Runs bad after iridium NGK instal.

[lenny 15]

ok, this morning i installed my NGK iridium plugs, BPR6EIX to be exact. i gapped them to .28 and double checked all of them. the plugs that were in it before were autolites, and were hot plugs. i also cleaned the plug wires, and put them back on starting with 1 one, (that is the shortest one right?) and then 2, 3, and 4. i then started up the car and it started fine, but started idling at 1k RPMs, it was set at 750, so im like, wow, these plugs give a way better spark! i go inside for a little bit to let it warm up and come back out and its at like 740 RPMs and is sounding like a subaru or volkswagon. i rev it and it sounds just like a WRX with and exhaust... so i turn it off and push on all the wires to make sure that they are on, but it didnt do anything. is it anything to do with the plugs? it has been running without a boost controller for about two weeks, but im installing one tommorow, and i drive it easy so the boost doesnt get to high. recently the motor has started making a poping sound, not a backfire, just a pop, and the motor would pull harder for 1/4 of a second, that was before changing the plugs.

Thanks guys, i've never had anything like this happen, and it scares me since im getting ready for MOD on saturday

Hunter

 

[housegsx]

A lot of people are going to tell you you shouldn't have gotten the iridium plugs. I have them and they've worked flawlessly for about 50,000 miles. But my car is fairly stock still. When I get the Evo 3 I will be going back to the standard ngks.
With that said, it should still run fine with them. Have you pulled them to look at them again? Maybe you overtorqued one and cracked it or bumped it on the way in and closed the gap. Pull them to inspect them and also make sure those plug wires are on tight.

 

[JayRolla]

Through your old plugs in and see if it still does it. If it does get some regular ngk's. Just a thought

 

[FORMONTOYA]

I will be one that says to stick with the NGK coppers. For whatever reason the 4G63T loves these plugs, plus they're about the only "cheap" thing that works on our cars. Of course you can run just about any brand/material plug as long as it's the correct one for the engine, but the exotic material plugs don't seem to respond well in our cars.

I would hazard a guess and say to check the wires again, you might have damaged one/more while removing them. But fresh plugs gapped properly will not affect you as stated.

 

[lenny 15]

ok, i just pulled them all and checked them, checked their gaps, and they are all fine. although number one has a slight, slight, yellow tint, while all the others are totaly white and new looking. i unpluged all the wires and pluged them all back in starting with number 1. started the car, and the problem is still there. i would have gotten copper but all they had were the iriduim, and ive only heard bad things about platnum, and i heard iridium where just as good as copper, but last a lot longer.

 

[lenny 15]

could i have some burnt valves or is this just the plugs?

 

[Quasimondo]

Did you check the other end of the plug wires at the coil pack? One of them may have slipped off when you were tugging the wires around swapping your spark plugs.

 

[lenny 15]

yes, i disconnected both ends and reconnected them. the coil and the plugs.

 

[lenny 15]

Through your old plugs in and see if it still does it. If it does get some regular ngk's. Just a thought

alright, i just gapped the old plugs to .28 and installed them and their is no difference. both run bad now. so i think it was the gap. the old plugs were all over .30 except one that was at .30. so i think ill gap the iridium plugs to .32 and go from there.

 

[lenny 15]

ok, i gapped the NGKs to .32 and put them in and it still runs bad. i dont know whats going on...

 

[lenny 15]

Oh! i used engine degreaser spray to clean the wires! could that have messed up the wires?

 

[white93pgtze]

firing order could be off by

 

[lenny 15]

what do you mean? do you mean by puting the plug wires on wrong? on the distributor, i put 1 on first, then 2, then 3, and 4. with 1 being in the back towards the firewall. i put the autolites back on and gapped them to .32 and the problem is still there... im thinking i ruined the wires with the engine degreaser... please help

 

[lenny 15]

alright its oviously nothing to do with the spark plugs. it has to be the wires, or something electrical. i looked at the injectors, and two of the sensors things that plug into the injectors are different than the others, and one of them looks like a really bad wiring job done at home. i have no datalogger.

 

[95-talontsi]

try new wires? you should beable to pick up some cheap ones from an autoparts store

 

[lenny 15]

alright, i talked to my friend, and he told me it sounds like the firing order is off, does anyone know the firing order? i tryed puting 1, 3, 4, 2, and 1, 2, 3, 4. and they go on the distributor 1, 2, 3, 4, in positions right?

 

[quattro527]

ok, this morning i installed my NGK iridium plugs, BPR6EIX to be exact. i gapped them to .28 and double checked all of them. the plugs that were in it before were autolites, and were hot plugs. i also cleaned the plug wires, and put them back on starting with 1 one, (that is the shortest one right?) and then 2, 3, and 4. i then started up the car and it started fine, but started idling at 1k RPMs, it was set at 750, so im like, wow, these plugs give a way better spark! i go inside for a little bit to let it warm up and come back out and its at like 740 RPMs and is sounding like a subaru or volkswagon. i rev it and it sounds just like a WRX with and exhaust... so i turn it off and push on all the wires to make sure that they are on, but it didnt do anything. is it anything to do with the plugs? it has been running without a boost controller for about two weeks, but im installing one tommorow, and i drive it easy so the boost doesnt get to high. recently the motor has started making a poping sound, not a backfire, just a pop, and the motor would pull harder for 1/4 of a second, that was before changing the plugs.

Thanks guys, i've never had anything like this happen, and it scares me since im getting ready for MOD on saturday

Hunter

The "IX" plugs are VERY sensitive abou being regapped. I typically break 2 out of 10 IX plugs just by simply checking the gap on them and putting the gauge in there a but too 'snug'. I wouldn't be surprised if the center electrode (fine wire firing end) broke, and you are gapping it based on the the base of the center electrode. You should NEVER gap a iridium plug using the edge of a feeler gauge like you would a standard copper. Use the round end of the gauge to PULL the ground strap up, and make sure you never touch the center electrode.

I love NGK plugs, but their IX iridium plugs are seriously pretty brittle compared to the Denso's, which use an even smaller firing end (0.4mm) ... but they never seem to break.

Check your firing end of the plug... chances are the center electrode has broken off.

Also, you might also want to drop the heat range on that plug, and go with at least a #7 and lower. You have to remember with as you use a smaller center electrode, it's heat dissapation characteristics go away... meaning it will be more prone to heat and lead to pre-ignition. Copper cores do a much better job of pulling heat, because of the copper element alone, as well as it being bigger on the center electrode. (-ES plugs have a even bigger surface area than the -E/V-Power plugs). So long story short, I typically use a heat range colder when using Iridiums to equal that of the Copper. (Use #7 Iridium to compare with #6 Copper). So in your case, if you plan on cranking the boost in the summer heat, I would use a #8 (BKR8EIX, NGK # 2668). Or if you don't mind spending some extra money, invest in a set of Denso Iridiums (IK24's).

Good Luck

And NO Volkswagens/Audi's do NOT sound like Subaru's!!!...unless they are broken (which is not uncommon).

 

[GSTBlack95]

The firing order is 4,1,2,3 just so you know. That could be your problem no one here has said the correct order, that might be something simple like that.

 

[lenny 15]

well, its not the plugs, i put the old ones back in and it did it to. and i checked the plugs center electrode and its fine.

 

[lenny 15]

The firing order is 4,1,2,3 just so you know. That could be your problem no one here has said the correct order, that might be something simple like that.

OK!!! i thought it was 1342. ill go try that

 

[lenny 15]

ok, does the number four wire go on the distributor closest to the firewall and then number one, two, and three going away? im going to try that way.

 

[GSTBlack95]

I think the wire cloest to the fire wall is, Its been a while since I looked under the hood of a 1g, but you know to keep it simple as well, going left to right like reading a book, its still 4,1,2,3


Just remeber, like my boss tells me, Keep it simple stupid , its just take your time, step back and look at the situation, its usually nothing serious with plugs, its not rocket science

 

[lenny 15]

alright thanks soooo much dude!!! it worked!! towards the left to right on the distributor, wires go in this position. (4) (1) (2) (3). thanks guys. rep points for you!

 

[quattro527]

For future reference...

<~Front of Vehicle

Cylinders
(4)
(3)
(2)
(1) [4 1] [2 3] Coils


My ghetto drawing:

<~Front of Vehicle

Cylinders
(4)__
(3)__l______
(2)__l_____ l
(1) [4 1] [2 3] Coils
l______l

 

[GSTBlack95]

No problem always like to help, I just dont know why no one would of brought that up