PR Coil leads

martymil

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Sep 6, 2017
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Been battling random timing drops here and there for no reason so I decided to investigate.

Never liked the pr leads because they don't suit my VTT rocker cover but they do the job fine up until now.

So we decided to make our own, they are not cheap to make but the timing drops have almost disappeared.

It could be that mine are older now and beginning to deteriorate.

So we tested their resistance against the new ones and it has some difference.

They look quite nice too.

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Panzerfaust

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Jul 3, 2018
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Mmmmm - red....

How old are these? I'll be in the market after I move, and it appears there's still not a "perfect" solution....
;) both aftermarket coil options are pretty excellent honestly. Each has their pros and cons.

On this platform, aftermarket coils really aren't *needed* until you're pretty heavily modified already (despite some gains in the mid range/in tq) so if you aren't having issues with the stock coils on your current setup it wont hurt to put money towards other things first imo. And as most people into modding and tuning will tell you, the further you go with modifications the less you should expect OE-like parts and fitment. That said, FWIW both modern iterations of the PR and BL options are plug-and-play and pretty easy to use without issue with the knowledge out there now compared to when both were new and experimental.
 

Panzerfaust

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Has anyone else shown or reported gains with coils other than one vendor with what I would call, questionable dyno #s?
I dont recall anyone else posting dynos after just changing coils, if that's what you're asking for. But I do believe I've seen @V8bait as well as a few others mention that they've seen repeatable results in the mid RPM range with aftermarket coils.

I dont believe that's a reason anyone should run out and buy them, but since proper combustion is part of the power making process I don't think it's too far fetched either.
 

335is02

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Mar 10, 2018
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Been battling random timing drops here and there for no reason so I decided to investigate.

Never liked the pr leads because they don't suit my VTT rocker cover but they do the job fine up until now.

So we decided to make our own, they are not cheap to make but the timing drops have almost disappeared.

It could be that mine are older now and beginning to deteriorate.

So we tested their resistance against the new ones and it has some difference.

They look quite nice too.

View attachment 21204View attachment 21205View attachment 21206
Nice. I am having a similar issue with mine wonder if that could be it. I’ll test and check mine They are new. How much were these replacements and where did you find them just Incase I notice similar situation. And what length did you go with?
 

martymil

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We custom made them as you can't buy them for our cars.

I've seen small gains from the pr coils in terms of a much smoother/linear dyno graph.

That alone is worth switching over but the thirst thing you notice is how much smoother the car idles and runs
 
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Torgus

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I dont recall anyone else posting dynos after just changing coils, if that's what you're asking for. But I do believe I've seen @V8bait as well as a few others mention that they've seen repeatable results in the mid RPM range with aftermarket coils.

My limited understanding is that the increase would be because of a better burn or more complete combustion in the cylinder. I guess I don't understand why only in the mid range this would occur. Does anyone have any ideas?


I've seen small gains from the pr coils in terms of a much smoother/linear dyno graph.

That alone is worth switching over but the thirst thing you notice is how much smoother the car idles and runs

I've heard that and it makes sense. Especially if you are going to buy 6 new stock coilpacks there is no reason to not upgrade IMO. When mine start to go I will be upgrading I think...my only dilemma is my m4 delphi packs have a lifetime warranty. Maybe I will just replace them once a month until I have a full set and then resell.
 

veer90

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Nov 16, 2016
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I dont recall anyone else posting dynos after just changing coils, if that's what you're asking for. But I do believe I've seen @V8bait as well as a few others mention that they've seen repeatable results in the mid RPM range with aftermarket coils.

I dont believe that's a reason anyone should run out and buy them, but since proper combustion is part of the power making process I don't think it's too far fetched either.

I think that was VTT. Claimed a pretty significant torque increase due to stronger combustion and higher cylinder pressures after installing PR coils, if memory serves.
 

V8bait

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Nov 2, 2016
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There's been a few dynos, Robert from PR would know better. Tony put them on and dynos, didn't believe it so took them off and lost power and then put them back on again. His gains were unexpected for sure, he was maxed out wgdc but was making an extra psi with coils. Most cars seem to gain around 30ft.lbs or so, but all situations are different.
 

Cmiggz

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Jun 4, 2017
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Hmm pretty odd that yours are red. I have the PR Coils and they have been running flawless. Ive had missfires at the beggining due to the plug not sitting all the way down but now that they are all pushed down i havent had missfires or timing drops. Could it be a bad/faulty coil or something?
 

Panzerfaust

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My limited understanding is that the increase would be because of a better burn or more complete combustion in the cylinder. I guess I don't understand why only in the mid range this would occur. Does anyone have any ideas?




I've heard that and it makes sense. Especially if you are going to buy 6 new stock coilpacks there is no reason to not upgrade IMO. When mine start to go I will be upgrading I think...my only dilemma is my m4 delphi packs have a lifetime warranty. Maybe I will just replace them once a month until I have a full set and then resell.
That's my understanding too, especially judging from the dynos and my own experience with upgraded coils.

As to why? I'm not 100% sure, but I'm sure taking a closer look at the detailed posts PR made would offer a little more insight. Its obvious our stock coils aren't the best option when running higher boost, ethanol etc - I agree it's strange it only happens in the mid range though considering dwell times and spark power are even more important at higher RPMs. Maybe BMW's multispark method makes up for the generally sub-par coil performance at higher RPMs but just isn't ideal in comparison to the rest of the powerband?
I think that was VTT. Claimed a pretty significant torque increase due to stronger combustion and higher cylinder pressures after installing PR coils, if memory serves.
Yep, I think both me and Torgus knew VTT was the vendor to first post those kind of results. But AFAIK no one else (especially just a consumer) has paid for dyno time just for swapping coils and made a forum post which is what I figured he was looking for since he found the VTT results suspect, but I understand why he'd want more info even if VTT and PR aren't related in the slightest.
There's been a few dynos, Robert from PR would know better. Tony put them on and dynos, didn't believe it so took them off and lost power and then put them back on again. His gains were unexpected for sure, he was maxed out wgdc but was making an extra psi with coils. Most cars seem to gain around 30ft.lbs or so, but all situations are different.
I didnt even realize Tony was consistently making an extra PSI during those pulls with maxed WGDC, very impressive. I assumed the gain was just from the superior burn in the mid range that most experience, good to know there's "scaling" gains as well though!
Hmm pretty odd that yours are red. I have the PR Coils and they have been running flawless. Ive had missfires at the beggining due to the plug not sitting all the way down but now that they are all pushed down i havent had missfires or timing drops. Could it be a bad/faulty coil or something?
His are red because they're custom made due to his issues, PR only offers the blue ones.

As for his issues, like he said it was likely in part due to the aluminum valve cover or just age. If he happened to have received the batch that had ill-fitting plug wires it likely would've made things worse too.
 

martymil

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This is a newer lead from pr, either I got a bad batch or they dont last long most likely I got a bad batch.

Guys check you leads with a multimeter, only takes 5 min.

IMG_8041.jpg
 
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