Whats the deal with these spark plugs?

[Evolvd]

Buying the OEM plugs....which are BPR-7EIX is a huge waste of money. Stick to the cheap copper BPR7ES plugs and you'll be fine.

[chriseacrett]

Alright, so I got new plugs and gapped them differently...still doing it(turning white)

I have taken the car almost apart and have checked everything(even if it didn't relate to what is going on)

all intake piping, exhaust manifold, intake manifold, timing/timing belt, pulled valve cover checked everything under there, checked compression still at 180psi in all four cylinders

my air filter had a bit of sand in it which I have no idea why, but it is a k&n drop-in so I am cleaning that now, I don't see how that could be the issue but I am doing it anyway...

i got the car tuned last sunday and it ran AMAZING for like 4 days or so, then just one day it just stopped and so I changed the plugs as they were orange and then they started to turn white....

so I am running out of ideas, I am just wondering if it has anything to do with either the fuel pump or the fuel injectors (say if they are not running quite up to par that could cause it to run super lean causing it to do what it is doing)

I could try BPR8ES plugs but as someone said earlier with my mods I should not have to, and if I shouldn't have to then something it wrong, and I want to figure out what it is!

the car has ~80,000 miles on it, so it is POSSIBLE that the internals of the fuel injectors are worn, they tick rather loud too, louder than what seems normal...

I suppose I could have it retuned, but if it was running GREAT for a few days then it doesn't seem like that is the issue, but then again it could be...

but anyway, sorry for the long post, but any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated!



I will also try to post a log, maybe that will help...

[chriseacrett]

well just for giggle i tried the BR8ES plugs and well, it still does it....

i am just wondering if it really is indeed the fuel injectors? prior to this happening it would struggle a little while boost was at 10-15 psi, and then would just kick in, and sometime it wouldn't do that



based on all of the information that i can find these are hot plugs, all of the symptoms that i have are from plugs and cylinders getting too hot, but then i tried a cooler plug and it still does it...so i have no idea

i could try to flash the ecu back to how it was and see what happens then

here are pics of the BPR7ES plugs that were in it, the BR8ES plugs look the same

[Evolvd]

What injectors are you running? Have someone with Evoscan knowledge look at your fuel trims at idle and check your knock count while driving at different speeds.

[chriseacrett]

they are the stock injectors

as far as knock goes, i have had up to 5 counts with the tuned ecu
with the untuned ecu i have up to 3, but could probably get it to 5 if i tried hard enough

as far as the fuel trims go, i will have to get a log of my car idling and have someone look at it

on the logs i do have the fuel trim values are within their 5% as they are supposed to be, but i will get that up for someone to look at

right now it is on the untuned ecu, i am going to drive it and see how the spark plugs come out, so far they are normal(so far) so it is possible that it was just the tune, but it just seems odd that it worked really well for a couple of days

[chriseacrett]

is it possible that it is being caused by a poor spark from bad coil packs or bad plugs wires?

or possibly the engine coolant is not properly cooling the engine? a few times after shutting the car of i heard a "bubbling" noise

[Wicked E]

I honestly have no idea what your infatuation with looking at spark plugs is.

The BEST way to tell how a car is running is to log it. Knock sums, Wideband AFR, load and a bunch of other stuff...

You will NOT get a true reading from spark plugs unless you beat the hell out of your car, turn the car off at 7200 rpms and coast into your driveway...

Cheers-
E

[chriseacrett]

Shut my car off at 7200RPM and coast into my driveway, I do that all the time!

But seriously, I think I figured it out. I didn't really think about it much, but the problem seemed to happen when I started going to another gas station, I got gas at the place that I used to (when it was running good) and the knock seems to be going away(I also put in some fuel system treatment). So, I am thinking that it was just bad gas...

[MRpunk]

I went to Advanced Auto to get my new plugs and they didnt have the BPR7ES available. They couldnt even order them. It came up in their computer that the NGK BKR5EYA are the same. Has anyone used these, and are they ok to use in my Evo9 MR? The only mods I have are an intake.

[EVO_MERLE]

If you have a IX you have to use the expensive ass Iridium plugs. We can not use the cheap NGK's. The Denso plugs are the best for a IX but you have to order hem next to know one has them in stock.