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I thought I'd throw a post up as I've got a poor running issue when my car is cold, I've read alot on here about replacing plugs and coil packs, is there a kit avaliable to perhaps use different coil packs?
I'm going to do the plugs first but I suspect it's coil packs related too.
Cheers!
@Davezj is aiming to release soon a Coil On Plug kit, but life has got in the way over the last couple of months, so it's not quite ready for release yet.
Another potential issue could be the MAF - if you unplug it, does it run better? (With the MAF unplugged, the ECU throws a fault code, but it will fall back to a very basic TPS vs RPM table for fuelling)
If you're unaware of the state/age of the plugs, then it's always a good point to start with a change of plugs. Although, removing the plenum to change the rears, can be a bit of a pain! (I've got round that by not reinstalling all of the support bracket bolts along the back edge of the plenum! :D)
Standard plugs are NGK BKR6EIX, if you plan on upping your boost at all from stock, it might be worthwhile going for the BKR7EIX instead. Be sure to get the ones WITHOUT a suffix (ie avoid BKR7EIX-11) as these are gapped to, in this case, 1.1mm, rather than the required (and default) 0.8mm. Denso VK20 (equivalent to BKR6EIX) or VK22 (equivalent to BKR7EIX) are also alternatives.
Thanks for the info, I'll try the maf approach first, it was apparently serviced before I bought it but I'm not sure the plugs were done so I'll probably change them just to be sure.
Yeah they look like fun to change those rear plugs!!
A conversion kit would be great I'll keep my eyes peeled for an update on them! Guess there will be loads of owners crying out for an affordable solution to the coil pack issue!
From personal experience ,if you have issues with a cold start focusing on the MAF first is definitely good advice before changing plugs or coil packs.
If it turns out to be the MAF, Garry recently supplied some excellent servicing / soldering work on my MAF with thanks to Tony_T's guide.
Might be worth looking at this Thread: Stalling when in drive auto? Any ideas
Cheers for the advise, I'll check the maf sensor first, not looking forward to doing the plugs anyway!
It's OK when it gets warm but still a tiny but fluffy on tickover. When your accelerating it's fine as well.
@Braddy40 did the MAF job make an improvement? Or is it too soon to know?
So i unplugged the maf sensor hardly wanted to run, turned it off plugged the maf sensor back in and it runs smooth as silk!???
I'm guessing the fault will return?
Hi Tony,Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony_T
Didn't want to temp fate and update the thread too soon with the great news as I guess its still early days considering my intermittent fault sometimes re-surfacing weeks later.
But as it happens it had a bit of a hiccup yesterday so might be worth adding an update now .
Re-fitted the repaired MAF Friday thanks to Gary's great service and spent the long weekend making 6 cold starts and test drives. It ran faultlessly which is a great news.
Noticed an improvement straight away as the start up seemed to have a more definite, focused, precise start up, if that makes sense.
Yesterday I started the car and made the mistake of standing at the back of the car as it warmed up checking the small amount smoke and admiring the steady smooth flow out of the exhaust.
Suddenly it began to stutter and smoke more than it has in the past coughing out uneven clouds of smoke. ( probably wouldn't have done it if I had driven away, that will teach me to admire my car!) :(
This was a new fault for me as my original involved loosing power and stalling intermittently from cold start when putting the car into drive.
Fortunately in this case I was able to drive away with the stuttering exhaust and it then cleared quickly and returned to driving faultlessly.
I have since tested twice today from cold and all is well hoping it was a small glitch of running a little rich and isn't an issue.
Probably update again in a week or two to see if it returns or that my original intermittent fault returns.
Tony, can I ask if the smoking exhaust sounds familiar and what the running issues would have been with the cars that you had repaired the MAFs for?
I will try and attach a small video when the car was smoking yesterday ( volume need to be up high to hear full effect)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6noA6cthAY
I only had the one car with the fault but when the MAF was giving extra pulses to the ECU it added fuel as it thought there was more airflow than there really was and black smoke was seen at times but not always. Is your smoke black?