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My car has just hit 120.000 Miles,R-350 2012 Gas and I bought the original spark plugs on ebay. I was searching to see how to Gap it. is Bosch nickel Yttrium part number ZR6S113320
Spark plug gapping is a lesson in two different automotive cultures.
Every German car and motorcycle I’ve owned since the 1970s specified a Bosch spark plug that ALWAYS came out of the box gapped to the correct specification. Usually the gap is noted on the box. Same thing in recent years when NGK was the brand. Doesn’t matter which type plug, conventional or exotic.
Those of us that grew up in the USA automotive culture have low expectations. WithGerman cars and their specified parts we can expect more and we’ll get it.
Bumping this thread with a picture, a couple of tips, and shame; the shame is, I am just now changing the plugs at 225k miles after buying the car at 80k. It still idled smooth, still got about the same mileage as always, and didn't feel like it had lost any pep, so I've been loathe to fix what ain't broke. The picture tells the story though:
New vs at least 145k miles
I can't believe the car was running. Anyway, tips for those of you who wait as long as I did - first, save yourself some aggravation and do not disconnect the ignition wires from the individual coils; you can still get the coils off the plugs and out of the cavity very easily, and you can avoid the hassle of when reattaching the connector plug to go that last little tenth of an inch back onto the coil when reconnecting. For some reason it can be nearly impossible, at least it was on two of the first three I did, and it left me feeling nervous that I still didn't get them on all the way. On the other bank, I just left them connected and it was a ton easier. Also, and this is actually one everyone probably knows but at first didn't occur to me, use the second position on the hood strut, makes access much easier. Last, as you can see by the pic, the old plugs had some rust that made them not back out very easily at all - I was worried I was stripping the threads. Just keep at it slowly, they do eventually loosen but they feel awful at the beginning.
Bumping this thread with a picture, a couple of tips, and shame; the shame is, I am just now changing the plugs at 225k miles after buying the car at 80k. It still idled smooth, still got about the same mileage as always, and didn't feel like it had lost any pep, so I've been loathe to fix what ain't broke. The picture tells the story though:
New vs at least 145k miles
I can't believe the car was running. Anyway, tips for those of you who wait as long as I did - first, save yourself some aggravation and do not disconnect the ignition wires from the individual coils; you can still get the coils off the plugs and out of the cavity very easily, and you can avoid the hassle of when reattaching the connector plug to go that last little tenth of an inch back onto the coil when reconnecting. For some reason it can be nearly impossible, at least it was on two of the first three I did, and it left me feeling nervous that I still didn't get them on all the way. On the other bank, I just left them connected and it was a ton easier. Also, and this is actually one everyone probably knows but at first didn't occur to me, use the second position on the hood strut, makes access much easier. Last, as you can see by the pic, the old plugs had some rust that made them not back out very easily at all - I was worried I was stripping the threads. Just keep at it slowly, they do eventually loosen but they feel awful at the beginning.
@jneal3110 Wow, glad you got the replacement finished! How does the engine idle and rev now, with the new plugs?
@jneal3110 Wow, glad you got the replacement finished! How does the engine idle and rev now, with the new plugs?
When I was a kid I would've convinced myself it's peppier and smoother; now that I'm old and believe in blind evaluations, there was no noticeable change. The car was as smooth as a gas turbine before and still is. Probably will get better mileage but that's still to be seen.
04-23-2019, 09:41 AM
Spark plugs
