FZRSupport: the FZROnline Archive

Do the stock ones suck? I was just reading about the ZX2 coil upgrade, and then strangely I found two coils from a Cougar in our shed. What kind of increase in power could I see? I already have a jet kit, exhaust, and pods.

They give you a stronger spark. You will be able to gap your spark plugs larger. I installed the ZX2 coils on my bike and it helped smooth out my idle. I suppose it made a difference throughtout rpm band but I cant remember the before and after.

I see you're in hanover. I'm near Hershey. I know they make more spark, but my experience with cars is they don't do much at all unless you're making significantly more power than stock. I have noticed the improved idle you mentioned though, but I like a rough idle.

I had a ton of problems with my stock coils too, converting over was very logical. No problems with these ford coils at all. They are huge though, which is a big downfall. Without pod filters it would be extremely hard to fit them in there.

On a side note, didn't know you were so close. Perhaps theres a PA fzr meet in order this season.

Well, I might as well do it now before I start fine tuning the bike.

I'd love to ride around with some other fzrs! It'd be really cool to compare performance.

Can someone show me what the zx2 coils are.Never seen them before.Maybe a link please.

Much improved spark and greater performance.

mossy1200 wrote:Can someone show me what the zx2 coils are.Never seen them before.Maybe a link please.

This refers to changing the coils and putting in coils from a Ford Escort ZX2. It is a cheap alternative to buying aftermarket coils.

But I can't seam to find a link about it right now.

I also don't know if it would work on a 1K, but I do know that if you have a V&H PowerPak that you should not do this.

Hi,
Bigger coils will only give you "extra" power if your original coils are part shot and not delivering spark hot enough to keep all the pots firing at all rev ranges.

The extra physical size is aproblem as the area for the coils is damned small all ready.

mossy1200 wrote:Can someone show me what the zx2 coils are.Never seen them before.Maybe a link please.

There ya' go!

yamaha_george wrote:Hi,
Bigger coils will only give you "extra" power if your original coils are part shot and not delivering spark hot enough to keep all the pots firing at all rev ranges.

Well this is what I'm wondering about. A larger/better coil will produce more spark energy. But if your current spark energy is already enough for a clean complete combustion, then I don't see the advantage. If the stock coils are only sufficient for stock cylinder combustion pressures, then it makes sense that an upgrade would be useful.

The higher the cylinder pressure, the harder it is to light off. More power is created by higher cylinder pressure, which is caused by more air and more fuel pulled into the chamber. This is the whole purpose of jet kits, better induction (k&n), and a better flowing exhaust. But combining all three of those upgrades how much of a power increase are we talking? Maybe 10%??

I find it a little hard to believe the stock coils aren't strong enough for another 8 hp, unless they aren't good for stock anyway.

Also isn't going from individual coils to one single coil a step back?? Doesn't that create more interference and a weaker spark? I know my camaro lights off 700hp just fine with a single (but kickass) coil, but engines that came factory with coil per cylinder systems rarely need an upgrade to handle more power.

yamaha_george wrote:The extra physical size is aproblem as the area for the coils is damned small all ready.

Are you talking about the actual space for installing the coil? I've got pods.

I don't think the coils have to be from a ZX2, you can use just about anything you want. A coil is pretty much a coil. It's just that Ford has used one coil per four cylinders. Ford v8 trucks have two. Their cylinders are much larger than ours.

I think this is a great idea if your coils crap out, as its CHEAP. I might try it just for giggles and see if I notice anything. I'm just doubting that a coil from a lowly ford escort that was built for economy and low cost, is going to be an improvement on a high performance/high revving bike that was built to compete.

Yes almost all ford 4 cylinder and 8 cylinder vehicles of the era used the same coils. Mine were actually from an Explorer. Like i said, i dont really remember getting any more power but my idle did get smoother. The fact that you can gap your plugs larger is a good benefit because you'll have a large spark thus igniting the fuel faster and more of it. If you're running pods, then i think this is an upgrade very much worth having. The stock coils are known to go out and the plug wires imo are garbage. If you really want to get into it, Id skip the factory ford coils and go with MSD, accell, jacobs, etc.

When I had my 600 I was toying with the Idea of using a Subaru Imprezza/Legacy coil (which from what I've seen is also used on various Dodge and Mitsu cars as well) because it's a good amount smaller than the ford.

sweekster wrote:When I had my 600 I was toying with the Idea of using a Subaru Imprezza/Legacy coil (which from what I've seen is also used on various Dodge and Mitsu cars as well) because it's a good amount smaller than the ford.

yeah i think i remember someone using a subaru coil instead and it worked out fine.

You're right there, these plug wires are absolute garbage.