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05-23-2025LAST POST
I’m about to change the spark plugs on my 2010 M3 for the first time. The first plug change was done by the dealer when it was still under warranty and maintenance was free, this time I’m doing it.
Everywhere I look people say oh they’re gapped already at the factory, but the spark plugs I have, which are authentic BMW, branded plugs, the gaps are all over the place
Is there a confirmed gap for this plug and a particular means of checking it with the two electrodes?
It is the NGKLKR8AP
What measurements are you seeing? I’ve never checked the gaps, just took the whole pregapped thing at face value. I’m seeing some ranges across the internet and seems like 0.043 for NKG. I have a new set in my box, got me curious now.
I think I answered my own question. I used a wire gap gauge to measure the gap. The new OEM plugs were roughly .035 maybe a little more sometimes a little less
On FCP euros website they sell oem plugs they claim they are at .036 which makes sense as the NGK website lists those as having a .035 gap
I set mine to .036 as best I could and then I switched them out with the old ones
When I took the old ones out, they appeared to be roughly .035 to over .04. Most were about .04” or a little more. They were well worn.
The last time they were changed was around 2013 by the dealer under the free maintenance while still under warranty. I think the car had about 30,000 miles. Currently it has 53,000.
Changing the plugs wasn’t so bad it took me almost exactly 2 hours. The two plugs by the driver and the passenger were a bit tricky to get out but doable. The one by the driver took me 30 minutes to do. For the passenger side plug I pulled so hard. I think I pulled a muscle in my right buttock. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow lol
Also, I’m not sure if the dealer actually did change the plugs. The plugs I pulled didn’t look very good at all considering they would’ve only had 23,000 miles on them. Also, when I picked it up from the dealer, I did not feel any difference at all in the way the car drove. Now, the car idles much smoother and feels like it has a little bit more power.
The plugs are used in the knock detection logic so they should be refreshed pretty regularly for optimal performance. I plan on changing mine every 30k miles.