I have been told…. Use Champions?

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Loafer61

Loafer61

Active Member
Posts
104
Location
Near Timau, Northern Kenya
I have always used NGK plugs and plug caps since running a Suzuki TS50ER (restricted, but unrestricted to 42mph back in the day). An RD125DX, a GT250, a GSX750, a ZXR750H2 and a GSXR1000K3 followed… all on NGK. Even the current Husaberg TE300 runs NGKs. The Hilux and Landcruisers don’t count as they are running the Devil’s Urine as a fuel.

However I’m told Rover V8s prefer Champion plugs over NGK? Resistance within the plug? What is the Landyzone view on this? What do V8 people choose as their spark plug of choice?

As an aside, I like the NGK ‘no nipple on the spark plug tip’ and the plug cap clicking on. The connections using the ‘nipple on’ seem less secure? Thoughts?
 
Oooooo, hold on. I search for ‘spark plug’ but I have now found this old timer…

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NGK or champion???

NGK or champion??? Which should I go for on 1990 3.9 classic? its the BPR6ES which is the right NGK for my car isnt it? Does it matter if I dont by these from landrover?, as it seems to make a big difference with the lucas parts!:doh:
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I've had dozens of various Land Rovers vehicles with V8's in them. For the love of God please don't waste your money on Champion plugs. The quality is terrible in my experience.
I only fit NGK, or Denso.
Get a set NGK BCP6ES for a road car or BCP5ES (like me) for my Land Rover that never sees the motorway. The 5's run slightly hotter and stay clean even with the low rev life the Landy has.
The "C" in the part number means the plug has a 5/8" hex which is smaller than normal and I find they're easier to handle and fit, especially if your V8 is an early model.
 
The car came with a set of Champions in, and a new set of 8x N9YC Champions plus a new set of 8x BPR8ES. I did a plug change to the new champions (no difference to the misfire at high revs / under load) and yesterday changed to the NGKs.

It didn’t want to tick over when cold on the NGKs but after a couple of gentle blips, it was fine at tickover. Misfire still there as before (I have my money of the distributor cap and rotor being the culprit, should be here in a couple of days).
 
NGK. I've never had trouble with them. Dad used to have a marine shop and used many, many thousands. Had one faulty one, ever.

I run NGK in my VWs and the Disco 1 (actually, everything, in honesty 🤣 )

High RPM misfire can be a worn cam too, if it comes across like like rough running and sudden power tapering off. If it's a hard misfire on a single cylinder, more likely an ignition issue, but then you tend to get some popping or backfiring from ignition is the exhaust system.
 
AllanWorms said:
NGK. I've never had trouble with them. Dad used to have a marine shop and used many, many thousands. Had one faulty one, ever.

I run NGK in my VWs and the Disco 1 (actually, everything, in honesty 🤣 )

High RPM misfire can be a worn cam too, if it comes across like like rough running and sudden power tapering off. If it's a hard misfire on a single cylinder, more likely an ignition issue, but then you tend to get some popping or backfiring from ignition is the exhaust system.
Click to expand...
i had a very worn cam (in the end) it presented as popping under acceleration.it was actually blowback into the inlet when the inlet valve opened, as the exhaust valve wasnt opening
 
The misfire has suddenly started, but I don’t disagree it could be the cam. Looking at changing that in the next 6 months.

The engine starts and ticks over beautifully. Just bad misfire in the top third of the rev range and poor power (compared to a couple of weeks ago) plus engine running slightly hotter. Plugs are very dark when pulled out. It is now popping and banging on over run in the exhaust.

Some background, it is a Rhino Charge car and running std distributor with an RPi Amp2 wired in a cool spot in the bay. Large K&N air filter and open (side exit) pipes. It was running fine until the alternator pulley broke and the belt came off.

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Serpentine Belt made a bid for freedom…

It’s a 3.9l EFi with a serpentine belt running around the water pump, fan, power steering and alternator, so the steering going very heavy was the give away. I turned around and immediately found the belt on the trail, in unmarked condition. Refitted it a couple of times and it leapt straight...
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At that point I did take the distributor cap off as the vacuum adv/retard thingy was hanging off. Fixed that and did not remove the distr, just the cap. However it is in a poor state internally so waiting for a new cap to arrive.
 
Strange how people's experience varies, even those owning the same make/type of engines.
I've used Champions in a variety of cars, not just 4x4's, for decades & can't remember ever having a problem though admittedly the recommended replacement interval of 12k may be shorter than modern plugs from different manufs.

My RRC V8 doesn't currently use Champs. as NGK's were fitted at last year's service carried out by my Indie. & I've no intention of changing them just for the sake of it.

nb. you can't always trust a well known name for all their products. Guided by NGK's reputation for spark plugs I had the garage fit one of their crank position sensors to my old 5 series .. it lasted less than a month :oops:
 
Last edited:
`Not very helpfully, I had changed the plugs from used Champs N9YC to new ones to new NGK BPR6ES. Still the same misfire, but a new distributor and rotor has now sorted it.

The 3.9 is running beautifully on NGKs but it did on Champs too before. It would appear that the problem was elsewhere, however I have a lovely set of red Magnecor leads coming and will stay on NGKs. I also treated myself to a £20 double spark plug tester so that is fun comparing sparkplugs against each other for the best spark!
 
Glad you sorted the problem.

In leaving the discussion the only advice I can offer is that despite the RV8's antique design it doesn't perform well (or sometimes at all) with cheap ignition components. I have personal experience of the poor quality dizzy caps & rotor arms that prolificate the market these days & have a well running 3.5efi after removing & cleaning up my original (genuine) cap & rotor, despite them being 37 years old.
 
I know we are chatting about this on two forums Norseman, but thanks! I don’t think the old one is original (circa 1996 I think, if it was. Nothing last that long in Africa!), but it was properly scarred on the contacts. It is hard to tell what the clearance is between the cap and rotor once it is on too.

All of this, then makes me ask these types of questions!

www.landyzone.co.uk

Std v’s 123 Ignition v’s Megasquirt in general, but as it relates to a V8 too…

Discussion here on a Series 3: https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/electronic-ignition-123-vs-britpart.355918/#post-4945249 And a good (old) discussion here: https://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?6,30614,page=1 However after messing about with the standard ignition on my 3.9EFi, I wondered...
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Loafer61 said:
I know we are chatting about this on two forums Norseman, but thanks! I don’t think the old one is original (circa 1996 I think, if it was. Nothing last that long in Africa!), but it was properly scarred on the contacts. It is hard to tell what the clearance is between the cap and rotor once it is on too.

All of this, then makes me ask these types of questions!

www.landyzone.co.uk

Std v’s 123 Ignition v’s Megasquirt in general, but as it relates to a V8 too…

Discussion here on a Series 3: https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/electronic-ignition-123-vs-britpart.355918/#post-4945249 And a good (old) discussion here: https://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?6,30614,page=1 However after messing about with the standard ignition on my 3.9EFi, I wondered...
www.landyzone.co.uk www.landyzone.co.uk
Click to expand...
Just out of interest my original cap is blue in colour, marked 'made in UK' & appears/feels more solid than the new black replacements. The ring of contacts are shielded ie only the inside of each one is visible whereas the new ones are totally exposed & don't seem to locate positively on the dizzy. The original rotor arm, also UK made, is again of better quality.

I returned the new cap & rotor to the supplier citing 'unfit for purpose' & received a full refund.
 
norseman said:
Just out of interest my original cap is blue in colour, marked 'made in UK' & appears/feels more solid than the new black replacements. The ring of contacts are shielded ie only the inside of each one is visible whereas the new ones are totally exposed & don't seem to locate positively on the dizzy. The original rotor arm, also UK made, is again of better quality.

I returned the new cap & rotor to the supplier citing 'unfit for purpose' & received a full refund.
Click to expand...
Blue were always the best. The centre electrode(which runs on the dizzy arm) also stronger. Later ones seem to break down.
Never silicone the cap to keep the water out this appears to break the caps down quicker
 
Loafer61 said:
Good advice. My ‘new’ blue one doesn’t have one side protected, but my old kanckered black one did. Old and new rotors look identical in colour and dimensions.
Click to expand...
The difference in rotor arms were the ways the metal tabs were held on.
Crap ones could not cope with heat & would pop up on the top
 
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