R35 GTR ignition coil packs are a popular product amongst modifiers and tuners as they produce a massive amount of spark energy. This is exactly what we want when increasing boost and chasing power on the dyno. More spark equals more bang and we all know more bang means more “f$&k yeah” moments!
In the workshop here at PZP, we previously offered and recommend an array of coil upgrades, these included Audi R8 / VAG type coils, Toyota Yaris coils, Bosch external coils and the dreaded old Splitfires to name a few. Since we started tuning vehicles with the Hitachi manufactured R35 coil packs, we have never looked back.
“No more spark blow out under boost, no more pulling spark plugs to re-gap every few dyno pulls and most importantly no more misfires under load!”
We thought long and hard about putting in the time to develop our own R35 coil upgrade kit for the RB platform as there are many offerings out there from first-to-market and common-named brands such as Platinum Racing Products, Taarks, Raceworks, etc.
Having installed all of these kits on customer vehicles over the years, we wanted to reinvent the wheel a little; allowing us to put our own flare and finishing touches on the PZP kit.
Coming down with COVID-19 gave me a good chance to sit in front of the computer and fire up the 3D printer to make some prototypes. I started modelling the bracket using an R33 cylinder head to take measurements from. I was undecided about coil height as I know the R35 OEM stalks are pretty tall due to the V6 design. Using the OEM stalks would take less time to develop the product and reduce costs as there would be no requirement for design or purchase of aftermarket stalks. I took the “Old El Passo” approach and thought “why not both?”.
The idea for using height adapters was put to work; this way customers who, for whatever reason, needed to replace the stalks or already have R35 coils can use our kit without having to purchase our stalks. The factory (higher) stalks do sit the coil packs proud of the OEM coil pack cover but still have plenty of clearance for intercooler piping if the standard intake manifold is still in use. At PZP we tend to remove and discard the coil pack cover on the RB’s to promote additional cooling of the ignition system. We found that standard RB coils, especially R33 series 1 coils, absolutely hate life under the coil cover.
We noticed a few companies using stalks from readily available coil packs, like the blue booted JZ ignition coils. The guys in the workshop noticed the JZ coil boots seem to get stuck in the cylinder head when removing the coil pack when checking or replacing the spark plugs… It’s bloody annoying having to fish out every boot that’s stuck over the spark plug.
Other kits have their own silicone boots which is also a great idea, but they look like floppy dildos to me! Functional but I dunno, it just looks a bit odd!
Our design is based off the genuine stalk, just dropping it down a notch. You can see there’s quite a difference in height between the two stalks. Take note; the finished product will be some kind of plastic injection mould I would assume, not 3D printed!
Many attempts were made to get the spacing correct. Not only the height and positioning of the coil packs and bolts, but the angle of the coil was carefully measured/re-made/measured/re-made until the coil connectors would slide on and off without fouling the head, rocker cover or the coil behind.
I also had a fair battle with measurements due to prototype shrinking in overall size when the plastic cools. None-the-less I think the results speak for themselves! Check it out!
Real world testing is currently underway on our design and we hope to have our own kits ready for sale by the end of this financial year (June 2022). We’re working on offering these in anodized black and purple. If you have any questions or would like to put your name down on our pre-order list, please email us directly at enquiries@pzp.com.au.
