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      09-13-2019, 11:24 PM   #1
blckz06
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Champion Spark Plug B58 Engine Needs Replaced

Have been running MP's Stage 2+ flash tune and transmission tune for the past 5 months. Initial impressions were very good, as reflected in my very favorable review posted at the time.

Fast-forward to over a week ago. Was driving through some back roads, rpms in the mid to upper range. All of a sudden the car starts running extremely rough, as if running on half the cylinders. Drivetrain Malfunction error comes up and there's absolutely no power.

Fast-forward to a few days ago. Dealer says the spark plug cracked and fell into the engine. They did some additional testing, apparently found scoring/related damage and are calling for engine replacement.

So much for running MP's recommended Champion spark plugs (gapped at 0.022).

MP's response: "Modified tune runs much higher boost, and plugs are stressed, so any defect will be shown. 99% of problem we have seen to date had to do with improper installation of the plug and porcelain cracking inside the body of the plug. This crack can not be seen easily but causes missfires at high loads."

A reputable indy shop did the spark plug swap. Same shop that does work on my race car, so I have a really hard time believing they could screw this up.

Just wanted to put this out there so that others considering this route are aware of the potential pitfalls and can make a more informed decision.
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      09-14-2019, 05:16 AM   #2
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Yeah, everyone else here recommends NGK spark plugs. Sorry to hear that OP, hopefully everything goes smooth in replacing the engine!
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      09-14-2019, 08:12 AM   #3
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So, what are you going to do?

Sorry .. could happen to any one of us.

I will say those champion plugs are junk and your guy would be well served to try the NGKs. If he hasn't already. Curious why that is the recommendation. I'm pretty sure they are lawnmower plugs... The NGKs totally changed the car, much more lively and a lot louder.
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      09-14-2019, 10:41 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YuminNuman View Post
So, what are you going to do?

Sorry .. could happen to any one of us.

I will say those champion plugs are junk and your guy would be well served to try the NGKs. If he hasn't already. Curious why that is the recommendation. I'm pretty sure they are lawnmower plugs... The NGKs totally changed the car, much more lively and a lot louder.
Ya they are junk ngks have been on my car for 9000 miles no issues I have no idea why mission performance would go on their high horse and recommend you some trash spark plugs
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      09-14-2019, 10:45 AM   #5
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I don't think you can blame the MP tune for a spark plug cracking and falling into the engine.

That's either:
1) Defective plug out of the box.
2) Mechanic dropped the plug and cracked the ceramic, and then installed it.
3) Mechanic broken the tip while trying to gap it.

The aluminum pistons / block is melting far before the ceramics do, and you are mixing together multiple red herrings blaming the wrong source.
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      09-14-2019, 11:07 AM   #6
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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.
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      09-14-2019, 11:19 AM   #7
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Very sorry to hear about your car bud. I hope you get warranty coverage or some help replacing the engine. Very crappy situation.

Sorry to be offtopic but which model NKG spark plugs are the recommended ones? Car in sig
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      09-14-2019, 12:09 PM   #8
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Is warranty covering? The scoring on the walls is becoming a common issue on the B58....
Ask them to dig deeper to why the walls were scoring up it might be over-fueling injector
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      09-14-2019, 01:26 PM   #9
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Thanks all. The dealer submitted the claim for replacement and will keep me posted.
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      09-14-2019, 01:51 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blckz06 View Post
Thanks all. The dealer submitted the claim for replacement and will keep me posted.
Now we see if MP tune is detectable. Please keep us updated. BOL.
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      09-14-2019, 02:02 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YuminNuman View Post
So, what are you going to do?

Sorry .. could happen to any one of us.

I will say those champion plugs are junk and your guy would be well served to try the NGKs. If he hasn't already. Curious why that is the recommendation. I'm pretty sure they are lawnmower plugs... The NGKs totally changed the car, much more lively and a lot louder.
Right, because BMW would put lawnmower plugs in their cars from the factory. Intelligent post right here.
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      09-14-2019, 03:35 PM   #12
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I mean they made a turn signal lever that doesn't stay down .. so yeah, they probably would.
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      09-14-2019, 04:40 PM   #13
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@MissionPerformance
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      09-14-2019, 06:04 PM   #14
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With a tune and gapped spark plugs which caused the failure I expect BMW not to be helpful
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      09-14-2019, 10:25 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Relique View Post
Very sorry to hear about your car bud. I hope you get warranty coverage or some help replacing the engine. Very crappy situation.

Sorry to be offtopic but which model NKG spark plugs are the recommended ones? Car in sig
All B58s: NGK silzkgr8b8s (94201)
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      09-15-2019, 12:28 AM   #16
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Shouldn't the title of this thread be:

Champion Spark Plug B58 Engine Needs Replaced

I'm at a loss what this has to do with Mission Performance. Even if MP recommended Champion plugs - it's the plug that failed not MP. If MP recommended Falken tires and the tires blew causing a crash - I don't think the title would read Mission Performance car crashes

That said I wonder if the car was flashed back to stock and the DME locked prior to getting the car to the dealer?
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      09-15-2019, 06:49 AM   #17
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Yeah I'm struggling with the tune causing the issue if the dealer specifically stated that the plug failed. It's like when people started getting the fake NGK plugs that were misfiring upon install. MP can't account for their part quality.

This is also why I don't recommend changing your plugs unless you're having issues. It seems like the default on this forum is to swap out everything when you tune but unless logs indicate there's a problem, it's not worth swapping anything.

Maybe reach out to Champion, explain the defect, and see what they can do (if BMW gives you trouble due to the tune).
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      09-15-2019, 02:43 PM   #18
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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.
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      09-15-2019, 03:00 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blckz06 View Post
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.
As an Indy shop installed gapped (aka non approved BMW parts) I would assume BMW to be happy of having another excuse to avoid paying anything.
Champion plugs (used as OEM parts by many manufacturers) normally do not just disintegrate without reason (otherwise you would have heard of the class action law suit) and destroy engines so you must have had a damaged set/ fake plugs/ damaged during gapping/ damaged during install.
Just because he offered his opinion on the brand doesn't make him responsible. It is your car and your decision. You went with MP so you knew your warranty was voided. Then you decided to install new spark plugs (without any needs as it sounds you didn't run into misfire etc.).
If the boost blew your engine or constant misfire did ..... then I would look to MP but for this?
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      09-15-2019, 03:03 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marcthedark View Post
As an Indy shop installed gapped (aka non approved BMW parts) I would assume BMW to be happy of having another excuse to avoid paying anything.
Champion plugs (used as OEM parts by many manufacturers) normally do not just disintegrate without reason (otherwise you would have heard of the class action law suit) and destroy engines so you must have had a damaged set/ fake plugs/ damaged during gapping/ damaged during install.
Just because he offered his opinion on the brand doesn't make him responsible. It is your car and your decision. You went with MP so you knew your warranty was voided. Then you decided to install new spark plugs (without any needs as it sounds you didn't run into misfire etc.).
If the boost blew your engine or constant misfire did ..... then I would look to MP but for this?
He still doesn't know if warranty is going to cover his engine or not so lets just hope they do even if he flashed back to stock. Like I said earlier, B58's are starting to get scored up cylinder walls and his engine might get replaced because BMW is starting to pick up on the same incident even on a bone stock engine.
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      09-15-2019, 03:40 PM   #21
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From what I gather here....MP didn't fail the plug did. Seems everything was satisfactory with the tune until the plug gave up the ghost
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      09-15-2019, 04:01 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marcthedark View Post
As an Indy shop installed gapped (aka non approved BMW parts) I would assume BMW to be happy of having another excuse to avoid paying anything.
Champion plugs (used as OEM parts by many manufacturers) normally do not just disintegrate without reason (otherwise you would have heard of the class action law suit) and destroy engines so you must have had a damaged set/ fake plugs/ damaged during gapping/ damaged during install.
Just because he offered his opinion on the brand doesn't make him responsible. It is your car and your decision. You went with MP so you knew your warranty was voided. Then you decided to install new spark plugs (without any needs as it sounds you didn't run into misfire etc.).
If the boost blew your engine or constant misfire did ..... then I would look to MP but for this?
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.
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