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x flow spark plugs


Harvey

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Something that surpises me, is that of all the topics we debate or argue about on here , I cannot remember spark plugs ever proving contentious, and indeed the subject rarely comes up. The only thing that annoys me about them is that they are often expensive, even at trade prices. Agree on the NGK choices for moderate tune and all steel BTW
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Hi,

 

I was running BP7ES in my 145hp X-flow.

 

The problem was that the plugs were constantly fouling due to the rich mixture at low rpm.

 

Since one year I am trying the Platinum version of the NGK plugs. So far, they work really good. Very little fouling of the plugs and they have excellent self cleaning capabilities. They are much more expensive (about 4x) but I hate to clean the plugs every week and therefore it is acceptable.

 

Don´t have the ident code at hand but can look it up if anybody is interested.

 

 

Klaus

 

1700+ X-flow

Combustion is not a secret

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BP7EVX are platinium ones

 

However they foul more at idle speed than BP7ES

But they are very good, I have kept them 6 months on my

sprint Caterham. They are now on my Golf GTI mk1

 

I prefer BP 7 ES for the Caterham

 

I have also tested Champion N6YCC , CC = cooper core for competition

and the engine is less smooth than with BP7ES

 

eric

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Hi,

 

Eric was quicker than me to look up the number...

 

With respect to fouling, I have the opposite experience. With BP7ES, I had a lot of trouble driving at heavy traffic (e.g. city, slow, low revs). They were heavily fouling an I constantly had to clean them, sometimes 3-4 times a week...

With the Platinum ones, I have no problem so far, I have never taken them out since I put them in and no sign of misfire.

 

Klaus

 

 

1700+ X-flow

Combustion is not a secret

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According to Burton's web site, the Platinum ones are £6 each where the standard ones are £2 each (excluding VAT and P&P). No doubt Halfords can reduce the cost of a pack of 4 standard ones even further.

 

However, looking the other way, it is only an additional £16 to get the benefits of reduced fouling (depending on who you believe).

 

Low tech luddite - xflow and proud!

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One of the nice things about NGK plugs is that the numbering scheme makes sense. BP represents the basic thread and seat and the next number is the temperature. The higher the number, the colder the plug. If the plugs are fouling, you can try a warmer, lower number plug. As you might expect, a steel XFlow will probably be highly tuned and need a colder, higher number plug.

 

*cool* 99,000 miles so far

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I asked the 'which plug?' question of the NGK people at the Autosport show and they have a CD-ROM which tells them the answer.

 

For my engine (Kent 244 cam; twin 40s) they recommended B8ECS plugs. The key is apparently to look at the plug colour to see whether your plugs are too hot or cold.

 

Perhaps one of our techies could explain what to look for - I can't quite remember it! Seem to think there's something on this in the Dave Walker book on engine management too.

 

Andy Couchman

1988 1700 crossflow

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When I had my 1700 xflow rolling roaded by Dave Walker, we popped the plugs after a few full power runs to check on colour. Based on the following caveats:

 

1. we were using unleaded fuel as I wanted a failsafe setup

2. I had BP7ES plugs

 

We got a nice even matt grey finish which showed that the plugs were about right. However, this sort of testing is the only one valid for tuning by plug colour. It says nothing about how the plugs will foul when caugght in traffic/idling. Therefore, as the 7's are not too hot and they are better at self-cleaning that the 8's I would not move to a colder plug (I have even tried the 6's and with my driving style I noticed very little diffrence).

 

Obviously for track days where the engine is a full throttle for much longer periods of time, the cooler 8's may be beneficial.

 

Low tech luddite - xflow and proud!

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  • 19 years later...

Klaus,

 

I have a '93 Super Sprint probably in the 138ho range. The NGK B8ECS are now hard to find in the US.I heard a suggestion to replace with NGK Iridium IX Spark Plugs : BR8EIX. Is the plug you were thinking of?

 

 

Thanks,

 

JL

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I would think a BR7ES plug would be a better plug for a fairly low output engine (i.e, less than 100bhp per litre), unless you are only running flat out on the track in high ambient temperatures. An '8' heat range makes the engine more difficult to start, more prone to fouling and less able to provide a steady idle than a '7' heat range, so less suitable for general purpose road and track use. You can get the BR7ES plugs from pretty well any auto parts outlet.

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Plugs with an R in the designation have built in resistance.  Those without don't.  I assume this will make a difference if it is only the plugs that are changed.

I ran BP7ES in my X-flow when it was last running and will do so again when it is back on the road

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Where are you, please?

There's a fair bit of discussion in the archives:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=site:caterhamlotus7.club+B8ECS(link is external)

Alternatives seem to depend on whether yours is running hot or cold. See aerobod's comments above.

Jonathan

PS:
The B8CS is available from SparkPlugs.co.uk:
https://www.sparkplugs.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=B8ECS(link is external)

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