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New Plug Wires And A Miss Fire...

3K views 17 replies 6 participants last post by  325eXTATIC 
#1 ·
I just installed 8mm high preformance plug wires on my 89 325i and it gets better gas mileage and all that jazz, but now it seems that there's a bit of a miss fire when starting off from a green light.

it idles fine, runs fine once she's moving -- it's just in first gear from the "get-go" she sputters hardcore--there's sometimes a sputter in 2nd gear when I lay on the gas. It's also weird that she doesn't allways sputter but it's getting more and more frequent.

This problem didn't exist with my old wires...

I've had the new wires on for a while and have had this problem before but to fix it I just made sure the wire connectors were tight on the plug and that would fix the "sputtering" for a couple weeks. But now I've made sure all the connections are tight (to the best of my knowledge --- I mean how hard it to tell if a wire has a good contact with the plug or not???) but it still sputters......

please help I don't have the time or money to take her to a shop...

thanks!!
 
#3 ·
Where did you get the wires from? That sounds suspiciously like the problem I had with my new "8 mm High Performance" wires. I ended up using an old one (I love being a pack rat) to tide me over until I replace the engine.
 
#4 ·
I got them from bavarian auto. I called them and they will replace them for free but I just don't have time right now to wait for shipping...

I would put the old wires back on but ....uh....I cut one of the wires to get them off. The wire that goes and connects over by the air intake...I couldn't get it out so I got frustrated and cut of the end so it would just pull through....

so the old wires are gone....should I try a electrical tune up first (costing me a little dough) Or should I go for the free replacement on the plug wires?
 
#5 ·
That's where I got mine. I haven't shipped them either. Now my car's in the shop, and I can't touch the car!! :banghead Maybe I could send you one? PM me if interested.
 
#7 ·
I'll agree the connectors are garbage....when I was putting them on one of the connetors bent weird and it took me hours to get it bent back right...

Maybe I'll buy some from BMP......does anyone want to buy some bav auto 8mm wires from me?? I'll give you a good price...ha ha right....

So your sure that wires from BMP are good ones?---I don't really want to blow $180 on bav auto wires and then another $160 on BMP wires and then just go back to regular ones...
 
#8 ·
Yes I am very sure that they are great wires, only the best goes on my E30. The connections are way better then bavautos. Trust me you won't be disappointed with the bmpd wires.
 
#11 ·
Its all up to you man, I personally know that Irelend Engineering makes really good stuff. I also know that you won't be let down by BMPD wires. Its up to you, either way you go you will probably be happy.
 
#12 ·
the solution

so just to finish up this thread I want to say that Bavarian Auto 8mm plug wires are complete garbage.

First of all one of the connectors broke while I was installing them...took me hours to fix.

The day after I put the new wires on I began to notice a bit of a missfire/sputter. So to fix it I made sure all the wires had a good connection with the plugs and cap. This fixed it for a couple weeks then after that time I would run into the problem again, so I would tighten and temporarily fix the problem.

After about a month of using them the "sputtering" got worse and worse until I almost couldn't drive.

Tonight I replaced them with Ireland Engineering wires and I just got back from the "test drive" and she runs like the day she came off the lot 15 years ago (ok so I don't know that, but she no longer sputters...) On this test drive I tried everything from punching it in all 5 gears, reving the engine hard, and flying up a hill with a 26% grade....and not one sputter. So as far as I can tell right now the problem is fixed and it's confirmed that Bavarian auto wires are no good...at least the set that I got.

Not to mention she feels a little "zippier" with the Ireland Engineering wires....
 
#14 ·
So did you get the Ireland 7mm's or 8mm's? They don't mention if their 8mm's are well shielded to prevent interference with radio and other electronics. They are a good price compared with other companies 8mm wires, so I think I want to pick them up, but I would like to hear your opinion first!

Thanks!

Josh W.
 
#15 ·
I got the 8mm's and so far I haven't noticed any interference at all. But then I don't listen to the radio....only CD's. Would it have the same interference?

they are better in every way then the Bav auto wires......well I liked the bright red color of the bav auto---Irelands are a deep blue.

I've only had them on a couple days now and my car runs geat....a very good purchase that I would definently recomend.

I'll keep on driving and let you know if I have any problems with them...

(over the past month I've spent over $300 on plug wires (bav auto combined with Ireland)......I told that to my old tractor mechanic grandpa and he almost fell over dead.....he's never spent more then $20 on plug wires.....these BMW's are pricey little things....)
 
#16 ·
Cool, I appreciate it! No, you wouldn't get TOO much interference from listening to CD's. The place that it would be most noticeable would be on an AM radio station. Put the radio on the lowest AM Station, and start hard and see if you hear the sound of your engine through the speakers. Then put the radio on the highest station and do the same thing. If you hear a minor buzz that rises with engine RPM, then they are fairly well sheilded. If you hear nothing but static, then they are not sheilded at all, and may cause minor interference to other sensors and such (DME possibly) although not TOO likely. Just keep an eye (or ear) out and keep us informed!

Thanks a heap!

Josh W.
 
#17 ·
so I tested the AM radio thing, and I hear static/buzz/noise what ever you want to call it on all the stations on the am band (that is all the stations where there isn't any music)--but ONLY in the higher AM stations will you hear the "whine" of the engine that rises with RPM of the engine.

With the stock plug wires (befiore bav auto garbage) I could here a hard core "whine" when reving the eingine---now it's alot more subtle.

Here's another thing...the static/buzz/noise stays constant and when I shut the engine off the noise is greatly reduced---so there might be a little interference...........so there you go...
 
#18 ·
Awesome, thanks man! Sounds like they are fairly well sheilded, so IE 8mm Plugs it is!

I appreciate your time!

Josh W.
 
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