simmo310890 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 So, newish Z for me and its decided to give up on me i think. Was running fine and then approached a steep hill, accelerated to overtake and nothings been right since, revs only went to 5k so not excessive. Straight after that the car has been misfiring, sounded like a scooby and had no power low down. Got home, pulled the codes, 300, random/multi misfire and 112 the VVT solonoid. Took the VVT off, cleaned it and cleaned the plug, reset ecu, little drive still running as bad and eml light came back on. This time code 300 and 304. Looked in cylinder 4, plug looked prwtty bad considering its only been in 3k. Replaced that and coil pack just to be sure and its just as bad. Also cleaned thw MAF sensor and TB, that was filthy and oily but no improvement, still throwing code 300 and has no power and juders in low revs, engine sounds very ticky too. Whats my next thing to try then please gents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lance350 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Does it use coolant or oil? Overheat? When u said the plug is bad was it just black and sooty or something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simmo310890 Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 Coolant is fine doesnt move, oil it is using quite alot of. No overheating at all. Plug was sooty and a bit white, will get a pic now and a video of the engine running Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simmo310890 Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 This was the plug from cylinder 4, only been in the car for 3-4k max Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Have you checked the condition of all the plugs? and is it actually misfiring still? Worth checking the coil pack connections, also may be worth removing all the plugs and check visually for a spark, and while you at it run a compression test just to satisfy yourself there is nothing else amiss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lance350 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 i'm on my phone so i cant give it a proper look but the spark plug don't look that bad to me. Whats the millage of the car, service history etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 That is a cheap copper plug, best to bin them. Alex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 That is a cheap copper plug, best to bin them. Alex. Nothing at all wrong with copper core plugs, the ONLY difference between them and platinum or iridium is service life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Iridium or Platinum plugs are far superior to copper for the VQ35DE 350Z IMHO. Bin the copper and fit proper plugs. Alex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simmo310890 Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 Changed plugs and coils on passanger side and noticible difference. Still very bogged down in low rpm 1-2.5rpm. Will get drivers side changed tomorrow, slightly embarrassing if this is just plugs. will post video of running now, very ticky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Iridium or Platinum plugs are far superior to copper for the VQ35DE 350Z IMHO. Bin the copper and fit proper plugs. Alex. I disagree! care to quantify that statement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Changed plugs and coils on passanger side and noticible difference. Still very bogged down in low rpm 1-2.5rpm. Will get drivers side changed tomorrow, slightly embarrassing if this is just plugs. will post video of running now, very ticky It wont be because of the type of plug, unless they have become fouled because of another engine or electrical problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark@Abbey m/s Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 So, newish Z for me and its decided to give up on me i think. Was running fine and then approached a steep hill, accelerated to overtake and nothings been right since, revs only went to 5k so not excessive. Straight after that the car has been misfiring, sounded like a scooby and had no power low down. Got home, pulled the codes, 300, random/multi misfire and 112 the VVT solonoid. Took the VVT off, cleaned it and cleaned the plug, reset ecu, little drive still running as bad and eml light came back on. This time code 300 and 304. Looked in cylinder 4, plug looked prwtty bad considering its only been in 3k. Replaced that and coil pack just to be sure and its just as bad. Also cleaned thw MAF sensor and TB, that was filthy and oily but no improvement, still throwing code 300 and has no power and juders in low revs, engine sounds very ticky too. Whats my next thing to try then please gents Is it still throwing the VVT code 112? if this code is up the VVT wont work will go into limp which will be fully retarded the car will feel very gutless @ low RPM/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simmo310890 Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 No 112code anymore, thats exactly what it was when that code was up though. I cleaned up the flithy plug and inside the solonoid, which wasnt really dirty tbh and then after a ecu reset it went. Car is still jumpy at lower rpm but nothing like when the VVT code was coming up. Was gunna replace them but my limited knowledge says to me that the problem is elsewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lance350 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 But even if the plugs are shot it shouldn't be buring oil should it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Re: The spark plugs. My understanding is that the metal in the spark plug is there for the purpose of channeling the electric current from the wire in the plug to the engine block in the form of a spark. I believe copper is a more conductive material than iridium or platinum and also doesn't overheat as much as I'm lead to believe the other two materials do. So: Copper spark plugs Upside = More conductive, less likely to overheat meaning less chance of poor spark. Downside = Need changing more often (in my experience though you can always re-gap them to make them last a little longer ). Iridium & platinum spark plugs Upside = Last much longer than copper with iridium having the longest lifespan & best performance. Downside = Less conductive & more susceptible to overheating. Not sure what Nissan recommend for the VQ35 but would be interested to know what Mark, Ricky & Alex make on the subject in between helping solve simmo's issues. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Warnes Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Re: The spark plugs. My understanding is that the metal in the spark plug is there for the purpose of channeling the electric current from the wire in the plug to the engine block in the form of a spark. I believe copper is a more conductive material than iridium or platinum and also doesn't overheat as much as I'm lead to believe the other two materials do. So: Copper spark plugs Upside = More conductive, less likely to overheat meaning less chance of poor spark. Downside = Need changing more often (in my experience though you can always re-gap them to make them last a little longer ). Iridium & platinum spark plugs Upside = Last much longer than copper with iridium having the longest lifespan & best performance. Downside = Less conductive & more susceptible to overheating. Not sure what Nissan recommend for the VQ35 but would be interested to know what Mark, Ricky & Alex make on the subject in between helping solve simmo's issues. Direct from the NGK website - All NGK spark plugs including precious metal Iridium and Platinum Plugs have a Copper core. See Here: http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/pdf/dyk_5points.pdf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=copper+platinum+or+iridium+plugs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 (edited) But even if the plugs are shot it shouldn't be buring oil should it? If it burning oil then its down to bad ring/bore seal, as i said before it would be worth running a compression test to see if that's the case. Back to the plug scenario... Copper core plugs have long been considered the better plug by racers, and in particular un suppressed, but other than that, out of the plethora of different types, material's and designs over the last 100 odd years that they have been about, there has been no documented evidence that any one plug is better that any other performance wise, longevity yes, but performance no! Just for example i have used nothing but copper core plugs in all my cars, and that covers bikes, everyday motors and highly tuned motors, mainly because i wont pay a silly premium for not having to change them for X amount of thousand miles, and also partly because i like to look at my plugs every now and then because there is no better indicator of the way your engine is running. I always prefer copper core over any other, and especially over iridium, as in my experience iridium plugs have a tendency to be rather fragile when subjected to det, and especially with boosted applications, i have seen them cause engine damage on occasion because the ceramics fail under det, which the general consensus is that its because of the electrode being extra stiff which causes the ceramic insulator to crack and fail. Edit: just to clarify i refer to copper core plugs at the std type, regardless of the core material of the other tow types. Edited January 8, 2015 by Tricky-Ricky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Direct from the NGK website - All NGK spark plugs including precious metal Iridium and Platinum Plugs have a Copper core. See Here: http://www.ngksparkp...dyk_5points.pdf Learnt somethings in that link that I didn't know. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a2orry Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I'll go with what's already mentioned do a compression test . Im assuming that you always use premium petrol it's well known that standard unleaded wrecks z engines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 But even if the plugs are shot it shouldn't be buring oil should it? If it burning oil then its down to bad ring/bore seal, as i said before it would be worth running a compression test to see if that's the case. Or with a bit of luck **** thin oil. Magnatec maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simmo310890 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 I always use vpower as i live 30secs from a shell, its what was used for the previous 9 years i do not know, apart from the first owner, he was from here attackZ or something along those lines so he would have used vpower for sure. Last service reciept said 5/30 fully synthetic for oil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 But even if the plugs are shot it shouldn't be buring oil should it? If it burning oil then its down to bad ring/bore seal, as i said before it would be worth running a compression test to see if that's the case. Or with a bit of luck **** thin oil. Magnatec maybe? I have read several posts where people say this about Magmatec...yet it WILL be the correct hot viscosity, so why it should behave any different to any other oil of the same viscosity seems ludicrous! If an engine is burning oil then its likely to be ring seal or guides, and although running a thicker oil than std might help reduce this, there is no reason for one particular type to promote the effect, I wonder if this is just a bit of forum hype because one of two people have had coincidental problems? is there a long list of fully documented testing that gives conclusive proof? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 But even if the plugs are shot it shouldn't be buring oil should it? If it burning oil then its down to bad ring/bore seal, as i said before it would be worth running a compression test to see if that's the case. Or with a bit of luck **** thin oil. Magnatec maybe? I have read several posts where people say this about Magmatec...yet it WILL be the correct hot viscosity, so why it should behave any different to any other oil of the same viscosity seems ludicrous! If an engine is burning oil then its likely to be ring seal or guides, and although running a thicker oil than std might help reduce this, there is no reason for one particular type to promote the effect, I wonder if this is just a bit of forum hype because one of two people have had coincidental problems? is there a long list of fully documented testing that gives conclusive proof? It is an odd one but there have been quite a few people who've solved burning oil/smoking issues by changing brand. Could just be a coincidence that's become gospel I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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