I recently replaced the plugs in my 2001 3.0i. They were original at 170k, but working just fine.

I replaced with the OES NGK as specified. Not looking to make a research project out of trying something different. Others may be better, but the OE ones were working fine at 170k, so ...

The main difficulty/risk/problem was removing the old ones. At 170k they were in there pretty tight. Some more than others. My main concern was not stripping out the threads when removing them. Patience, air blasts, WD40, more patience, and going slow and careful I was able to get them all out with no problems.

I _did_ use antiseize. I try to understand the reasons behind the things I do. If you read the official reports on this, their main concern is that antiseize will result in over-torquing due to reduced thread friction.

So what I did, and now will do all the time, is to follow the _angular_ torque specification, which you will probably find on the NGK box. For these, which have a gasket, the first time they are installed (i.e., before the gasket crushes) the spec (from memory) is finger tight and then 1/2 - 2/3 of a turn. To do that carefully I used a breaker bar, moving it 1/6 of a turn at a time - no ratchet makes it easier to measure the angle carefully since you can't get the full angle in one turn on these cars. BTW, I have 4 torque wrenches, so that's not the reason I think this is best.

Regarding comments on 100k changes vs. earlier. The manufacturers all want to sell their new cars advertising minimal maintenance requirements, so they say 100k. The fact that my original ones lasted 170k (no problems at all with the old or new ones - no change, not even placebo effect) shows that good plugs can last that long. In my opinion, the only reason to remove earlier than 100k would be to reduce the chance of ripping out threads upon removal.

Other more obvious tips:
- clean out the spark plug well as well as you can before removing the plug so nothing falls in to muck up the threads.
- I use masking tape (thin) to hold the spark plug socket to the socket extension, so they don't separate, leaving the spark plug socket stuck on the spark plug.
- I put dielectric grease on the rubber parts that need to slip off again one day

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2001 X5 3.0i, 203k miles, AT, owned since 2014