BimmerLife Coil DIY

[morffius]

I didn't see any DIY for the BL Coils from Alex, so I thought I would make my own. I know it is not a very complicated process, but for those like me with 0 car experience sometimes a simple DIY can be very helpful!. I won't reiterate in pictures the basic steps so please refer to other spark plug replacement guides for more of those details. I will focus on the coil install itself.

1st impression of the harness -- excellent quality with well fitting plugs and perfect lengths to ensure everything is plugged in the right way.

Please refer to this spark plug DIY on 1addicts for removal of the cabin filter, cowl, engine cover, OEM coils and plugs.
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=602804

Tools:
Hex wrench 5mm
8mm socket
10mm socket
13mm socket
wrench
Torque Wrench - 23NM
Thin wall spark plug tool
wrench extension tool
6 plugs: I used GK 95770 gapped at 0.30

1. Remove the Cabin Filter - 8mm socket -- refer to link
2. Remove the Cowl - 8mm socket -- refer to link
3. Remove the engine cover - hex wrench 5mm -- refer to link
4. Remove OG oils by popping up the cap and then pulling straight up with an extension tool.
5. In effort to not mix up the coil cables I did one at a time. I inserted the coils with no additional dielectric grease. Use a 45 to 60 degree angle to ensure there is space for the connectors.

6. Lets take a closer look at the connectors! As you can see there is a flat portion on the connector which attaches to the original coil cable. This flay portion matches with the flat portion on the original connector. There is also a little bump which then slots into the open space not he original connector.

7. The Audi Coil plug is the larger of the two.
8. Repeat the process for the rest of the plugs! 3 down, 3 to go!

8. Tap into the power: Behind the washer fluid fill port there is the + battery lead and a black cap. The black cap is removed by just pulling it off. This exposes a 13mm nut on the right side which we will use for the Positive (RED CONNECTOR ON THE HARNESS).

9. Connect the BLACK WIRE of the harness HERE

10. I routed the Harness wires behind the other cabling in the area and underneath the rear left engine cover screw point

11. When putting the engine cover back on I screwed in 3 of the screws and ended up not screwing down the rear left screw as I did not want to push down too hard to engage the screw. There may be a better way to route the rear end of the harness.
12. Reverse installing the Cowl and Cabin filter
13. Using MHD reflash with your favorite map and make sure in OPTIONS to click the BL coil box.
14. Fire it up!

Thanks all.

 

[Mikenazz]

Great write-up,

What differences did u feel with these?

 

[morffius]

I am going to hold off on commenting until I get at least a few more days with them. I may even change the plugs to the autolite or n20s and compare some logs between them.

 

[Bmwfixerguy1]

So why the additional ground? Was the factory ground not sufficient enough for higher voltage?

 

[Alex@BimmerLifeTuning]

So why the additional ground? Was the factory ground not sufficient enough for higher voltage?

The factory ground is through the dme being a dumb coil. Smart coils have their own power and ground and are signal controlled. Also the factory wiring isn't thick enough for the extra amperage 16amps vs 7amps

 

[Bmwfixerguy1]

The factory ground is through the dme being a dumb coil. Smart coils have their own power and ground and are signal controlled. Also the factory wiring isn't thick enough for the extra amperage 16amps vs 7amps

Ahhh so it uses separate power and ground for the secondary side and then just the trigger for the for the primary side?? I'm still slightly confused on what gets converted from what to what I guess

 

[Alex@BimmerLifeTuning]

Ahhh so it uses separate power and ground for the secondary side and then just the trigger for the for the primary side?? I'm still slightly confused on what gets converted from what to what I guess

Separate power and ground for primary side, signal activated. The secondary side is that same as factory or any other coil.

 

[Erichale77]

So then increasing secondary ground current would also be beneficial. Good to know

 

[Alex@BimmerLifeTuning]

The secondary side is thousands of volts and very little current, it could be 10 times smaller and still be sufficient.

 

[Bmwfixerguy1]

Separate power and ground for primary side, signal activated. The secondary side is that same as factory or any other coil.

Yes that's actually what I meant to say and then it stays the same from the dme it's just signal activated vs ground side switched correct?? That's what the mhd end takes care of..

 

[Maximum96]

Now someone do one for us 5ers...

 

[Bmwfixerguy1]

Now someone do one for us 5ers...

It should all be very very similar.. I just can't for the life of me picture an e6x power distribution block! We don't see them anymore really, early f10s are even getting scarce in the shop

 

[Alex@BimmerLifeTuning]

We don't see them anymore really, early f10s are even getting scarce in the shop

I was just saying the same thing

 

[Bmwfixerguy1]

I was just saying the same thing

An f10 with an n52 in it... What a Dinosaur lol

 

[morffius]

Spark plug update:
My setup: FBO, stage 2 lpfp, running MHD ots e60 map

Autolite xp 5682
1. Gapped at 0.030 - immediate misfires on starting the car
2. Gapped at 0.024 - immediate misfires on starting the car

Ngk 95770
1. Gapped at 0.030 - worked well for a few days. Car was not 100% smooth and then popped the silicone tube off of the intercooler on high boost. Once I fixed the boost leak, I started to get lots of timing changes on cylinder 5.

2. Gapped at 0.028 - cylinder 6 misfires on startup

3. Gapped at 0.026 - VERY smooth, vibration is almost non existent. On WOT there is minimal timing correction

My next test will be the n20 plugs which many have reported work well with stock gap.

At this point I wouldn't waste time or money on the Autolites.

With the BL coils there is a noticeable improvement in smoothness and startup. On e60 it feels like the car is just running normal 91. The wife test confirms this. She finds it a night and day difference!

 

[Bmwfixerguy1]

Spark plug update:
My setup: FBO, stage 2 lpfp, running MHD ots e60 map

Autolite xp 5682
1. Gapped at 0.030 - immediate misfires on starting the car
2. Gapped at 0.024 - immediate misfires on starting the car

Ngk 95770
1. Gapped at 0.030 - worked well for a few days. Car was not 100% smooth and then popped the silicone tube off of the intercooler on high boost. Once I fixed the boost leak, I started to get lots of timing changes on cylinder 5.

2. Gapped at 0.028 - cylinder 6 misfires on startup

3. Gapped at 0.026 - VERY smooth, vibration is almost non existent. On WOT there is minimal timing correction

My next test will be the n20 plugs which many have reported work well with stock gap.

At this point I wouldn't waste time or money on the Autolites.

With the BL coils there is a noticeable improvement in smoothness and startup. On e60 it feels like the car is just running normal 91. The wife test confirms this. She finds it a night and day difference!

Very very good info!

I'll confirm the Autolite are a waste of time for any set up!

I'm in for some n20 comparison for sure.. Seems like you have some good experience on all of them I'm really curious to see if the n20s are just gonna take the cake with out question

 

[Erichale77]

See if 0.024 gap is even better for WOT

 

[V8bait]

Spark plug update:
My setup: FBO, stage 2 lpfp, running MHD ots e60 map

Autolite xp 5682
1. Gapped at 0.030 - immediate misfires on starting the car
2. Gapped at 0.024 - immediate misfires on starting the car

Ngk 95770
1. Gapped at 0.030 - worked well for a few days. Car was not 100% smooth and then popped the silicone tube off of the intercooler on high boost. Once I fixed the boost leak, I started to get lots of timing changes on cylinder 5.

2. Gapped at 0.028 - cylinder 6 misfires on startup

3. Gapped at 0.026 - VERY smooth, vibration is almost non existent. On WOT there is minimal timing correction

My next test will be the n20 plugs which many have reported work well with stock gap.

At this point I wouldn't waste time or money on the Autolites.

With the BL coils there is a noticeable improvement in smoothness and startup. On e60 it feels like the car is just running normal 91. The wife test confirms this. She finds it a night and day difference!

Good info on the autolite I've not seen them used before, what brought you to try them? People should be avoiding the GTR plugs as well, lots of issues.

The 95770 should be perfectly fine out of the box with the BL coils. That's what I'm running on the PR for the last couple thousand miles and a long road trip at .031" on maxed out stockers, the BL shouldn't struggle there at all either.

N20 are my current recommendation for high power builds, they seem to do well but are colder than the 95770 so might need to gap down ever so slightly compared to the others to prevent misfires over time as carbon accumulates. There's a couple other plugs I've heard people using, someone mentioned the LKAR8AI-9 6706 which is a heat range 9 (3 steps colder than OEM) and used in motorcycles but I haven't tried it, I think Tony did last year and had a few misfires and went back to 95770 but might be worth checking into as well.

 

[morffius]

I thought autolite would be a good cost effective option but they suck. I also live in BFE with very little access to reasonable parts unless I buy them online.

I suspect that my 95770 issues may partly be from poor gapping technique where I may have put some pressure on the tip. Now I have a good feeler gauge and gapper.

https://www.buckperformance.com/Spark-Plug-Gapper-Tool-p/spgt-212.htm

 

[Kommodore]

You should have zero issues on the n20 plugs. Running perfect on e40 tune right now at the stock gap.