banflu

Hi all ... newbie here!

Just got a 1999 Gran Prix White S2000 as a birthday present for myself last week!
I'm very happy with it overall, but it has a couple of issues, among which, it takes quite long to start, especially in the mornings when it's cold-ish. It sleeps in a garage and the weather is not at all cold here in Malta, so its quite strange.

I dont know if this can change anything, but the car has a Mugen exhaust header, Mugen exhaust (with no cats up to my knowledge), Mugen ECU, Mugen Radiator, radiator cap & thermostat, Spoon throttle body, and a K&N Filter in a carbon-fibre air intake.

Just to elaborate, when I press the starter button, the starter engages immediately, and it sounds like the battery is charged well. It just keeps turning over for about 5 seconds before it actually fires up. It sounds like it doesnt want to start, but it always starts after all.

I tried a search but didnt find anything similar ...

Any ideas?

Thanks
Patrick Bonnici

zeroptzero

how old are the spark plugs, that is usually the culprit as they get condensation on them overnight and if the gap is too large it makes it harder for the spark to jump.

dammitjim

+1 start with the plugs

Kirpich

Also, it's a good idea to research whether the Spoon throttle body is a good mate for the Mugen ECU.

banflu

thanks all, i will check the plugs today. dont know how long theyve been there.
If they're old, a set of "normal" Denso is ok?

Kirpich

Only to test, temporarily. Otherwise, just run the NGK iridiums.

banflu

Hi,

I removed three of the plugs yesterday. Couldnt remove the last one. It seems the previous mechanic thought that they would become loose .. had to weld a 1.5 foot handle to the spark plug remover tool to put them loose ..
i will buy a better one today so i can remove the last one....

anyway, one of the plugs, upon removal, had a part of the ceramic broken. I dont know if it broke while i was removing it, or if it was like this. other than that, they look ok. nice and brown

i was thinking of replacing them all though. They are the "stock" NGK PFR7G-11S.

Should i go with the uprated iridium ones? and what is the part number? I made a search and saw references for:
BKR7EIX
BKR7EIX-11
BKR8EIX
BKR8IEX

which is the correct plug for me? bearing in mind the mugen ECU & exhaust, spoon throttle body .. if these make a difference?

stretch1386

NGK Iridium plugs for the S2K are IFR7G-11KS

2slow2Bfurious

i would be concerned that the ceramic piece fell into the combustion chamber. I would be worried making sure it broke off after you extracted it from the chamber.

i don't know if it's big enough to damage your piston rings or something else.

banflu

the piece that broke, came up with the spark plug. so i did not have to worry about that.

this was yesterday (sunday) evening... as you might know, it is NOT a possibility to not drive the car on a sunday evening. so i just glued it with super glue lol.
it worked, but now i need to buy new ones to put my mind at rest.

its just that other forum members are suggesting the BKR8EIX ..
or is this only when having forced induction?