Extreme MotorSports SD® officially presents the unofficial ultimate Spark Plug Thread

[ParadigmGuy]

Just place an order for 12 NGK BKR6E - $1.83 =P Hopefully theyre better then the bosch. YAY.

IMO, they're much better than any of the Bosch plugs. You'll notice an improvement as soon as you turn the key.

[M3Alpine99]

IMO, they're much better than any of the Bosch plugs. You'll notice an improvement as soon as you turn the key.

You will for sure. Definitely will if you burn up your Bosch plugs

Even when the Bosch plugs were new the NGK is much better.

[S1Driver]

I've send a PM to Kurt to get these spark plugs from him but the forum went down today. No luck with the website either but either way I found them in my country for the same price so I'm happy. I've ordered NGK BKR6E and I phoned NGK earlier to ask them what are the pre-set to. They told me it's 0.8mm and google calculated 0.0314". So I guess I won't need to buy the tool. The stupid thing is their website recommends the same plug but with two electrodes (I think it's BKR6EK). I hope it will fix my idle as I kept getting knocking sound after a few modifications to my engine. Maybe running some 98RON fuel will also help smooth things out.

I've got one question. I noticed the NGK BKR6E-11 are not mention and 0.32" aka 0.8mm is the correct sizing for out engines. The 11 means 1.1mm gap from what I found out and it seems race cars run them for short laps etc. Apparently the bigger the gap the better it sparks and it will put some load on the coilpacks, but it should improve things when driven hard. This was not mention for BMW engines however I was wondering what will it be like running the 0.44" gap version?

[fun2drive]

I tried to order these
NGK BKR6E
But I was unable to get the web site to recognize my address which I have lived at for 8 years and is in the phone book as well.
How do I order 12 of these?
Thanks

[vazqued2]

Can't believe there are still website issues, considering how old this thread is. OP, how many sales do you think you lost because of the website? Spend a few $$ or learn website programming, I think it'll help grow your business more than you think.

[nickdrivesm3]

Look at his sig, he dosn't own EMS anymore

[S1Driver]

Good info shit website. I tried to PM him to buy them from him but never got a reply. Shame as this couple of topics really helped me find the best choice between spark plugs.

I have ordered the BKR6E from ebay and they arrived in couple of days. I took the Bosch Super 4 off and noticed non of the electrodes are broken. It's been a year since I had them and I've done mainly commuting to work. Of course the car has been transformed into a track machine so I was hoping to see a difference with this change. I got to admit as soon as I putted the NGK's the car idled a lot better, much smoother than before, which is something I've never experienced when I swapped to Bosch Super 4. Overall good product for the money and outstanding value. All you got to do is change them more often like say every oil change. That is if you do it every 10000km.

[chucho1026]

trying to order but the website says the category is unavailable try again later... HELP! what is the part number for ngk copper.

[petertheflier]

I'm usually never one for gimmicks but I was wondering if anyone has used the E3 plugs in their car? I work at a carparts store and the people that have bought them (both coworkers and customers) say that they have made a difference. Granted they were in US cars but you never know. The company claims that they can increase power and torque up to 10%. http://www.e3sparkplugs.com/technology.htm
http://www.e3sparkplugs.com/combustion-analysis.htm
where they claim how their technology works. They are only $5.99 each and have a 5yr/100,000 mile warranty.

I am seriously thinking about getting a pair. Seeing how I will be hitting the dyno in a couple of weeks I think I mightget a pair and do some comparison runs. Thoughts?

[scrivs]

I'm usually never one for gimmicks but I was wondering if anyone has used the E3 plugs in their car? I work at a carparts store and the people that have bought them (both coworkers and customers) say that they have made a difference. Granted they were in US cars but you never know. The company claims that they can increase power and torque up to 10%. http://www.e3sparkplugs.com/technology.htm
http://www.e3sparkplugs.com/combustion-analysis.htm
where they claim how their technology works. They are only $5.99 each and have a 5yr/100,000 mile warranty.

I am seriously thinking about getting a pair. Seeing how I will be hitting the dyno in a couple of weeks I think I mightget a pair and do some comparison runs. Thoughts?

You should probably get all 6 and not just a pair

[petertheflier]

oops that was what I meant

[Zaks]

I just bought the BKR6E due to peer pressure haha... I first had NGK BKR6EQUP on my old 98 328 for about a year, then replaced them with Bosch Plat +4 which also were in it for about a year... when I took the Bosch plugs out they looked normal, just like the NGKs did...

When I bought my M3 I bought the Bosch plugs 4 prong from autohausaz.com and just replaced them with only 5000 miles on them due to this thread and other people's recommendation of BKR6E... so far I notice no difference but it's only been a day so we'll see

[Axxe]

Anyone use Bosch WR8LC+? They are the bosch supers for e30 325i/S (m20b25). The only reason I ask is that I have a dozen sitting here from my E30 days.

[E39SD]

One more data point: BKR6EK caused rough idle in my stock 95 M3 and residue didn't look like they were firing normally. BKR6E works fine.

[whatthedealee]

Just changed my plugs to a single prong kind (NGK BKR6EIX). I first went out to the local auto parts store and bought a set of NGK V Power's (BKR6E) and my car was knocking and misfiring as soon as i started the engine! I went back to the store and bought the iridium NGK's mentioned above.

When I installed the iridium NGK's my car was misfiring on what sounded like one cylinder, so i started freaking out. I tried swapping an old 4 prong Bosch with one cylinder at a time to see if that fixed it... but no avail. I eventually gave the car a little gas to about 3000rpm and the knock/misfire went away... so i put all the iridium plugs back in and the car was fine after that.

long story short, if your car is starting rough after a spark plug change, give it a little gas, i think the computer has to adjust to the new spark before it smooths out.

My car runs great now, i even get better MPG on the highway. I'll keep an eye on the plugs every month or so, because the plug in cylinder #5 likes to get a little loose.

BTW, the BKR6E's were $1.87 each, the BKR6EIX were $7.39 each, the Bosch Platinum 4+ were $4.99 each. All at O'Reilly's (formerly Kragens)

[thenavybimmer]

A long story short, when I bought my car 11 years ago, it had NGKs in it. (don't ask me which ones, I had no idea about any of this stuff!) I decided to switch to the Bosch platinum 4s, which gave me a dramatic improvement! I was getting about 30 miles more from a tank of gas. Then I heard about the Bosch supers, and that to me sealed the deal. I got even better mpg, and a longer lasting plug. I have stuck with them all these years, and installed them in my wife's E46 as well. To me, Bosch, being german, should be in a german vehicle.

[dak911]

WOW all the info (and opinions) needed about plugs...So NGK BKR6E...looks like the one to use, is there a "real" reason to go for 4 x the cost for others?
tnx daniel

[Vintage42]

... BKR6EK caused rough idle in my stock 95 M3 and residue didn't look like they were firing normally. BKR6E works fine.

The BKR6EK is designed for the 4-cylinder engine, according to an email from NGK when I was considering an iridium BKR6EIX:

The 1.9L does only use the BKR6EK, but the 2.8L can use the BKR6EIX….
The BKR6EK has a 6.0mm firing position with two ground electrodes and a 1K ohm internal resistor. The BKR6EIX has a 3.5mm firing position, with a single ground electrode and a 5K ohm resistor. The firing position might create some engine response lag, but the real concern in the 1K ohm resistor. The ignition in the Z3 is setup for a 1K Ohm resistor and the 5K resistor may cause random misfires. Here is a picture to explain firing position visually. I would realistically not recommend the BKR6EIX for the Z3. Instead I would recommend a PFR6Q #6458. This is a fine wire Platinum *center electrode, which will perform just as well and the IX *and it has the correct 1k Ohm resistor internally.
Best Regards,
Andrew Hauenstein
Technical Training Specialist
NGK Spark Plugs USA Inc
Info@ngksparkplugs.com

[mgoods50]

ParadigmGuy-

I've recently stumbled upon spark plug resistance and potential issues it may cause in the ign system. I've sampled / tested some plugs lately and posted results in a thread. Reading through this thread I see that my concerns aren't necessarily that far off the beaten path.

I would like to try simple copper electrode plugs in all three of my cars- luckily, they all cross well as far as I can tell (M60, S50, and M50 engines- cars are in sig). I ordered some BKR6EK (not knowing of this thread, or vendor) and received BKR6EIX. Upon testing resistance of the new plugs, I found them all about twice what I was anticipating.

Questions
1) What is the benefit of the double electrode BKR6EK, over BKR6E? I prefer performance / spark / efficiency much over replacing plugs; I don't mind changing plugs after 10K miles for example.
2) Can I use either of the plugs in Q1, in these engines without any drawbacks?

Finally, is it possible to order these somewhat matched for resistance?

PM'd copy in case thread isn't monitored.

[ParadigmGuy]

Wow, old thread, I'll try to help but I haven't done research or reading on plugs in years.

The BKR6EK is dual prong and the BKR6E is single prong. The design of the dual prong is that it will last longer. Think about wear (tread wear, carpet wear, electrode wear, etc.), spreading the wear over a larger area is going to prolong the life of what is being worn.

So to answer your question about the benefit of the BKR6EK over the BKR6E; it is designed to last longer. My personal opinion, which is only backed by experience in my own M3 is that the dual prong did not perform as well.

Question 2 - Yes. But you may get better performance with the BKR6E or the IK22 than you would with the BKR6EK.

Final Question - I doubt that it is possible to order plugs at these price point matched for resistance. And unless your engine is really living life on the performance edge, it is likely not needed.

FWIW, I still run off the shelf BKR6Es in my turbo M3 pushing over 600 RWHP, I gap them down to .24.

[mgoods50]

Cool. Thank you for the response.

I'll continue to update my log on resistance for future reference. I understand what you say about life on the performance edge too- my concern is that I've found nearly 1K of difference on what I would have normally just installed without even thinking. And, agreed- this may be insignificant, but if you consider the boots are measured for resistance as PM to ensure they're in spec... see what I mean?

[SwimNDrive]

Sorry to bump this old thread. But this is a very good thread for something as simple as spark plugs.

After reading this thread, I was searching for "NGK BKR6E" on the places that I normally order parts for my 97 M3. None of the places I searched showed this plug fit for my car. Some of these vendors are the sponsors for this forum and other BMW forums. Some of them do carry this plug, however, if I search with my car, this plug won't show up. Only plugs showed up for my car were those $6+/each plug. If NGK BKR6E is the OEM part number, why the vendors don't list them under e36 M3? Do these vendors know this is the best plug for our cars or they just try to make more money from us?

[hide1]

What good is a plug that lasts 50k if it sucks..? Go with the BKR6E's. Noticeable difference. Smoother idle and better power. Even if they last 2-3 oil changes, plugs are cheap.

[SwimNDrive]

Well it is probably my fault. Further reading and search and found NGK BKR6E is good for S50 and other engines. For S52 which is what I have, based on RealOEM.com, the BMW part number is 12129069877. This is BOSCH FGR8KQC. Some people on this thread did say they used NGK BKR6E in S52 and did not work out. I think I will use Bosch FGR8KQC from now on.

[notMpowered]

I had misfires in 3 cylinders above 5k rpms on 10k (kms) old bosch platinum 4s. Replaced with the bkr6eix and misfires were long gone, and the car felt smoother in the lower RPMs as well. Bosch plugs didn't work with my s52 and didn't work well with my vw 2.0t.