# Coming to my 55,000 service (Spark Plugs?)



## CincyAudi (Feb 19, 2007)

I am coming up on my 55,000 service and the dealer told me the spark plugs are replaced during this service. They quoted me something like $200 to replace them and I LOL'ed. I used to buy Bosch Platinum pre-gapped spark plugs for my Chevy and it only cost me $2 a plug. 
So my question is, do you guys replace your own plugs and what brand does Audi use? Is it an OEM plug or do they just use a Bosch (German company) spark plug? Also if you buy your own, do you get them at the local Auto Zone or from Audi? With a four cylinder, it should be a piece of cake. Are there any tips to changing your own plugs on a 2.0T A3? What should the gap be for the spark plugs?


_Modified by CincyAudi at 7:28 PM 9/10/2009_


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## vwlippy (Jul 17, 2001)

*Re: Coming to my 55,000 service (CincyAudi)*

The stock plugs for the A3 are way more than $2 per piece. Germanautoparts.com has them for about $11/plug. 
http://www.germanautoparts.com...192/1 
Changing the plugs is not hard if you have the right tools. You'll need a fairly long extension and the proper spark plug socket. Be careful pulling the harnesses off of the coilpacks... the tabs break pretty easily. Another tip: remove the ratchet and thread the plugs on with the extension by hand to get them started. You want to make sure you don't cross thread/strip the cyl head.


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## njpeteo (Mar 31, 2001)

*Re: Coming to my 55,000 service (CincyAudi)*

I performed 55k service myself and changing spark plugs on our cars is a piece of cake. I got mine Bosch spark plugs from mjmautohaus.com for $49.95 for a set shipped to my door. ECS Tuning also carries all maintenance parts for our cars.


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## dmorrow (Jun 9, 2000)

*Re: Coming to my 55,000 service (njpeteo)*

Here's an excellent write up along with other service instructions. 
http://oooo-a3.blogspot.com/20....html
I used the strap idea to pull out the coils.


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## MisterJJ (Jul 28, 2005)

*Re: Coming to my 55,000 service (CincyAudi)*

You definitely want to stick with the Bosch plug mentioned above or the NGK mentioned in the link. I started using the Bosch Platinum +4 in my old Scirocco that had fouling problems and continued to use them in my GTI and then my Jetta. So when the wife's Passat needed plugs I got them instead of the OEM NGK Iridium because those had looked pretty worn out. Big mistake. Car ran like crap. I did some research and found out that newer cars require a specific spark location to work well. I believe this is doubly so for our FSI engine. I had liked the Bosch brand so I switched to the Bosch recommended plug. They went a little over 10k miles before I started getting misfires. I checked my records and discovered that I never changed the plugs at the first recommended interval! DOH! I think I had intended to look for a good price on them and simply forgot about it. I put in the correct NGK Iridiums and they work great. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 



_Modified by MisterJJ at 6:44 AM 9/11/2009_


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## CincyAudi (Feb 19, 2007)

So the OEM spark plug for the 2006 2.0T is a NGK Iridium? Does anyone have the part number? Is this something that can be bought at the local AutoZone?


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## Audi'sRevenge (Mar 24, 2008)

*Re: (CincyAudi)*


_Quote, originally posted by *CincyAudi* »_So the OEM spark plug for the 2006 2.0T is a NGK Iridium? Does anyone have the part number? Is this something that can be bought at the local AutoZone?

OE spark plugs are an odd thing. I've found that they are often priced a good bit higher than the plugs you buy off the shelf in the parts stores and often it isn't really for a good reason (though as indicated by MisterJJ there may indeed be a good reason in the case of these cars). 
According to the link above the OE plug is a Bosch plug, though again it's not any of the Platinum or +4 or whatever else they sell in the mainstream market, it's an "OE" type plug which again carries a price premium.
NGK "Iridium *IX*" for example is their off-the-shelf line which aren't exactly cheap to begin with but are still cheaper than their "*Laser* Iridium" plugs which are typically the "OE" type application. Personally I've used mainstream off-the-shelf plugs in lots of other cars, including the Iridium IX, without any problems whatsoever. _But_ going off MisterJJ's comments this may not be a great idea on these cars and you might want to spend the extra cash on the OE type plugs (NGK or otherwise) if you want to be sure not to run into problems.
The good thing here (with the 2.0T) is that it's only four plugs so even at $12 a plug it's not going to really put a huge hole in your pocket; and, it's about a 90,000km interval which is only every 4-5 years for most people.


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## JLT (May 18, 2008)

i like the stock oem plugs the best, the bosch .028 gappers.
i recently had bad experiences with the denso iridium power .04 gappers "IK20" and i noticed with the NGK BKRE7IX or whatever it is that my gas mileage was not as good and i had a lot more soot coming out my tail pipe.


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## MisterJJ (Jul 28, 2005)

*Re: (JLT)*


_Quote, originally posted by *JLT* »_i like the stock oem plugs the best, the bosch .028 gappers.
i recently had bad experiences with the denso iridium power .04 gappers "IK20" and i noticed with the NGK BKRE7IX or whatever it is that my gas mileage was not as good and i had a lot more soot coming out my tail pipe.

The correct NGK plug, BKR7EIX has a .032 gap. If the plugs you had were .04 gap, they may not have been the right ones to use.


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## [email protected] (Aug 21, 2008)

*Re: (MisterJJ)*

Bosch: http://www.dbcperformance.com/...s.htm
NGK: http://www.dbcperformance.com/...x.htm


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## Audi'sRevenge (Mar 24, 2008)

*Re: (MisterJJ)*


_Quote, originally posted by *MisterJJ* »_
The correct NGK plug, BKR7EIX has a .032 gap. If the plugs you had were .04 gap, they may not have been the right ones to use.

x2, but why not just regap the NGKs with the larger gap? On the Iridiums they tell you not to due to the "extremely fine centre electrode" but you can still do it, just have to be real careful.


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## Xymox (Jul 1, 1999)

*Re: (Audi'sRevenge)*

I picked mine up from genuinevwaudiparts.com for Total: $47.52. Since I ordered the rest of the crap for the 55k service, shipping doesn't count.
NOTE: easy as hell to change these spark plugs.


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## CincyAudi (Feb 19, 2007)

Since I am changing the plugs myself, should I also replace my coils? When should the coils be replaced? I don't want to replace someone that doesn't need to be replaced yet.


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## Xymox (Jul 1, 1999)

*Re: (CincyAudi)*


_Quote, originally posted by *CincyAudi* »_Since I am changing the plugs myself, should I also replace my coils? When should the coils be replaced? I don't want to replace someone that doesn't need to be replaced yet.

Unless you have a bad coil(s), no point in replacing them.


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## CincyAudi (Feb 19, 2007)

*Re: (Xymox)*

Does Audi recommend replacing them after so many miles? My car seems to idle fine.


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