Best coil packs and plug leads for 04 SE?

davekmoore · Postby **davekmoore** » Sun Dec 19, 2010 8:18 pm

My spannerman tells me the items in the title may be due for replacement.

So what recommendations for which types and where to get them from?

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Mon Dec 20, 2010 12:05 am

Lots of suggestions ref plug leads here:
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=43692
&
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=43690

Would do the above first then see how the coil packs are unless he's saying the current ones have gone.

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Mon Dec 20, 2010 1:09 pm

Davex3 wrote:SE doesn't have coils packs, it has coil on plug.

Make sure you get the correct leads for the cops (coil on plugs), as the ones for the mx5s with coil packs wont work.

Yeah, I thought the MX5 went to CoP with the NB8B, but wasn't sure given the SE doesn't run the VVT of the NB8B, but instead runs the NB8A style motor. And of course, was assuming the mechanic in this instance knows the difference between coil packs & CoP!

davekmoore · Postby **davekmoore** » Mon Dec 20, 2010 10:53 pm

93_Clubman wrote:
Davex3 wrote:SE doesn't have coils packs, it has coil on plug.

Make sure you get the correct leads for the cops (coil on plugs), as the ones for the mx5s with coil packs wont work.

Yeah, I thought the MX5 went to CoP with the NB8B, but wasn't sure given the SE doesn't run the VVT of the NB8B, but instead runs the NB8A style motor. And of course, was assuming the mechanic in this instance knows the difference between coil packs & CoP!

Thanks. That'll save me looking (more than I need to) like the idiot I am when I go to the specialists tomorrow.

Postby **Boyracer** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 9:24 am

I'm wondering why your spanner man is suggesting you need to replace these??...Is the car running OK?

davekmoore · Postby **davekmoore** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 12:12 pm

Boyracer wrote:I'm wondering why your spanner man is suggesting you need to replace these??...Is the car running OK?

Runs perfectly 99.9% of the time.

The 0.1% is a very rare loud popping back either on the overrun or when changing up, plus a very odd scenario I've never experienced in a car before:

Changing up when cruising around (so at low revs) the motor will sometimes completely "bog down". Unless I instantly get hard on the throttle and/or feather the clutch, the car will do a series of jerks as if the throttle is being lifted from fully on to fully off until I dip the clutch and the throttle and start the gearchange again. It feels like a momentary complete fuel starvation issue but that's been eliminated as a cause.

Also the sound from my iphone via a tomtom gps cradle and an aux cable to the Alpine head unit includes an engine speed and engine load related whine, which I'm told is partly down to tired ignition leads.

A rolling road tune by a Haltech specialist including putting more fuel in at low loads and low revs, along with new plugs, hasn't produced any improvement in the bogging down.

Adding an interference shielded cable has improved but not removed the audio whine.

Spannerman suspects both problems are caused by a combination of tired leads and maybe the item pictured which probably shouldn't be held together by a cable tie.

IMG_1736 reduced.jpg

Postby **Boyracer** » Wed Dec 29, 2010 5:53 pm

Having seen all the mods on your car listed on your for sale I wouldn't blame the leads and coils....

davekmoore · Postby **davekmoore** » Wed Dec 29, 2010 6:51 pm

Boyracer wrote:Having seen all the mods on your car listed on your for sale I wouldn't blame the leads and coils....

I can hear what you're saying Boyracer but there have been no further performance mods since I bought the car and it didn't exhibit the bogging down issue previously. Having said that it may not previously have been dríven by someone who would cruise around town in it. Frankly, it doesn't bother me particularly but if leads etc would fix it then I'd have it fixed. The rare popping back has always been there though and I've always quite liked it and would actually be sad to see it "fixed". It would defo be good to fix the audio whine though.

timk · Postby **timk** » Wed Dec 29, 2010 8:55 pm

This bogging issue seems to be fairly common on the US equivalent of our SE:
http://www.mazda-speed.com/forum2/index ... 621.0.html

davekmoore · Postby **davekmoore** » Wed Dec 29, 2010 10:08 pm

saboteur wrote:This bogging issue seems to be fairly common on the US equivalent of our SE:
http://www.mazda-speed.com/forum2/index ... 621.0.html

Wow! I hope to make time to do this and hopefully show the car, sorted, to a few people who wanted to tell me I was imagining the issue. Will report back.

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Wed Jan 05, 2011 11:37 am

The reason your spannerman might recommend changing the coilpacks could come from his experience with other makes. I have a late model Falcon with the CoP setup. These have a nominal life of 100,000km but some start to fail from 60,000. So whenever things start going funny with a Falcon the first thing they do is replace all the CoPs, and it often fixes whatever it was. (Step 2 is to replace the O2 sensor)

Does the same apply for NB8B CoPs?

Postby **Boyracer** » Sun Jan 09, 2011 7:44 pm

I would start with the leads... A few of the race cars have had coils fail but they tend to just stop working and not cause an intermittent fault...

davekmoore · Postby **davekmoore** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:50 am

Boyracer wrote:I would start with the leads... A few of the race cars have had coils fail but they tend to just stop working and not cause an intermittent fault...

Thanks Boyracer. Will do and will report back.