I changed to BKR7EIX's a few months ago as a precaution at 15k miles. I'd already had a failure of one of the factory plugs at 12k so seeing as they only replaced the ONE plug that failed i thought best to change the lot.

 

Can't say they've made any difference, runs just as good, MPG is about the same, if they are more reliable then thats a bonus.

 

Got them for about £25 + VAT.

when I changed to 7's all my rough idle problems went away really. Also, engine drops down revs on cold start much faster than before.

I did not notice any difference in power or driveability.

The rough idle on start up used to be a problem for me too which actually has now stopped, although it hasn't been as cold this year.

One thing I have discovered is if the car has sat all day and then you move it like 5 meters and then leave it til the next morning it will run like crap until it burns of the excess fuel from the warm up procedure the day before.

I have a hickup on start up yesterday, think my "warrenty replaced" plugs are shot again, was going to wait another 3k for the next service to put the BRK7's in, may have to do it sooner :( I did complain that they replaced like with like, and they are obviously not up to the job, so may do the warrenty thing again, to make a point, maybe I can get a new engine from them?

I have a hickup on start up yesterday, think my "warrenty replaced" plugs are shot again, was going to wait another 3k for the next service to put the BRK7's in, may have to do it sooner :( I did complain that they replaced like with like, and they are obviously not up to the job, so may do the warrenty thing again, to make a point, maybe I can get a new engine from them?

 

Definitely!

Dave, I think the way your plugs are being eaten and oil thirst to boot I think you'd have a good case for a new motor. 

My one went through entire 3.6ltrs of 5W-30 Castrol crap within few hundred miles. When it is fed with 5W-40 it drinks less, put 5W-50 and consumption is marginal...

yeah, when mine is serviced it kills a litre in 1,000 miles, then when I top it up with different oil, it then goes to a litre every 4k...... BUT it was oil contamination that killed the last spark plugs...

 

 

I don't consider mine an oil burner, not when it averages a litre every 4,000 miles.... it would definitely pass an oil consumption test! lol....

 

BUT I also dont consider, NOT addressing WHY its eating spark plugs every 15k, when they should last 40k!

 

then again, having said that, it didn't miss a beat when I started it today ...

Damn thats bad, iridium plugs should last 60k in some cars but they have little hope with that contamination

 

Mind you there is a school of thought for boosted applications its better to run platinum plugs and change them every year or 10,000 miles

 

You also need to be very careful gapping iridium plugs they are hard and brittle and its easy to break the electrode

Damn thats bad, iridium plugs should last 60k in some cars but they have little hope with that contamination

 

Mind you there is a school of thought for boosted applications its better to run platinum plugs and change them every year or 10,000 miles

 

You also need to be very careful gapping iridium plugs they are hard and brittle and its easy to break the electrode

they were not iridium plugs, they were the standard OE plugs , at approx 23,000 miles. Its the plug on the right that was failing, tech said it would have lost its electrode if I hadn't done something about it.

Looks like iridium , what's the part number ?

I think standard OEM are iridium NGK plugs. Few plugs can withstand such ash contamination due to oil burning for a long time.

Before track days season starts I will be dropping oil and changing plugs again. This will give me a good indication of what is happening there when standard OEM Castrol is being used and then later on material for comparison when proper oil is used. I will also think about investing in some bore scope to check out my valves. Problem is with track day fees, few mods I want to do (RARB the first thing) the costs are mounting up big time... I might be earning few extra quid shortly so perhaps SWMBO will increase my allowance

Problem is with track day fees, few mods I want to do (RARB the first thing) the costs are mounting up big time... I might be earning few extra quid shortly so perhaps SWMBO will increase my allowance

 

You're doing track days in a vRS without a RARB Jabo?? That's almost like playing professional football barefoot I'd say  :p  

Hardcore man, hardcore! I even managed to put the fastest mk2 fabia time ever on Bedford track, playing barefoot and without shin pads so to speak

Edited 26 February, 201511 yr by Jabozuma

Pretty difficult to see the valves with a bore scope , I have one and use it to .......look at the bores/piston

Hardcore man, hardcore! I even managed to put the fastest mk2 fabia time ever on Bedford track, playing barefoot and without shin pads so to speak

 

Well that's easy if you're up against the 1.2 TSIs or worse, the dieselz... 

Yeah, yeah, have a look at the Bedford Howfast? website plenty of mk2 vRS drivers. As for the dieselz devonutopia here rocks 350bhp one and last time I saw him there was only a second slower than TTRS lol

Yeah, yeah, have a look at the Bedford Howfast? website plenty of mk2 vRS drivers. As for the dieselz devonutopia here rocks 350bhp one and last time I saw him there was only a second slower than TTRS lol

 

Well... in that case there's a vRS tuned by TMG pushing out ~ 600 bhp but that's not really a representative example, if you know what I mean... 

 

But seriously, doing so well with the appalling stock suspension, I imagine a rarb and better springs/dampers will work wonders for your times. Ending the off-topic now.

Edited 26 February, 201511 yr by newbie69

I had Eibach lowering springs and RS-R's on light'er alloys, brembo OEM pads and racing fluid with all the crap from the rear of the car removed saving 45kgs. Pads and fluid did sweet FA I am afraid... Brakes are my biggest bug bear right now. I messed with VCDS and the next track day will see all the electronics if not turned off then at least set to minimum nanny mode. 

With plugs  I was hoping for more powaah, just a bit, but apart for better idle nothing to report. I was I must admit looking at the red top R8 coil packs which would allow me to open up the the gaps on the plugs but could not find specs for standard and red top ones for comparison to see if it made any sense. 

The plugs have turned up yesterday and are being fitted Sunday hopefully.

Plugs have been changed took about 20 minutes to do. They was gapped to 0.71 mm/28 thou

Bumped for Vrs-Fletch.

See post #25 & #26

Edited 22 March, 201511 yr by goneoffSKi

Thanks for that.

I carnt believe these plugs did not last that long. As this is a real shame.

Plugs burning off is not due to plugs being crap (assumed that the right heat range is chosen) but it's a symptom of a more serious failure of the engine.

We might think that, and you could be right.

But then i have used DENSO plugs in the same engine with the same map for double the miles that the NGK lasted.

True, where some plugs might be more resilient to overheating due to fouling and ash deposits than the others (looks like Denso worked better for George) the underlying problem still persists. Plugs taken out from a healthy engine after 40k miles should look almost like new...