strange engine behaviour - any clues???

veecee · Post by **veecee** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 9:49 am

hello there everyone.

flippin nice day we having, specially when the damn CA18det starts giving shit hey.

i'm at work in the !@$!@$^ xtrail this morning, because yesterday my sx decided that enough was enough.

its a strange thing, and i'd appreciate any insight if anyone has any!

hte motor is mostly stock except for forged pistons, electric fans, and i've gotten rid of the idling control (it wasn't working anyway) and the cold start system!

when the motor is warmed up (stock gauge half way up), aftermarket guessometer reading about 95, after a trip from edenvale to beyers naude', when i get the car into boost, it misfires, splutters, farts, loss of power, smell of fuel, and very very loud banging noises out the exhuast.

i had a very loud tappet noise the day before, so i checked oil and it was low, so i filled it again. the next day (yesterday, same day it wasnt happy after work) it drove extremely smoothly again, and i was very impressed. that is until i was almost home yesterday afternoon and the above happened.

i even went to the drift meeting in the damn xtrail!!!

anyone know why the engine might be behaving like that?

Dislex666 · Post by **Dislex666** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 9:59 am

sounds like coil packs to me (from your description)

you check teh plugs?

Phinx · Post by **Phinx** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 10:47 am

Plugs.

It happens on my car once in a while.

My car runs through plugs. I use plan NGK coppers. Stuff iridium !

Gary57 · Post by **Gary57** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 10:50 am

You wont believe me but my car did that exact thing on Monday. Gave the car a good burn to 6000rpm and its all gone away, its definately the plugs fouling up (because I drive like a granny).

ChemCool · Post by **ChemCool** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 10:59 am

My car runs through plugs. I use plan NGK coppers. Stuff iridium !

Phinx, interesting remark on irridiums? Why. What happened?

veecee · Post by **veecee** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 10:59 am

thats actually a good pointer...

i remember this from the last time i had to pull the motor.

my number one plug seems to get oil leaking on top of the plug, and the oil seems to come from the cam timing gear cover. i will have to get that off to check for leaks, but that oil could get under the pretty red insulator thingies and stuff up the spark.

also - i do drive like your gran most of the time. i have to do high mileage on freeways, so i generally never do more than say 3500rpm. if i do push it to the redline (which i do like to do) its never for very long.

so my plugs are fouling. cool, will check it out.

any advice on plug gaps. the standard is 1.1mm, but i've heard people talking about 0.8mm on turbo cars. what's the truth regarding plug gaps???

shot guys!

ChemCool · Post by **ChemCool** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 11:04 am

If not mistaken, previous posts and threads on sparkplugs.

Dislex666 · Post by **Dislex666** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 11:04 am

1.1mm is kak!

i ran on .6mm before switching to BCPR7-ES

didn't gap those, and they worked fine

I'm with phinx on the irridiums

not worth the cash

Gary57 · Post by **Gary57** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 11:07 am

0.8mm it will give a stronger spark especially if you have a weak coil pack.

ChemCool · Post by **ChemCool** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 11:18 am

I'm with phinx on the irridiums not worth the cash

Please help man, give some reasons. Facts.

veecee · Post by **veecee** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 11:24 am

yeah i get the feeling my coil packs are a little tired.

this could be another 20 questions thread!!!

whats the deal with having coil packs mounted somewhere else, and running high tension leads. i think i would prefer that! would i have to change the management system for something like that?

Dislex666 · Post by **Dislex666** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 12:13 pm

ChemCool wrote:
I'm with phinx on the irridiums not worth the cash
Please help man, give some reasons. Facts.

i just figure they expensive man, it's like 4-500 for a 4 Ir plugs vs. 140 for 4 Cu plugs.

Don't know too much re: pros/cons performance/reliability wise

Vlade · Post by **Vlade** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 1:21 pm

I'd try just replacing the plugs with the correct gapped ones... if it sill continues... Coils, then you got two choices... convert them into AM coils or source Spit Fires (best option) and it will be cheaper than R1250 from Nissan.

Phinx · Post by **Phinx** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 1:53 pm

best plug for me are BCP7ES.

Yep the plug name is correct , Gap I use is 1.0mm the higher the boost the less the gap. I run 0.5 bar most of the time ,only using 0.8 bar for drag.

irridiums are to much cash. and Are only really need with CAT systems.
Plan coppers have been proven to make more power.

Here you guys go. this site has the best info on CA's
But this link is about coils.

URl: http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread/178931

Dislex666 · Post by **Dislex666** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 1:55 pm

aight!

what phinx said