Ecosse Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 Over the winter months I try to get my cars out for a run as often as possible, but for the past few weeks it has just been a case of firing up and running up and down our lane. A couple of weeks ago I fired up my 3 which ran like a bag of nails despite having run as sweet as a nut the previous week. As one of the routine checks I removed the plugs and on two plugs there appeared to be a fine lines running up the plugs. The offending plugs were changed for the spares which I carry and on firing up we were back to perfect running. Yesterday I started the 3 and guess what, back to a bag of nails. First stop was the plugs to discover that the two remaining original plugs had developed lines. A quick change and we were back to normal. The plugs are NGK Iridiums purchased from NGK so I suspect there must have been some sort of defect in the batch which may have been exacerbated by the swing in ambient temperatures. I have NGK Iridiums in my other cars and inspection has not shown the same issues as on my 3. I have contacted NGK and await a response. Cliff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ianc Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 How long has the petrol been in your tank, what E value has it (E5 or E10?), and how full is the tank. Petrol isn't what it used to be 50 years ago, I'm afraid. Ian Cornish Quote Link to post Share on other sites
silverfox4 Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 might I suggest changing back to Champion or other copper plugs - never had any joy with modern plugs myself. Cheers Alf Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ecosse Posted February 3 Author Report Share Posted February 3 Hello Ian and Alf, Thanks for your comments. Fuel is fresh E5, it was definitely a plug issue. During the winter months the tank is empty and only filled with fresh fuel when the car is used, any surplus fuel after use is pumped out and put into the shopping trolley. I appreciate that goes against what is recommended, but filling the tank to the brim seems profligate if it is not all used, goes off and has to be disposed of. I have not used champion plugs for probably decades due to having numerous issues with their quality, this is the first issue I have had with NGKs since I started using them. Cheers, Cliff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
monty Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 Lots of fake NGK plugs around along with other rubbish from China or wherever. I have just bought a good set of NGK BP6HS from The Green Spark Plug Co. so hope they will be fine. Ian is very correct about modern petrol. I definately think it goes stale after a month or so as my 4A takes a couple of attempts before it starts, after a month or so in my garage. Other times usually starts first time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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