hotter spark plugs

[esse10]

Hello fellow beetle owners. Does anybody know which NGK plugs run the hottest? for my 1.8 L turbo. copper? or what?

Question #2 does the wrong plug cause catalytic issues if it's running too cold or too hot?

thanks folks......

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Originally Posted by esse10

Hello fellow beetle owners. Does anybody know which NGK plugs run the hottest? for my 1.8 L turbo. copper? or what?

Question #2 does the wrong plug cause catalytic issues if it's running too cold or too hot?

thanks folks......

Stock engine and turbo... why would you want to run a hotter plug, the factory specifies the correct plug.

[Stlbug]

Spark plugs come in heat ranges. If you use a hotter plug,that means the tip of the plug holds it's heat from preavious firings. If it is too hot it can cause pre-dentonation/knocking , which can do damage to the engine. Too cold of a plug, the tip does not hold the heat and it will not self clean and carbon up and foul. Best stay with the VW recomended plug.

[IndyTom]

Originally Posted by Stlbug

Spark plugs come in heat ranges. If you use a hotter plug,that means the tip of the plug holds it's heat from preavious firings. If it is too hot it can cause pre-dentonation/knocking , which can do damage to the engine. Too cold of a plug, the tip does not hold the heat and it will not self clean and carbon up and foul. Best stay with the VW recomended plug.

I concur. Stick with the Factory heat range. I anything you should never run a hotter plug. Some are running one heat range cooler plug if they are chipped or tuned but if you are just Stage 1 tune/chipped it really isn't necessary. I am running the NGK Iridiums with are $6.99 at Pep Boys. They seem to do the job very well and are a tad cheaper than the Factory Double Platinum plugs. Don't really see or feel any difference in performance or gas mileage. I have a Stage 1 Revo Tune and the car runs great on the stock heat range plug. Stick with NGK which seems to run better than most. I have tried E3 and Bosch and the old Beetle didn't care for them too much. Autozone tried to sell me Autolite and I just said NO Thanks. I am a NGK fan all the way.

[esse10]

Originally Posted by IndyTom

I concur. Stick with the Factory heat range. I anything you should never run a hotter plug. Some are running one heat range cooler plug if they are chipped or tuned but if you are just Stage 1 tune/chipped it really isn't necessary. I am running the NGK Iridiums with are $6.99 at Pep Boys. They seem to do the job very well and are a tad cheaper than the Factory Double Platinum plugs. Don't really see or feel any difference in performance or gas mileage. I have a Stage 1 Revo Tune and the car runs great on the stock heat range plug. Stick with NGK which seems to run better than most. I have tried E3 and Bosch and the old Beetle didn't care for them too much. Autozone tried to sell me Autolite and I just said NO Thanks. I am a NGK fan all the way.

thanks guys

[jbremount]

I been running NGK Iridium ix plugs. The ( BKR6EIX ).... Stock number (6418 ). They work good in my car. I bought them at the local O'Riley auto parts store.

[IndyTom]

Originally Posted by jbremount

I been running NGK Iridium ix plugs. The ( BKR6EIX ).... Stock number (6418 ). They work good in my car. I bought them at the local O'Riley auto parts store.

Those are the ones that I am running as well.

Question for you. Do you gap them to the factory specs of .032 or do you leave them at the setting they come with .028 ?

Personally, I heard horrorstories of gapping Iridium plugs and I just left them at .028 It doesn't seem to effect performance or gas mileage in my case. Just wondering if you actually gapped yours.

[jbremount]

Originally Posted by IndyTom

Those are the ones that I am running as well.

Question for you. Do you gap them to the factory specs of .032 or do you leave them at the setting they come with .028 ?

Personally, I heard horrorstories of gapping Iridium plugs and I just left them at .028 It doesn't seem to effect performance or gas mileage in my case. Just wondering if you actually gapped yours.

I put them in with the gap they came with. I think smaller is better if you have a chipped VW. Not sure about that though. I would not re-gap Iridium plugs as it appears you could damage the plug.

[IndyTom]

Originally Posted by jbremount

I put them in with the gap they came with. I think smaller is better if you have a chipped VW. Not sure about that though. I would not re-gap Iridium plugs as it appears you could damage the plug.

A guy at Autozone told me there is no problem gapping an Iridium plug. I wanted to buy some Denso Iridiums and when he tried to gap them for me he broke three of the four center electrodes. I told him "No Thanks" on the plugs and ordered some Copper Plugs from ECS Tuning. Yes, I was told to use a smaller gap on a chipped Audi/VW. .028 is actually what is recommended. So the Gap that the NGK came with was perfect form my REVO tuned Beetle. However, I think for as mild as the tune is on the Beetle it probably wouldn't hurt to run it at .032 and I am definitely using the proper heat range and not going one heat range lower. I did that on my Audi TT and the cooler heat range actually caused some premature fouling. So for a Stage I tune I will stick with the factory heat range.