Spark Plugs and Associated Info

Spark plugs are an important part of making these cars run properly, in the Coupe Q I use Bosch Triple Electrode plugs and Ralf uses Bosch Platinum 4 plugs in th UR. If you find yourself looking at a car without either of this type of plug being used then it is indicative of it being poorly maintained elsewhere. Single electrode plugs don not work well at all in the 5 cylinder engine.

One other problem that is associated with the 5 cylinder engines is oil leaking up the threads of the plug, this is usually caused by two things. The first is the plugs not being correctly torqued when the engine is cold to 20nm. The second is a build of crap around where the plug seats into the head, the cure for this is a thorough clean in this area making sure that this muck does not fall into the cylinders as it is like an abrasive paste. You will also need to remove the oil off the threads on the plugs. I have done this is on the Coupe Q using a spray carb cleaner by Wynns, it's powerful and does a good job.

Other areas that need attention are the distributor cap and rotor arm, for reliability I usually replace these once a year regardless of mileage, this is very often the cause of bad starting and performance. With reagrds to plug leads the OEM Audi leads do last a long time, however they too can often break down and give you a misfire, I tend to go with the OEM ones for replacement as they fit really well both on the plug and distributor cap. In my experience coils very rarely give trouble, they either work or they don't! Don't forget to a little drop of oil(3 or 4 drops maximum) underneath where the rotor arm fits on the distributor.

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Photos will be avaible soon

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