Z Club of NZ Forum

Hi everyone, My name is Dave and I recently purchased a 1983 Datsun 280ZX which is my first real Datsun apart from a shitbox 1983 Datsun Pulsar 1300 I had in '99/00. I have wanted an old Z since I was a young whippersnapper and finally in my late 30's I am able to afford one.
It has been engine swapped with a Skyline R33 RB25DET and gearbox. It goes ok if you drive it in granddad mode but when I put the boot down, it misses a bit. The coil packs have been changed to new ones but I suspect it could be a crusty old ignition loom giving trouble. I'll get a new one soon and also change the spark plugs out for fresh ones.
Does anyone know what kind of spark plugs work best in these engines, I was going to go iridium but they are quite pricey ($170) for a set. Platinums are $120 a set and standard copper plugs are around $60 a set. Is there any benefit of installing the more expensive precious metal type plugs?

Welcome to the forum. Great to see you have purchased a Z. Yes, it is interesting to see that the S30 series is increasing in value and now the 280ZX is starting to increase in value as a result of this. I can't answer your question about the plugs but I'm sure Google can.
As the membership coordinator, I would encourage you to join the club. this can be done on our front page.

Bernie

Standard plugs are fine for it, I'm pretty sure Asher did them not that long ago though.

djz wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2019 10:44 am Standard plugs are fine for it, I'm pretty sure Asher did them not that long ago though.

I just wonder if the plugs could be causing the engine to misfire under load?

I pulled a plug out today to have a gander, it's an NGK BKR5E-11, I am not certain that these are the correct plugs for an RB25DET?
Some posts online I saw reckoned they were using NGK BCPR6ES-11 plugs (just standard copper cores)

The Repco dude in Dunedin gave me a 3 option list today:
NGK BKR5EiX-11 (Iridium) $28 Ea.
PFR5G-11 (platinum) $19.20 Ea.
BCPR6ES (standard) $7.35 Ea.
What should I go in for?

bernjean wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2019 10:03 am Welcome to the forum. Great to see you have purchased a Z. Yes, it is interesting to see that the S30 series is increasing in value and now the 280ZX is starting to increase in value as a result of this. I can't answer your question about the plugs but I'm sure Google can.
As the membership coordinator, I would encourage you to join the club. this can be done on our front page.

Bernie

Cheers Bernie, I shall join the club.

roddsteel18 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2019 6:57 pm The Repco dude in Dunedin gave me a 3 option list today:
NGK BKR5EiX-11 (Iridium) $28 Ea.
PFR5G-11 (platinum) $19.20 Ea.
BCPR6ES (standard) $7.35 Ea.
What should I go in for?

IMHO if you are swapping out plugs to find a miss and are likely to be doing it again in the near future as you travel down the "getting used to a new vehicle" road, buy the standard plugs. It hurts when the next guy that tries to diagnose (or you change them again just to be sure) throws out your new expensive plugs or decides the ones you purchased are too cold or hot for your engines state of tune..

Buy the fancy plugs for a factory stock engine in good condition in a stock installation or in a vehicle where plug changing is a mission and you're sure you've got the right plugs for the job.

Thanks Andy, yeah I reckon that's a good plan, I read online that I should gap them down from 1.1 to .8 as they don't come gapped at this from factory. I'll get it done on Friday and take her for a burst and see if that solves it.

Welcome to the forum and Zedding, as you've already seen DJZ obviously knows Asher's former Z. It's a fairly close knit community, and a lot of the cars are known, as they pass around the community. If you can head up maybe for the weekend for the Christchurch meet would be worth doing to meet everyone and you may find out more about your 280.