Long Term Spark Plug Thoughts

[flipflp]

That seems beyond unnecessary, and if their tuning relies on it, that also seems beyond unnecessary. I've personally been stage 2 (not EQT) for 25k+ miles with RS7s and Ruths and my car is still here.

No spark plugs don't break in, but they do wear out. They might change how the car runs a bit so the ECU will compensate for a short period of time.

 

[anotero]

That seems beyond unnecessary, and if their tuning relies on it, that also seems beyond unnecessary. I've personally been stage 2 (not EQT) for 25k+ miles with RS7s and Ruths and my car is still here.

No spark plugs don't break in, but they do wear out. They might change how the car runs a bit so the ECU will compensate for a short period of time.

I agree about the unnecessary part. 160 bucks every 10k miles to change spark plugs on a base stage 2 car sounds excessive. I ran Unitronic stage 1 and 2 on stock plugs for 50k miles and my car is still here as well.

I'll see how the car runs with Brisks. If they will be giving me a hard time, I'll probably just go straight for a protune and run those racing plugs. At least then it will make sense to pay more for plugs on a more powerful tune.

 

[aaronc7]

RS7, IKH24 and brisk something or another is all I'm aware of for 1 step colder. RS7 seem to be the most liked of the bunch, and EQ tuning's FAQ even lists the RS7 as "fine", I'm surprised they are pushing the racing ones so hard-- who is 'tech support'?

I've been running the RS7s now for a couple hundred miles and while I don't have tons of actual evidence, I feel like I am getting a few more misfires on cold start. After the revs drop down after a cold start, it seems to be super smooth though. I guess that is not uncommon with these cars in general.

 

[Jovian]

Im on my third set of RS7 plugs currently at 100k miles. They have been solid for me on my EQT Stg 1 tune.

 

[jimlloyd40]

I agree about the unnecessary part. 160 bucks every 10k miles to change spark plugs on a base stage 2 car sounds excessive. I ran Unitronic stage 1 and 2 on stock plugs for 50k miles and my car is still here as well.

I'll see how the car runs with Brisks. If they will be giving me a hard time, I'll probably just go straight for a protune and run those racing plugs. At least then it will make sense to pay more for plugs on a more powerful tune.

Not sure why ED would be adamant about the racing plugs. I haven't seen anybody with over 500 HP report using those. The Ruthenium or the RS7 plugs which both cost under $55b for 4.

 

[SugarMouth]

So EQT tech support are being adamant about using NGK race plugs for $40 a pop on a stage 2 car. My question is: do spark plugs have a break in period? Say I install the Brisks and get some knock; should I replace them right away or wait to see if they "break in"?

If EQT has experienced the best performance of the NGKs I would imagine they would recommend them. I personally liked Brisk ER12S but others don't. I bought my current set of NGKs for $28.89 each, looks like they are now $33.79. https://www.rockauto.com/en/parts/ngk,4654,spark+plug,7212

 

[jimlloyd40]

If EQT has experienced the best performance of the NGKs I would imagine they would recommend them. I personally liked Brisk ER12S but others don't. I bought my current set of NGKs for $28.89 each, looks like they are now $33.79. https://www.rockauto.com/en/parts/ngk,4654,spark+plug,7212

Are those the RS7 plugs?

 

[PowerDemon]

I agree about the unnecessary part. 160 bucks every 10k miles to change spark plugs on a base stage 2 car sounds excessive. I ran Unitronic stage 1 and 2 on stock plugs for 50k miles and my car is still here as well.

I'll see how the car runs with Brisks. If they will be giving me a hard time, I'll probably just go straight for a protune and run those racing plugs. At least then it will make sense to pay more for plugs on a more powerful tune.

When I was on my Stratified Stage II map I ran the Brisk ER12S Silvers. The only problem I had with them was how much they opened up. I checked the gap when I took them out and they had opened up from 0.026” to 0.033” in 5000 miles. I have since switched to the NGK Racing plugs at Ed’s recommendation and I will report back with my findings in the future. Ed also mentioned that he likes the Denso IKH24.

 

[anotero]

When I was on my Stratified Stage II map I ran the Brisk ER12S Silvers. The only problem I had with them was how much they opened up. I checked the gap when I took them out and they had opened up from 0.026” to 0.033” in 5000 miles. I have since switched to the NGK Racing plugs at Ed’s recommendation and I will report back with my findings in the future. Ed also mentioned that he likes the Denso IKH24.

Regapping is something I can deal with.
See, it's good to hear about Ed's other preferences. Hearing back from tech support that ER12s's are "just okay" for a base stage 2 car made me cringe a bit. At that rate if base stage 2 requires $160 plugs, then a protune with a BT should require what -- plugs twice that price? I'm being facetious, but being told that good non-defective plugs (Brisks in this case) for whatever miraculous reason may cause knock in some GTIs, whereas the expensive NGKs are just perfect didn't sit right with me.

This is the first time I'm seeing requirements being defined not in terms of a minimum baseline, but in terms of the coolest stuff out there. Weird.

 

[jimlloyd40]

When I was on my Stratified Stage II map I ran the Brisk ER12S Silvers. The only problem I had with them was how much they opened up. I checked the gap when I took them out and they had opened up from 0.026” to 0.033” in 5000 miles. I have since switched to the NGK Racing plugs at Ed’s recommendation and I will report back with my findings in the future. Ed also mentioned that he likes the Denso IKH24.

The Denso IKH24 were crap in my car. Really worn bad in just 10K miles.

 

[anotero]

The Denso IKH24 were crap in my car. Really worn bad in just 10K miles.

My takeaway is: unless you are paying three-four times for a set of plugs (e.g., NGK racing plugs), there is no one general rule for everyone's car. Trial and error with a mix of common sense and statistics based on others' reviews.

 

[PowerDemon]

The Denso IKH24 were crap in my car. Really worn bad in just 10K miles.

Well I’m glad I went with the NGK's then lol

 

[JerseyDrew77]

Regapping is something I can deal with.
See, it's good to hear about Ed's other preferences. Hearing back from tech support that ER12s's are "just okay" for a base stage 2 car made me cringe a bit. At that rate if base stage 2 requires $160 plugs, then a protune with a BT should require what -- plugs twice that price? I'm being facetious, but being told that good non-defective plugs (Brisks in this case) for whatever miraculous reason may cause knock in some GTIs, whereas the expensive NGKs are just perfect didn't sit right with me.

This is the first time I'm seeing requirements being defined not in terms of a minimum baseline, but in terms of the coolest stuff out there. Weird.

When my car was at stage 2, I ran the RS7 plugs without any issues. I tired sticking with those when I went BT and had problems so I switched to the racing plugs, heat range 9, and it runs great now but I'm also pushing close to 500 whp. I've found those plugs around $28 on different websites, you just have to do a search.

 

[anotero]

When my car was at stage 2, I ran the RS7 plugs without any issues. I tired sticking with those when I went BT and had problems so I switched to the racing plugs, heat range 9, and it runs great now but I'm also pushing close to 500 whp. I've found those plugs around $28 on different websites, you just have to do a search.

Yeah, 2 steps colder on a BT setup makes sense, and is in accordance with what I've read on the EQT site. I don't have plans to go the BT route, but I think 1 step colder plugs on stage 2 and an IS20 protune I'm planning on won't hurt.

 

[JerseyDrew77]

Yeah, 2 steps colder on a BT setup makes sense, and is in accordance with what I've read on the EQT site. I don't have plans to go the BT route, but I think 1 step colder plugs on stage 2 and an IS20 protune I'm planning on won't hurt.

Yeah, 1 step colder is fine for your application. You definitely don't need racing plugs.