So hopefully I can get my hpfp to crap out before next year it seems to be ok for now... Just don't trust it yet, I'm waiting on another F up I'm still gonna change my fuel filter when it shows up, I'll pos a pic of its blackish blackness
A good overview on MINI Cooper spark plugs... http://www.motoringalliance.com/forums/cooper-s-engine-and-drivetrain/3824-basic-guide-spark-plugs.html
Wow that took some prowess to decipher NGK... That's a write up if I've ever seen one yeez. What I took from that article is the green "R" NGK plugs are for Jcw which makes sense why they work in my car because I have the JCW version supertech Pistons... The green version also contains a resistor and the blue does not
Couple things --- I've read that our coils are designed for iridium plugs. Thats what the "I" in the NGK part number stands for --- no "I", not iridium. Looking at the NGK catalog pages, I find no reference to colors. Are you referring to the printing on the ceramic, when mentioning blue and green? My engine ran the OEM heat range 7 (ILZKBR7A8G) all the way thru my mod process and performed well. I only went to heat range 8 at the suggestion of the Manic tuner, and that was just a month or so before the tune was installed. Performance difference between heat ranges was noticeable but not significant. My heat range 8 NGK part# is ILKR8E6 (stock # 1422). My home base is at 4500' elevation. Performance improvement is very noticeable when at lower elevations, but I doubt if the tune has anything to do with it, strictly air density and pressure differences.
Yes I'm talking about the color printed on the ceramic looking at the plugs. Here's a pic of my heat range 8 plugs LKAR8AI9 on the bottom ILZKBR7A8G range 7 is on the top They were the only heat range 8 I could find after massive searching.. Stock # 6706 You can see how the tip is shorter and the ceramic is narrower
NGK 6706 and NGK 1422 are identical except for the plug gap 6706 is .035 and 1422 is .024 Any thoughts on what gap does? Seems like my heat range 8 are too big Maybe I should try the 1422 model now...
In "LKAR8AI9" the "I" also indicates Iridium and the 9 is a gap of 0.9mm (.036"). So it appears iridium is noted in two different places in their part number. If you didn't re-gap your set, chances are the 0.9mm is too big for the R56. My ILKR8E6's are gapped at 0.6mm. You seem to be posting a bit quicker than me. I'm getting slower with age.
I heard you can not gap irdium plugs it's a big no no... So I have to buy another socket if I want those eh? Yeezus... Do you have a p/n for the socket by chance?
Re-gapping probably depends on the tool used. If you avoid the skinny center contact, you should be OK. I use a feeler gauge to measure gap --- the only time contact is made with the center part. Some guys have used a cheap regular deep-well socket and put it thru a grinder. Mine was from a Snap-On truck and cost more than the set of plugs, so sorry, no part number. They are available tho, from other sources, I just don't know who.
I'll try the feeler gauge trick on the plugs I have first. Did you go through the hassle of trying to line up all the plug tips or did you just zip em all down?
The only iridium plugs I needed to adjust were the OEM P/N's. A much smaller gap was recommended by my original tuner, and he adjusted my 1st set while I watched. He treated them like normal plugs, nothing delicate. I was a bit more careful on the following sets I adjusted. My 1422's were factory set. I measured only --- didn't need tweaking. Didn't pay any attention to how the tips lined up --- I have enough other things to worry about.