Coil Packs ?

[E55 Bulldog]

Im getting ready to tune my car and with that Im replacing the spark plugs, I was told to replace my coil packs also, is that needed?

My car is a 2014 with 18k miles on it.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by E55 Bulldog

Im getting ready to tune my car and with that Im replacing the spark plugs, I was told to replace my coil packs also, is that needed?

My car is a 2014 with 18k miles on it.

Not with just 18k mi on it,that's hardly any miles and far too early.Around 50k and then if they're not playing up they're fine..it's the plugs that take the punishment.

[94jedi]

Originally Posted by M5theonlyone

Not with just 18k mi on it,that's hardly any miles and far too early.Around 50k and then if they're not playing up they're fine..it's the plugs that take the punishment.

agree w/ this. Go one step colder on the plugs and don't replace coil packs until the need arises.

[Craze]

Ive had 4 bmws and 2 of them required coils

So for me if over 50k miles id replace them with plugs

[E F10 M5]

Since your already replacing your Spark plugs, replace the Coils since they are not that expensive. Knock Two Birds with One Stone. Figured rather be safe than sorry.

[AirBull]

I have read some people say that if "one" knows what they are doing (tuning), you shouldn't necessarily have to swap plugs. Not sure how true that is on these BMW motors as they are apparently not terribly easy on plugs.

When I found my M5, the car had just 8,800 miles and I noticed the CarFax saying that the dealer had just changed the plugs at 8,000 miles at the last regular service. Why? It turns out BMW now says to change them every 3rd oil change and with the 1,200 M service, that was the 3rd oil change. I'm sure the dealer took advantage of the "BMW Ultimate Service" program and only did it in large part because they could send the bill to BMW.

Personally, I think they are would be good for optimal performance for at least 20k miles, and you can probably keep them in there 40k to 50k miles with little problems, (dependant upon your particular tune, of course.)

[94jedi]

Originally Posted by AirBull

I have read some people say that if "one" knows what they are doing (tuning), you shouldn't necessarily have to swap plugs. Not sure how true that is on these BMW motors as they are apparently not terribly easy on plugs.

When I found my M5, the car had just 8,800 miles and I noticed the CarFax saying that the dealer had just changed the plugs at 8,000 miles at the last regular service. Why? It turns out BMW now says to change them every 3rd oil change and with the 1,200 M service, that was the 3rd oil change. I'm sure the dealer took advantage of the "BMW Ultimate Service" program and only did it in large part because they could send the bill to BMW.

Personally, I think they are would be good for optimal performance for at least 20k miles, and you can probably keep them in there 40k to 50k miles with little problems, (dependant upon your particular tune, of course.)

My understanding is that colder plugs allow you to tune more aggressively, safely, by avoiding pre-ignition, i.e. ignition of the fuel/air mixture before the plug fires normally. Normally, when you tune a turbo car, you add fuel, air (more boost) and add/pull ignition/timing accordingly. Been a while since I was tuning my Audi A4 but that's the basics of it; obviously there's a ton more than goes into it but I would say that safety is the #1 priority for most, daily driven cars so colder plugs allow for that extra aggressiveness in the tune, w/o to much danger.