NGK Iridiums BKR8EIX ***12k mile update on page 13***

[RedRobin]

I had my BKR8EIX plugs in for a similar mileage on my K03 also, they seemed to work well and have had no misfires but when I checked them recently I found this-

They were massively coke'd up and had loads of carbon deposits. I changed back to the hotter "7" plug and since the engine actually feels like it's got quicker which may have over the last 600 miles burnt off excessive carbon deposits. Worth thinking about, they may not be any noticeable running issues but since changing back the engine seems stronger.

....I think this illustrates very well why it's good practice on a tuned car to more regularly change plugs than suggested in the car Handbook. I change mine (iridium heavenly sevens) every 20k miles.

[56OctyVRS]

I had my BKR8EIX plugs in for a similar mileage on my K03 also, they seemed to work well and have had no misfires but when I checked them recently I found this-



They were massively coke'd up and had loads of carbon deposits. I changed back to the hotter "7" plug and since the engine actually feels like it's got quicker which may have over the last 600 miles burnt off excessive carbon deposits. Worth thinking about, they may not be any noticeable running issues but since changing back the engine seems stronger.

Thats how mine looked. Unless you drive the car hard you wont burn off the carbon deposits with the 8s. These are a plug more for track days than normal driving. Since fitting the 7s my car hasnt missed a beat and feels loads beter to drive.

[MAT ED30]

Mine were the same as I had a misfire so pulled the plugs out and everyone fecked

[Saintsteve]

I too ditched the 8's back to the oem 7's and confirm mine feels a lot stronger especially at top Revs.

[rich83]

I may be wrong but all this "specific" spark plug nonsense is exactly that.

Im guessing a lot of folk have bought these, when actually a set of OEM plugs would have been absolutely fine.

On your state of tune rich, oem ones are fine, but stage 2 and up , 8's are better, as I've found out on my own Stage 2 car.

Ohh.... looks like i was right after all... 

[Saintsteve]

Yes rich, alot of stuff that becomes the overnight must have , sometimes pays dividends to leave the car as the manufacture intended..... Best stop there.... 

[Hurdy]

I had a brief encounter with Denso iridiums when I had the ED30. I soon moved back to the stock Bosch jobbies and they are in my opinion the best plugs for the job up to stage 2+. They lasted longer, coked up a LOT less and gave a better running engine at start up and when hot.

I've not tried the NGK iridiums, but I doubt they will give any discernable advantage over stock.

[Thor]

I may be wrong but all this "specific" spark plug nonsense is exactly that.

Im guessing a lot of folk have bought these, when actually a set of OEM plugs would have been absolutely fine.

On your state of tune rich, oem ones are fine, but stage 2 and up , 8's are better, as I've found out on my own Stage 2 car.

Ohh.... looks like i was right after all... 

So what your saying Rich is OEM ftmfw

[GS WAX]

So for everyday pottering about too and from work and now its getting towards winter its Prob best i switch back to the 7's.

[alexperkins]

I still think on Stage 2 these offer better performance. I had some serious issues with stock plugs on a stage 2 map.

[Saintsteve]

I still think on Stage 2 these offer better performance. I had some serious issues with stock plugs on a stage 2 map.

Weird as I have the same map/car setup and now find the opposite 

[Aaroncupra]

My mk2 Leon cupra seemed to run ok on the 8's on a stage 3 map (350 odd bhp) not had a look at them yet tho,

Probably gonna change back to the 7's for winter tho 

[56OctyVRS]

I think the 8s are fine if you do long drives and use the power a lot. I now only really do local commuting and the 8s are too cold for that. They carboned up very badly and made my engine run very harsh. Initially they were fine when new but after carboning up they werent. I switched back to the 7s and the car is running fine again. The 8s are an ideal track day plug when you want to use the power for longer  but I think the 7s are more suited to road applications no matter what power level or turbocharger you have fitted.

[Spoonie]

Sorry to resurrect and old topic but for me its quite current, so I thought I'd post my experiences.

I have 2007 Octavia vRS 2.0TFSI and the car currently has about 58k miles on the clock. I wanted to carry out some self maintenance and bought new coils and plugs from Awesome. The car had original Bosch plugs and coils and its been fitted with a stage 2 tune. My problem with the car has always been that every now and then the car has some trouble starting when its cold, so I figured that it must be the plugs. I've read quite a few topics about this and realized that cold starts is pretty a common issue for the TFSI engine. Therefore, changed the coil packs and the plugs and now it does it almost every single time. So, based on this I probably will be changing the plugs to either 7's or maybe even 6's. The problem is pretty much the same what gigolo456 had on the previous page.

[sub39h]

My plugs were finally changed last month for some Nology ones during a service with Alex at AKS Tuning. In isolation I was very happy with the performance of the NGKs, but having had them changed I feel my car is more responsive now. I did have several things done so it is difficult to say exactly what the reason is, but Alex feels it may have been the plugs.

I don't withdraw my recommendation for them - they are half the price of OEM ones and last about as long. But they are not upgrades and should not be treated as such - at least not on an unmapped K03 car.

I would have liked to have done a similar review on the Nology plugs but sadly I don't drive my car regularly enough anymore to be able to make in depth observations.