M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => Engine + Driveline => Topic started by: AlpineRob on February 11, 2008, 11:49:40 AM
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Anyone have experience with these>? are the worth it? notice a difference? and are they good for motors with about 150+k miles? thanks
also related..the Bavarian performance spark plug wires..worth it? (same questions as above) thank you
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I would say they are a waste of money. New stock ones or COP is the way to go unless you are looking for ways to blow money, if that is the case I suggest a suit of armor full of applesauce.
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a suit of armor full of applesauce.
that's exactly what i am looking for. hippos are becoming a little boring
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I got new coils when I was having an issue with passing NJ emissions (turned out that my OE cat, and the mineke cat I replaced in its place both sucked bigtime, new OE cat made me squeaky clean), I replaced the coils, thinking that anything might help, and a tuneup was a good place to start on a car with 110k.
I noted a difference in power and fuel economy at steady state cruise. Whether it is any difference compared to new OE coils, I cannot say, and never will be able to...
I got the bavauto ones for slightly less than new OE coils, so I figured it was a good choice. cant complain for the choice Ive made.
That said, the difference wasnt major or earth shattering... In hindsight I didnt need to do it, but Im happy with my "upgrade"
JMH
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I paid way less then oem and felt a big diff in mid to top end with the bav's. Not sure how that's a waste of $$$
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I just failed NJ inspections with a NOx reading of 1777 (1134 max) and a HC reading of 285 (146 max). The cat was replaced recently. any ideas where to start? O2 sensor? thx
I got new coils when I was having an issue with passing NJ emissions (turned out that my OE cat, and the mineke cat I replaced in its place both sucked bigtime, new OE cat made me squeaky clean), I replaced the coils, thinking that anything might help, and a tuneup was a good place to start on a car with 110k.
I noted a difference in power and fuel economy at steady state cruise. Whether it is any difference compared to new OE coils, I cannot say, and never will be able to...
I got the bavauto ones for slightly less than new OE coils, so I figured it was a good choice. cant complain for the choice Ive made.
That said, the difference wasnt major or earth shattering... In hindsight I didnt need to do it, but Im happy with my "upgrade"
JMH
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A lazy O2 can cause issues, however, that is awful high NOx, which I cant see to be an issue unless the O2 is casing you to go real lean. My understanding is that a bad O2 will go rich (waste fuel), and running rich will have lower combustion temps, lowering NOx (but of course youll have the higher HCs).
I put in an aftermarket cat in 2004 when I failed the first time. It barely got me over the line. Aftermarket cats are only barely good enough to reduce NOx to the maximum level. With an aftermarket cat, I went down a few ppm over my original dead cat. With a new OEM BMW cat, I went down to nearly none.
So was your cat replacement OE BMW? if not, Id look for that.
Doesnt hurt to put in a new O2 sensor regardless, depending on when you did it last.
JMH
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Sounds like a lean misfire. Check your ignition system (plugs, coils, wires) and check for vacuum leaks.
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I bought the Bav Auto coils for mine (129,000). It was sorely in need of a tuneup so it also got new plugs. I can't apportion credit to new coils versus plugs versus ditching the wires but it runs smoother and feels stronger mid to upper end.
I ordered 4 of the 6 cyl coils and did the COP conversion at the same time. You can't order online that way, but if you call them they'll do it.
It wasn't cheap and I never tried the used Bremi's to see if I thought there was a difference. I think if I was going to do it again, I'd get the bremis first, but I am pretty happy with the Bav Auto coils.
They are easy to swap so maybe if a set of Bremis shows up at the pick n pull I'll grab em and try a comparison next time i'm at the dyno.
Also I don't know the difference between the M50 and M42 coils (besides the casing is different) but assuming there is a performance advantage to the M50 coils it looks to me like you could put them into the E30 M42 coil pack as well.
But I really like the COP conversion.