Plug condition after 55K miles

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by aussiem3

What's the cause of the rich running? I've had BPM tune for about three months or so, and I don't think the build up is from that three-month period. If it's rich then how do I rectify it? I also have a BMC air filter.

When i understand it right....BPM tune... exit... after three months....why ???

[thekurgan]

Originally Posted by aussiem3

What's the cause of the rich running? I've had BPM tune for about three months or so, and I don't think the build up is from that three-month period. If it's rich then how do I rectify it? I also have a BMC air filter.

I would think driving short distances and stop-and-go driving added to the carbon buildup.

Here are my plugs roughly 22k miles MY08 231 tune was done last year, I updated to 240E after the plug change.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by thekurgan

I would think driving short distances and stop-and-go driving added to the carbon buildup.

Here are my plugs roughly 22k miles MY08 231 tune was done last year, I updated to 240E after the plug change.

I stored up you'r pic,and i zoom in(macro) pic with windows pics !
There is carbon buildup,but less than the others,and Dannys M3 is the worst

[aussiem3]

Originally Posted by thekurgan

I would think driving short distances and stop-and-go driving added to the carbon buildup.

Here are my plugs roughly 22k miles MY08 231 tune was done last year, I updated to 240E after the plug change.

Those plugs of yours are super clean.

Given 99% of the 37k km have been done in stop-n-go driving I have to accept that might be the case. I probably will do the plugs in another 20-25k km and see.

Also I am going to change from BP Ultimate to Caltex Vortex 98. I was told it's far cleaner than BP Ultimate given that there is a around 10% ethanol mix. I can't believe BP are cheating the customers. I was told that this is causing a lot of sludge build up in engines.

[aussiem3]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

When i understand it right....BPM tune... exit... after three months....why ???

No, I continue to have BPM tune. There is no going back now. What I meant was, I had the done three months leading up to the plug change.

I love the tune and I don't think it's possible to live without it. Blame Mike Benvo for it, he has spoilt us.

[thekurgan]

Originally Posted by aussiem3

Those plugs of yours are super clean.

Given 99% of the 37k km have been done in stop-n-go driving I have to accept that might be the case. I probably will do the plugs in another 20-25k km and see.

Also I am going to change from BP Ultimate to Caltex Vortex 98. I was told it's far cleaner than BP Ultimate given that there is a around 10% ethanol mix. I can't believe BP are cheating the customers. I was told that this is causing a lot of sludge build up in engines.

The previous owner drove 6 miles per day, 90% highway. I continue to drive the same or a couple of miles extra (city) stopping off at my gym on the way to work (morning, colder). How often have you run a fuel system cleaner? I'm wondering if that may aid in cleaning the plugs as well? I usually run a techron bottle every 3-4k miles, and the only reason is that I've gotten bad gas a few times, so preventative in a sense.

[thekurgan]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

I stored up you'r pic,and i zoom in(macro) pic with windows pics !
There is carbon buildup,but less than the others,and Dannys M3 is the worst

I can send you the NEF if you like, squeezing down to the m3post requirements lost a lot of detail, but you're right, there is some carbon, I do see crazy traffic conditions on occasion.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by aussiem3

Those plugs of yours are super clean.

Given 99% of the 37k km have been done in stop-n-go driving I have to accept that might be the case. I probably will do the plugs in another 20-25k km and see.

Also I am going to change from BP Ultimate to Caltex Vortex 98. I was told it's far cleaner than BP Ultimate given that there is a around 10% ethanol mix. I can't believe BP are cheating the customers. I was told that this is causing a lot of sludge build up in engines.

Is there no Esso 98 RON in Down Under ?

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by aussiem3

No, I continue to have BPM tune. There is no going back now. What I meant was, I had the done three months leading up to the plug change.

I love the tune and I don't think it's possible to live without it. Blame Mike Benvo for it, he has spoilt us.

Sory misunderstood....ok... i consider the BPM tune too

[aussiem3]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Is there no Esso 98 RON in Down Under ?

No Esso in Australia. BP, Shell and Caltex are the three main brands. Mobil in some parts of Australia. We have a limited selection and crap.

[aussiem3]

Originally Posted by thekurgan

The previous owner drove 6 miles per day, 90% highway. I continue to drive the same or a couple of miles extra (city) stopping off at my gym on the way to work (morning, colder). How often have you run a fuel system cleaner? I'm wondering if that may aid in cleaning the plugs as well? I usually run a techron bottle every 3-4k miles, and the only reason is that I've gotten bad gas a few times, so preventative in a sense.

When I ran the Liqui Moly fuel system conditioner it was the first time and that would have been now six months ago. I am wondering whether I should run some injector cleaner every six months. But then I have to worry about the effect it cleaner might have on the oil. Any idea?

[thekurgan]

Originally Posted by aussiem3

When I ran the Liqui Moly fuel system conditioner it was the first time and that would have been now six months ago. I am wondering whether I should run some injector cleaner every six months. But then I have to worry about the effect it cleaner might have on the oil. Any idea?

I'd agree with NOT running it so often, effects on oil and fuel system seals may not be cool. Well if you ran it 6 months prior, seems that's just the carbon build up from short trips or stop-and-go. Have the new plugs dramatically made a difference in the power delivery/economy? They may have been operating correctly even with some carbon buildup. I'm going to check my gap on these this weekend, using a wire gapper and measuring from the back side of the ground electrode to the insulator (air gap). Unfortunately, I don't have any new plugs as a reference unless I order a single plug.

[aussiem3]

Originally Posted by thekurgan

I'd agree with NOT running it so often, effects on oil and fuel system seals may not be cool. Well if you ran it 6 months prior, seems that's just the carbon build up from short trips or stop-and-go. Have the new plugs dramatically made a difference in the power delivery/economy? They may have been operating correctly even with some carbon buildup. I'm going to check my gap on these this weekend, using a wire gapper and measuring from the back side of the ground electrode to the insulator (air gap). Unfortunately, I don't have any new plugs as a reference unless I order a single plug.

I am not sure about the fuel economy because I haven't done a lot of running. But the car is lot more responsive and eager to accelerate. That's definite noticeable.

I have a set of spare plugs and I can check for the gap. Do you know the best way to do this?

[M3PO]

Here are mine with ~32K miles on them. From what I know about plugs, these look pretty damn good. They're not wet (rings/or oil seals), not black (rich), not white (lean), and no build up (clean burn). My understanding is they should be dry with a nice brown color.

I drive 9 miles each way daily, city and highway. Full throttle as often as I can (Italian tuneup FTW? ). Tracked the car once a few thousand miles back. I use Chevron gas. 59K miles on the car.

[W///]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Sory guys...but all these spark plugs on this page...don't look good !
That's why i change mine on 20K miles,but here in Belgium i run alway's 98 RON !
So...maybe therefore my plugs looks way better,and keep in mind...the S65 likes new plugs
When i changed my plugs...i felt realy the difference,so you guys with plugs in a realy bad condition...you must even more feeling the difference

All plugs I've seen in this thread looks fine, apart from the OP. Saying it's in "really bad condition" is not correct in my opinion.

Originally Posted by aussiem3

When I ran the Liqui Moly fuel system conditioner it was the first time and that would have been now six months ago. I am wondering whether I should run some injector cleaner every six months. But then I have to worry about the effect it cleaner might have on the oil. Any idea?

I wouldn't recommend it either. If I were you, I'd just run it before each oil change. So add fuel system cleaner, drive the entire tank, change the oil.

[thekurgan]

Originally Posted by aussiem3

I am not sure about the fuel economy because I haven't done a lot of running. But the car is lot more responsive and eager to accelerate. That's definite noticeable.

I have a set of spare plugs and I can check for the gap. Do you know the best way to do this?

I found this from the NGK tech support, as I had the same question on dual electrode plugs. I believe they should be .32 in gap, according to the NGK site. Our plugs have more of a distance between the electrode and the tip, so I would measure there.

[aussiem3]

I've just shot this email off to BP Australia and let's see what they come back with. It's a stab in the dark.

"I have run BP ultimate exclusive in my BMW M3 (E92) purchased in November 2007 to date. I recently changed the spark plugs after 37,000 km and noticed a huge amount of fouling and carbon build up. Why would this be the case if I am running supposedly cleaner fuel as claimed by you? I have the pictures to prove but there is no option to attach to this email query. I am extremely disappointed with your product. I am switching to either Shell V-Power or Caltex Vortex fuel.

I would appreciate an explanation as to why I have experienced so much carbon build up on the plugs.

In fact I am considering getting in touch with my favourite TV station Channel 7 and talk to their current affairs program Today Tonight and see if they are interested in running an investigation into BP Ultimate.

This is false and misleading marketing and I am extremely disappointed with your company to say the least.

I would appreciate an authoritative representative getting in touch with me.

Thank you for reading this complain, and I hope you do something or give me a good explanation.

Please note the car runs exclusively on BP's oem engine oil Castrol TWS 10w-60 for your information. The engine oil is changed every 12 months regardless of the kilometres I run.

The car is five years old and has done 37,000 km.

[aussiem3]

Originally Posted by thekurgan

I found this from the NGK tech support, as I had the same question on dual electrode plugs. I believe they should be .32 in gap, according to the NGK site. Our plugs have more of a distance between the electrode and the tip, so I would measure there.

I will check it this evening and post some pics. Thank you

[aussiem3]

Originally Posted by W///

I wouldn't recommend it either. If I were you, I'd just run it before each oil change. So add fuel system cleaner, drive the entire tank, change the oil.

You read my mind. That's what I was planning. Run the cleaner every 12 months before the oil change. Ditto.

[Dannys M3]

Originally Posted by thekurgan

I found this from the NGK tech support, as I had the same question on dual electrode plugs. I believe they should be .32 in gap, according to the NGK site. Our plugs have more of a distance between the electrode and the tip, so I would measure there.

Plug gap should be .032" not .32" thats huge. I still don't think my plugs look that bad for 55,000 miles. The majority here have almost half my mileage.

[thekurgan]

Yeah I realized I forgot the zero after i closed the app. Yeah I've seen worse, just comparing others in the thread that look good, I figure there has to be a reason they need to be changed so early.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by aussiem3

I've just shot this email off to BP Australia and let's see what they come back with. It's a stab in the dark.

"I have run BP ultimate exclusive in my BMW M3 (E92) purchased in November 2007 to date. I recently changed the spark plugs after 37,000 km and noticed a huge amount of fouling and carbon build up. Why would this be the case if I am running supposedly cleaner fuel as claimed by you? I have the pictures to prove but there is no option to attach to this email query. I am extremely disappointed with your product. I am switching to either Shell V-Power or Caltex Vortex fuel.

I would appreciate an explanation as to why I have experienced so much carbon build up on the plugs.

In fact I am considering getting in touch with my favourite TV station Channel 7 and talk to their current affairs program Today Tonight and see if they are interested in running an investigation into BP Ultimate.

This is false and misleading marketing and I am extremely disappointed with your company to say the least.

I would appreciate an authoritative representative getting in touch with me.

Thank you for reading this complain, and I hope you do something or give me a good explanation.

Please note the car runs exclusively on BP's oem engine oil Castrol TWS 10w-60 for your information. The engine oil is changed every 12 months regardless of the kilometres I run.

The car is five years old and has done 37,000 km.

I'm curious what they will answer to your Email...IF... they anwser ?!?!(when yes...please let us know)
BTW....good written of you