a camp that thinks gapping is not as important as people make it sound. When I first switched to stage 2, I had my OEM Bosch plugs still in there, gapped at factory specs, around .030. I switched to the NGK 97506's for good measure, and gapped them to .025 for the same reason. No changes whatsoever: the car ran fine before the switch and ran fine after and to this day. Like you said, I guess I did it for peace of mind.

Sidenote about the #4 plug in the back: if you take off a bit of the plastic covers and unbolt that bar that runs across the engine bay (5 mins of work) it is super easy to get to

[GreenF30N26]

I’ve been wondering the same about the OEM gap as the boost isn’t crazy on stage 2. I’ll likely test on OEM NGK gap and see what happens. If the car isn’t happy I’ll change it.

[stroker15]

Originally Posted by Green33

I’ve been wondering the same about the OEM gap as the boost isn’t crazy on stage 2. I’ll likely test on OEM NGK gap and see what happens. If the car isn’t happy I’ll change it.

I'm sure it will be fine on the stock gap. I only re-gapped mine because I was swapping out the coils and figured heck, I may as well pull out the plugs too while I'm at it.

I definitely wouldn't go through the trouble of just gapping old plugs and putting them back in there.

I went for a longer drive today, man my car runs so smooth. It didn't run bad before, but it sure runs better now. I'm thinking it's the Bremi coils. I just wanted to keep driving, but I had nowhere in mind to go.

[stroker15]

Originally Posted by rjdnyy224

Good info, thanks for sharing. I am a member of a camp that thinks gapping is not as important as people make it sound. When I first switched to stage 2, I had my OEM Bosch plugs still in there, gapped at factory specs, around .030. I switched to the NGK 97506's for good measure, and gapped them to .025 for the same reason. No changes whatsoever: the car ran fine before the switch and ran fine after and to this day. Like you said, I guess I did it for peace of mind.

Sidenote about the #4 plug in the back: if you take off a bit of the plastic covers and unbolt that bar that runs across the engine bay (5 mins of work) it is super easy to get to

Thanks for the tip on getting to #4. I wasn't sure if that was easy or hard to do. Now that I know how simple it is I'll do that next time.

Thing is, my plugs will probably outlast my motor, I got 103K miles on the car now. I'll be surprised if my car holds up long enough to need another spark plug change.

Next things I want to do is:
1. Walnut blast the intake valves.
2. Transmission fluid drain and fill.
3. Differential fluid drain and fill.
4. Coolant flush.
5. Preventative timing chain change.

All I need to do is win the lottery and I can get that all done.

[stroker15]

Originally Posted by Green33

Good thread, thanks for the info. I was expecting the gap to be easy to shorten. That tool is $80+shipping up here in Canada which is annoying but I should get it so I don’t damage the plugs.

My ‘16 N26 has OEM NGK’s. BMW switched to them at some point in the build cycles.

Ouch, $80 plus shipping. You can't order it from Amazon US?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Or Ebay US, this ad says they ship worldwide.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Torque-Solu...frcectupt=true

That tool really makes it a lot easier, it's worth it. I tried shortening the gap with that claw like tool, but it's not really made for decreasing the gap. It's good for increasing the gap though.

And you don't have to turn it much. Just put a bit of pressure on the dial, and then check it. You'll have to do that several times but it's better to go slow and not overshoot and have to widen the gap and try again. I wanted to put as little stress on that ground strap as possible just in case.

[stroker15]

Originally Posted by Green33

Good thread, thanks for the info. I was expecting the gap to be easy to shorten. That tool is $80+shipping up here in Canada which is annoying but I should get it so I don’t damage the plugs.

My ‘16 N26 has OEM NGK’s. BMW switched to them at some point in the build cycles.

Come to think of it, I won't need to gap plugs again in forever. If you want I'll sell you mine for $40 plus shipping (I paid $46.53 with tax and shipping), if you can't find another option. I wouldn't mind keeping it, but if I can help you out and save you $40 I'll be happy to help.

Just PM me your address and I'll see what the shipping would be.

And if you need anything else in my pictures I can sell you those too.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They are all only used once, I just got them this week.

[SsHaaZiii]

So complete newbi here, I used the gapping tool to bring the NGK plugs to 0.023 and changed out the coils in Nov2020 its now June 2021 and this is what I see. I will replace em but what is going on and what am I doing wrong? Bm3 stg2 cai, catlessdp, fmic upgraded

Halp