[Peter_A]

This is copy-and-pasted from an NGK bulletin, regarding the use of anti-seize. The PDF is also attached.

Tech Bulletin -Anti-Seize Compounds on Spark Plug Threads

Topic
The use of anti-seize compounds on spark plug threads that have a metal shell plating (i.e. Zinc or Nickel plating).

Issue
Applying anti-seize to the threads of spark plugs that have a metal plating allows the installer to mistakenly over-tighten the spark plug in the cylinder head; This stretches and fatigues the threads of the spark plugs, causing a much higher probability that the plug will break during installation or in some
cases upon removal.

Example of 10mm thread spark plug broken during installation due to the use of anti-seize leading to over-tightening. (Note that plug gasket has been completely compressed, anti-seize can be seen on threads, and the break is in the direction of tightening).

Solution
For spark plugs with special metal plating simply do not use anti-seize on initial Installation; All NGK Spark Plugs are manufactured with a special trivalent Zinc-chromate shell plating that is designed to prevent both corrosion and seizure to the cylinder head; Thus eliminating the need
for any thread compounds or lubricants.

Additional Information
NGK recommends only using spark plugs with metal plating on all aluminum head applications to prevent damage to the head and plug. Metal shell plating acts as a “lubricant” which breaks away from the main body of the spark plug during removal, preventing damage to the spark plug and or threads in
the cylinder head.

NGK Spark Plugs (U.S.A.), Inc. – Aftermarket Division
46929 Magellan Drive - Wixom, Michigan 48393

Summary
All spark plugs that have a blackened or dull appearance on the metal body offer no protection against seizing or bonding to the cylinder head and so it is with these spark plugs that anti-seize would be required. A spark plug that has a shiny silver appearance on the metal body usually indicates that the
plug is manufactured with metal shell plating and therefore will not require anti-seize.

Example of spark plugs that do not have metal shell plating
For more information, please visit us at ngksparkplugs.com.

[Lagger1]

I just did the swap with a set of Bosch plugs I picked up from O'Reilly for $40 (fr7p332's?). A hair over 70k miles, the original NGK's looked fine. No fouled plugs out of any of the 6, electrodes still OK. However, with the new Bosch's installed, the car pulls way better. Idle is about the same. Responsiveness is better.I think these cars benefit from good plugs. And for $40 you cant beat it.

Oh yeah, used both anti-sieze & di-electric grease. I also cleaned the grounding contacts for the coils while I was in there

[ska///235i]

Originally Posted by Lagger1

I just did the swap with a set of Bosch plugs I picked up from O'Reilly for $40 (fr7p332's?). A hair over 70k miles, the original NGK's looked fine. No fouled plugs out of any of the 6, electrodes still OK. However, with the new Bosch's installed, the car pulls way better. Idle is about the same. Responsiveness is better.I think these cars benefit from good plugs. And for $40 you cant beat it.

Oh yeah, used both anti-sieze & di-electric grease. I also cleaned the grounding contacts for the coils while I was in there

stupid question, when you said you clean the grounding contacts on the coils...did you just wipe it off with a towel or something else?

[surfariver]

Just did this job, I was shocked how easy it was (used to working on a 79 Mustang but the car just left the service plan).

Car is running really rough, seemed to be missing. Upon further inspection, it appears that the #4 coil is not 'sticking' down as much as the other 5 are so I'm wondering if its not making a good connection.

Used these plugs NGX Laser Iridium Spark PlugPart No 1208, put on some Permatex Anti Seize Lube on the threads and rubbed up the ceramic and metal stud with Permatex Dielectric tune up grease.

Does seem to make much sense. I'm going to let the engine cool down a bit and put one of the old spark plugs back in #4 to see if it makes a difference.

Would love any thoughts, thanks!

[Analog]

thanks for this DIY, just changed my spark plugs at 75000 miles.
One of the tips is actually broken!!!
Idle is a lot more smoother, glad I did the change.

[joker1271]

Great write up! Just replaced my plugs today with the NGK 5987 (PLZFR6A11S). Car fired right up with no issues. Reset service reminder. Stock plugs (Bosch) didn't have antisieze compound on them so I didn't use any. As usual, all the input from everyone here is very helpful, making these little jobs so much easier.

[bbstoke]

Engine management light on and misfiring terrible..Service check shows plugs still have 50,000 left before change..Cars done 78,000 so I guess someone replaced them at some time. 318i SE 06 MODEL..What else could be making it misfire?

[ska///235i]

a bad iginition coil

[e90pilot]

Originally Posted by ska325xi

a bad iginition coil

Yup.

[Austin LeNomad]

But I thought another Datapoint couldn't hurt. Just changed the plugs last night (65,000 miles). Although the plugs didn't look destroyed, it does seem to be a smoother idle, I noticed it particularly from takeoff. But, the interesting point was to confirm that (I think) people who might be getting errors could be one of two things:

1 - The spark plugs I got were from AutoZone (NGK's), and the gap was off on half of them (.032 instead of .040 or .044). I'm glad I checked. I wouldn't be surprised if a irregular gap might not cause the car to stumble around a bit to figure it out...

2 - The coils being pushed down all the way. I particularly think the back one's which are harder to reach might not be snugged down all the way on some of the cars. I checked and re-checked because I was concerned.

In my case, I didn't have any trouble, but I think I might have averted some issues because I checked gap and doubled checked the pressure on the coils. They don't really "lock" so it seems it could be possible.

Anyway, it was a great thread, gave me a lot of confidence to start without worrying about breaking those tabs off when getting the coil wires off.

[be-em-veh-808]

I went to Harbor Freight just before I started this project --- and forgot the gap tool.

So, I assumed the gap out of the box (NGKs) to be correct and installed all 6. The job went fine. Could not believe how tight the existing plugs (from BMW factory) were torq'd. Way more than the 23 nm or 18-20 ft lb.

I did find that when I pulled #4 there was some oil on the thread. None on the tip. When I looked into the engine the slot for #4 looked clean.

So, I installed everything back.

Runs fine --- put in 85 miles on the freeway today. Runs smooth. Only thing is when I start the engine --- seems to get an extra shake/shudder that seesm to run thru to the transmission tunnel. Could that be caused by 'mis-gapped' plug? Or could a coil be bad?

That extra shake is noticeable upon start up --- sometimes upon turning engine off.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Chriztofor

Always double check the gap. Don't assume, even if they are pre-gapped. The oem plugs at oreillys were suppse to be pre-gapped, but they all had the wrong gap settings. Better to check then having to do the job again because your car is idling rough.

[gixxerboy0279]

Hey ! thanks for the info on changing the spark plugs , now I think I rather do it mysef ! great graphics !

[bbstoke]

Originally Posted by ska325xi

a bad iginition coil

It was yes, £30 for a new one (Bosch) and £30 for fitting :-)

[Chriztofor]

Originally Posted by be-em-veh-808

I went to Harbor Freight just before I started this project --- and forgot the gap tool.

So, I assumed the gap out of the box (NGKs) to be correct and installed all 6. The job went fine. Could not believe how tight the existing plugs (from BMW factory) were torq'd. Way more than the 23 nm or 18-20 ft lb.

I did find that when I pulled #4 there was some oil on the thread. None on the tip. When I looked into the engine the slot for #4 looked clean.

So, I installed everything back.

Runs fine --- put in 85 miles on the freeway today. Runs smooth. Only thing is when I start the engine --- seems to get an extra shake/shudder that seesm to run thru to the transmission tunnel. Could that be caused by 'mis-gapped' plug? Or could a coil be bad?

That extra shake is noticeable upon start up --- sometimes upon turning engine off.

Thanks!

Rough idle upon start-up only might be dirty fuel injectors. Try using chevron techron fuel injector cleaner, it worked for me.

[MrToad]

So these should fit fine without any gap correct?

Originally Posted by joker1271

Great write up! Just replaced my plugs today with the NGK 5987 (PLZFR6A11S). Car fired right up with no issues. Reset service reminder. Stock plugs (Bosch) didn't have antisieze compound on them so I didn't use any. As usual, all the input from everyone here is very helpful, making these little jobs so much easier.

[ska///235i]

just get a plug gap tool...they're like $1 and is sold everywhere

[DimSum]

Where to buy plugs...? LZFR6AP-11GS

[Volasko]

I just read this thread from top to bottom and couldn't find anything the proper gap for the updated 325/330i NGK PLZFR6A-11S???? Is it 0.4 or 0.44?

Edit: NGK's site is quoting 0.43 for that spark plug.

[AlanAZ]

the proper gap for the updated 325/330i NGK PLZFR6A-11S???? Is it 0.4 or 0.44?

NGK used 0.44 for the earlier plug, Bosch uses 0.40, and 0.43 from the NGK website is pretty damn close to 0.44.

Update: Curious, I pulled one of my NGK PLZFR6A-11S, which I had left at the NGK factory gap, and it was 0.43. Torqued to about 18 lbs on reinstall.

[Volasko]

Just finished swapping my original plugs (BOCSH FR7NPP332) with new NGKs' PLZFR6A-11S. The car has 122,000 km's and every once and a while I noticed a misfire so I did a full swap. The original plugs look pretty good for being in there for so long, maybe BMW is on to something with their ridiculously long service intervals. This DIY made the swap EASY! I did the swap in about an hour with help of a buddy. I took my time and cleaned everything while it was off the car thought. I didn't use any anti seize or notice any on my old plugs. I checked my gaps and all plugs came with a 0.43 gap so I didn't need to adjust anything. Car started up right away and idled smooth as butter. Car seemed to pull strong and smooth after the swap so no complaints here. Crazy thing was I found I had a snapped head bolt the whole time, no sign of leaking fluid though. Also I noticed I had the ticking header which I though I was good for. I guess I am making another trip to the dealer for some last minute CPO work!

My notes to add:
- You MUST remove the left strut brace to access plug #5 (#1 closest to front). You can remove that Torque nut easily with a standard metric socket.
- I didn't torque my plugs because they have a crush washer. Just snugged up the plug then gave it another good 1/2 to 2/3 turn to set the washer.
- Installing the main plastic upper cover is MUCH easier with two people. It is kinda a PITA trying to line up everything with one person.

[ska///235i]

Originally Posted by Volasko

My notes to add:
- You MUST remove the left strut brace to access plug #5 (#1 closest to front). You can remove that Torque nut easily with a standard metric socket.
- I didn't torque my plugs because they have a crush washer. Just snugged up the plug then gave it another good 1/2 to 2/3 turn to set the washer.
- Installing the main plastic upper cover is MUCH easier with two people. It is kinda a PITA trying to line up everything with one person.

Just want to let others know, you DONT have to remove the left strut brace...use a shorter extension bar and you'll be fine.

Torque is 17 Ft Lbs and I notice it was more than a full turn after snugged....so if you dont have torque wrench....give it more than 1/2 turn

just FYI for others

[Surly73]

Hi:

I DIY pretty much everything but I'm new to the E90 platform. I read this over and I've been looking at realOEM and some online parts houses and the thing I'm cofused about is what plugs I need. I have an 02/2007 production 328i N52.

Unfortunately my sparkplug page on RealOEM shows so many plugs and the only two that aren't "ENDED" don't have what they actually are filled in.

Various DIYs all have different plugs. Different parts houses have different plugs when you plug in the model year of the car. Sometimes different parts houses will show different heat ranges for the same engine. They can't all be right.

I want to get the right plugs, and I don't want to pay $30 per plug from a Canadian dealer.

AutohausAZ says NGK ILZFR6D11

RealOEM has different part numbers for "up to 9/07" and "up to 12/07" (not from 12/07 like I would expect)

Earlier in this thread I think I read that the updated 328i plugs were NGK PLZFR6A-11S but Amazon.com says that won't fit my car and directs me to NGK LFR6AIX-11.

Bimmerspecialist.com says 12/09-> uses NGK LZFR6AP-11GS and ->11/09 uses NGK PLZFR6A-11S.

At least I've seen "NGK PLZFR6A-11S" mentioned twice, but RealOEM says that is "ENDED".

Can anyone help? I've been running into this problem with E90 variants showing up in parts systems right around my build date with many parts I'm trying to source. It's a little frustrating.

Thanks,