Ess625 breaking up at high RPM's

[Markao66]

Hello gang,

i've had my m3 supercharged with the ess625 kit for about 6 months now. when i first installed i did spark plugs, oil changed everything at the time, but for the past 2 weeks the car has been giving me symptoms of breaking up. usually around 7`7500rpm. it doesn't do all the time but when it does its pretty noticeable the lost of power.

my assumption is completly eletric, so im thinking to replace the Spark plugs and if doesnt work the coils, which plugs do you guys recommend? any experience with a colder plug? I live Florida, and most days we see pretty humility hot air .

Also, i run a catless exhaust and have been noticing a lot of black smoke once on full throttle, when reaching high rpms also, do you think this can be caused by the supercharged burning extra oil?


thanks for the help guys

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by Markao66

Hello gang,

i've had my m3 supercharged with the ess625 kit for about 6 months now. when i first installed i did spark plugs, oil changed everything at the time, but for the past 2 weeks the car has been giving me symptoms of breaking up. usually around 7`7500rpm. it doesn't do all the time but when it does its pretty noticeable the lost of power.

my assumption is completly eletric, so im thinking to replace the Spark plugs and if doesnt work the coils, which plugs do you guys recommend? any experience with a colder plug? I live Florida, and most days we see pretty humility hot air .

Also, i run a catless exhaust and have been noticing a lot of black smoke once on full throttle, when reaching high rpms also, do you think this can be caused by the supercharged burning extra oil?


thanks for the help guys

Can you please further describe "breaking up"?

Bad plugs will just mean loss of power it will not cause an interruption/bucking/cutting out or black smoke. Don't use anything other than the stock plugs. Black smoke usually means high fuel concentration (low AFRs) which is actually not so bad.

If you are experiencing hesitations at high RPM then maybe Drew (DLSJ5) can chime in as I remember he was experiencing something similar but has since fixed it.

[BobS]

You did the install? I'd contact ESS, i'm sure they can help you trouble shoot it.

[squartus]

Mine did this but it was due to sparkplugs, soon as I changed them out it ran like butter. Only use the stock plugs and change them every 10-15k since your boosted.

[Markao66]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

Can you please further describe "breaking up"?

Bad plugs will just mean loss of power it will not cause an interruption/bucking/cutting out or black smoke. Don't use anything other than the stock plugs. Black smoke usually means high fuel concentration (low AFRs) which is actually not so bad.

If you are experiencing hesitations at high RPM then maybe Drew (DLSJ5) can chime in as I remember he was experiencing something similar but has since fixed it.

the breaking up feels like fuel being cutting out, you definitively feel the lost of power in high rpm band.

[Markao66]

Originally Posted by BobS

You did the install? I'd contact ESS, i'm sure they can help you trouble shoot it.

i had a local shop do the installation for me at first, but i have removed the kit after that by myself to fix a oil leak. had no problems after the second installation until now.

[Markao66]

Originally Posted by squartus

Mine did this but it was due to sparkplugs, soon as I changed them out it ran like butter. Only use the stock plugs and change them every 10-15k since your boosted.

good to know, would you know the part number or where to order? last time i changed the plugs were about 7k miles ago when i first did the install.

[M33too]

Originally Posted by squartus

Mine did this but it was due to sparkplugs, soon as I changed them out it ran like butter. Only use the stock plugs and change them every 10-15k since your boosted.

This.

Mine bucked so hard with bad plugs.

[Beedub]

any reason why a cooler plug isn't being used in the hotter climates, ESS themselves said to me its fine to use a a cooler heat range plug, I'm in the uk so.... not really an issue!! lol

[squartus]

Originally Posted by Markao66

good to know, would you know the part number or where to order? last time i changed the plugs were about 7k miles ago when i first did the install.

NGK (4471) LKR8AP Laser Platinum Spark Plug

I got mine off Amazon when they were on sale, but many places sell them. Be between $10-$13 each

[DLSJ5]

Does it happen when it's colder out? It's either fuel delivery or spark.

Sounds like the plugs though, if not could be coil packs. Currently there is no colder plug that I know of, just stick with the stock plugs.

[pbonsalb]

If it is bucking like a rev limiter is kicking in and out, could be spark blowout. Fresh plugs or colder plugs or reduced plug gap or all 3 would help. Stronger spark would help in the alternative, but I am not sure what is available in aftermarket ignition that works with this engine management.

[JustM///case]

My car had the same exact problem . First I replaced the plugs ,that helped a little but problem was definitely still there. I contacted ess they recommended changing the coil packs since my car had 80k on it problem went away instantly after I replaced all 8

[DLSJ5]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

If it is bucking like a rev limiter is kicking in and out, could be spark blowout. Fresh plugs or colder plugs or reduced plug gap or all 3 would help. Stronger spark would help in the alternative, but I am not sure what is available in aftermarket ignition that works with this engine management.

Is it even possible to reduce the gap on those dual prong plugs, or not feasible?

[DLSJ5]

Originally Posted by M///4lyfe

My car had the same exact problem . First I replaced the plugs ,that helped a little but problem was definitely still there. I contacted ess they recommended changing the coil packs since my car had 80k on it problem went away instantly after I replaced all 8

Had at the same situation / issue as well. But normally just replacing the plugs will do it.

[pbonsalb]

Originally Posted by DLSJ5

Is it even possible to reduce the gap on those dual prong plugs, or not feasible?

Perhaps not recommended, but I am not sure this plug is made with a smaller gap. If stock is 0.032, you could try reducing each side gap to 0.026 for boost. You may have to use a wire feeler rather than a broad flat feeler gauge. To be safe, contact NGK tech. They suggest reducing gap for boost but this may not apply to all their plugs:

http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/tech_su...p.asp?mode=nml

Gaps open up and coils weaken with use, so changing both should also work -- after all, no one seems to have a problem at first.

I used to run gap as low as 0.022 on my turbo E36M3 that runs as much as 24 psi. I also changed from dual prong plugs to colder single prong copper plugs. Most recently I installed a JMS SparkMax and ran the stock 0.032 gap to 24 psi on the dyno without issue. Not sure the JMS is compatible with the ignition or ECU on the S65. The S65 has pretty fancy knock sensing through the plugs and upping the coil voltage could affect that system or if the coil feed is through the ECU it could affect the ECU.

[Sirius Black]

I had the same issue a while back, 8 fresh coils corrected it for me.