Mr Fishums Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Nippon Denso (vs) Hitachi Well my motor is rebuilt and hopped up better than ever, but my distributor is garbage. When going to the local parts store I found I have options! Options are good right? Well not if you are indecisive like me! From what information I have gathered so far I have learned the Hitachi is the most durable, and the Nippon Denso has higher tech electronics. If you know anything about these two and could have some insite to help me make use of the better option, post a reply! :cool: I'll be most thankful. Peace, Fishums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exister99 Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 I've never used the Nippondenso, but I am really happy with my Hitachi. Really easy to rebuild when the bushings wear out and super durable thereafter. With the Nippondenso you need some little external static squasher or something. If your car doesn't have this then switching to Nippondenso may not be the best option for you. Anyway, I have accumulated a collection of Hitachi distributors for parts so that my Soob will have a distributor for perpetuity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Nippon Denso (vs) Hitachi Well my motor is rebuilt and hopped up better than ever, but my distributor is garbage. When going to the local parts store I found I have options! Options are good right? Well not if you are indecisive like me! From what information I have gathered so far I have learned the Hitachi is the most durable, and the Nippon Denso has higher tech electronics. If you know anything about these two and could have some insite to help me make use of the better option, post a reply! :cool: I'll be most thankful. Peace, Fishums Definately go with the ND - couple reasons. First, the spark is gives is hotter. The coil and ignitor used with the ND are higher resistance than the Hitachi. Second the ND is NOT less durrable - it's just more precisely machined, and will not tollerate as much slop in the shaft bushings - that does not mean that you can't get a good 150k or more miles from the bushings tho. Plus they can be rebushed for about $35 like any distributor. Third, and possibly most important for some people - the ND cap is one gear tooth farther clockwise than the Hitachi (bet you are confused now!) - this means that the plug wire for #3 does not interfere with the choke on a Weber like it does with the Hitachi. When my Hitachi would get wet, it would arc to the choke housing on the Weber - the ND doesn't as there is a good 1/8" or more between them (Hitachi actually touches the boot). I've run both, and I can say that almost without fail, ND parts are superior to Hitachi. That goes for any electrical system stuff on a Soob. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBrumby Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Also if I remeber rightly the ND has a better advance curve aswell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 We all have reasons for why we make choices. I decided on using the Hitachi consistently a good while ago. I found it easier to dis-assemble and re-assemble. And vacuum advance units for the EA81 version seemed more available. There seem to be less pieces in the Hitachi version but that could be just my opinion since I've given up on the ND a while ago and never got into it like I have the Hitachi. I didn't realize that the Hitachi can tolerate more bushing wear, but that's a good thing. GD is quite correct on the Hitachi hitting the fuel choke on the weber; had I known that "back when" I might have opted for ND, but now my spare parts bin is all Hitachi and I plan to stay that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exister99 Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 And vacuum advance units for the EA81 version seemed more available. Are you talking about the little vacuum advance diaphragm on the side? I have never been able to find those new. Can you post a link? I was very pleased to discover that the ignition module on the Hitachis (which is a high failure item on any disty) were also used on many other vehicles over a span of many years, which means they are more easily available. I was even more pleased to find a new one on eBay for $20. Most of our cars probably fall somewhere on a reliability/performance continuum based on our expectations of them. It would appear that Hitachis are better for vehicles on the reliability end of the continuum while Nippondensos are better suited to those closer to the performance end. As long as my Soob and its distributor reliably get me and my canoe to the river and back (with the occasional deep water crossing thrown in) I am a happy kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 The vac advance (this goes for any distributor), can be rebuilt - I've had several of mine done - cost is about $35 from philbin manufacturing in Portland (they are local to me, but they will ship if you need). A re-bush and vac advance rebuild (they do a great job, paint the vac canister, and shine up the whole unit) will run about $55 to $75 depending on what disty you bring them, and how messed up it is. That is a lot cheaper than getting new parts from anywhere I know of. The hitachi's are more common it seems - I have about 5 of the damn things floating around my parts collection. They were standard on 4WD's. I have at least 3 or 4 ND disty's, and two of those are in use. Another thing I've noticed is the ND disty cap seals much better against water than the Hitachi does. In fact my disty in my lifted wagon has never got wet when treading water. I've never had a module fail in either brand, so can't comment there. They all seem very rugged in that respect. Besides - parts and extra disty's are all over the place, and cheap at yards. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 The last source for the vac. unit that I was able to get came from www.expressautoparts.com. At the time they cost around $21 and luckily I ordered four of them and I still have three left. They seem to be out of stock since they are no longer listed on the website. I have the stocking numbers and part numbers on the original boxes if anyone wants to find an alternate vendor. I wrote to expressauto about putting them back in stock and never got an answer. When I run out I plan to have them re-diaphragmed by Philbin Co. in Portland. I'm saving all my old ones just in case. As to the igniter module; it does seem to be a failure item. I've experience the loss of spark twice in the last 5 years over 8 EA81 cars. All my EA81 cars have a tested spare in the glove box and I've never needed to use the spare (Murphy's Third CorolLary: If you have the spare part on hand, you'll never need it.) I wait for the cars at PAP to just before they go to the crusher; if the Hitachi distributer is still there I pull the ignitor for stock. Any autoparts store will test them for you. Oddly enough, when I had to replace the first one that failed, I brought the old one in to B&B. The counter guy looked at it and asked if I had recently jump started another car. I said "I had and what does that have to do with it?" He replied that I had a Schuck's module and they have a tendency to fail after jump starting another car. I don't know of the truth to that but found it interesting. I still jump start cars occasionally and never had another module fail. Gettting the module from PAP that way I get them for about $5 each; new they are pretty pricey anywhere from $90 to $200 aftermarket; I don't have an OEM price. Are you talking about the little vacuum advance diaphragm on the side? I have never been able to find those new. Can you post a link? I was very pleased to discover that the ignition module on the Hitachis (which is a high failure item on any disty) were also used on many other vehicles over a span of many years, which means they are more easily available. I was even more pleased to find a new one on eBay for $20. Most of our cars probably fall somewhere on a reliability/performance continuum based on our expectations of them. It would appear that Hitachis are better for vehicles on the reliability end of the continuum while Nippondensos are better suited to those closer to the performance end. As long as my Soob and its distributor reliably get me and my canoe to the river and back (with the occasional deep water crossing thrown in) I am a happy kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fishums Posted March 2, 2006 Author Share Posted March 2, 2006 Definately go with the ND - couple reasons. First, the spark is gives is hotter. The coil and ignitor used with the ND are higher resistance than the Hitachi. Second the ND is NOT less durrable - it's just more precisely machined, and will not tollerate as much slop in the shaft bushings - that does not mean that you can't get a good 150k or more miles from the bushings tho. Plus they can be rebushed for about $35 like any distributor. Third, and possibly most important for some people - the ND cap is one gear tooth farther clockwise than the Hitachi (bet you are confused now!) - this means that the plug wire for #3 does not interfere with the choke on a Weber like it does with the Hitachi. When my Hitachi would get wet, it would arc to the choke housing on the Weber - the ND doesn't as there is a good 1/8" or more between them (Hitachi actually touches the boot). I've run both, and I can say that almost without fail, ND parts are superior to Hitachi. That goes for any electrical system stuff on a Soob. GD What weber carb model are you having interference with the Hitachi? The 32/36 DGEV with electric choke? And how much clearence is there on the hitachi? Is there enough room to put an insulator between the carb and disty? I'm using the K730 kit from redline, This is the K731 for refrence same carb They just changed the baseplate I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 What weber carb model are you having interference with the Hitachi? The 32/36 DGEV with electric choke? And how much clearence is there on the hitachi? Is there enough room to put an insulator between the carb and disty? I'm using the K730 kit from redline, This is the K731 for refrence same carb They just changed the baseplate I think. Same Kit I bought initially - total rip off if you ask me - doesn't even come with the appropriate throttle cable mount. Not jetted any differently than any other 4 cylinder kit. It just seems like Redline really doesn't give a crap - the EA82 adaptor doesn't properly cover the coolant passage, kits are not well designed, etc. But it will work. I just get used carbs now and rebuild them - much cheaper. But yes - that is the same carb - DGV series, and with the Hitachi, the #3 boot will touch the choke housing. As in it touches hard enough to wear a groove in the rubber of the boot. You could probably slip something in there to try and stop the arcing - which really only happens when it gets wet. Unless your wires are shot. I just switch to the ND disty and all is good for me. Lots of people claim that the advance curve is different, but that simply isn't true. An inspection of the FSM shows all advance curves are the same. REMEMBER - if you change to the ND distributor, you must also change to the ND coil - not doing so will contribute to the failure of your ignitor module in the disty. Probably the most common cause of ignitor failure is installation of aftermarket coils (Accell, MSD, etc) that are not correctly matched with the ignitor. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exister99 Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Speaking of Factory Service Manuals, where did you get yours? Is it an original from your car's model year? Any idea where I might find one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Speaking of Factory Service Manuals, where did you get yours? Is it an original from your car's model year? Any idea where I might find one? Ebay - that's where we get em. Or send WJM a message - he can get em as he works for the dealer. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 What weber carb model are you having interference with the Hitachi? The 32/36 DGEV with electric choke? And how much clearence is there on the hitachi? Is there enough room to put an insulator between the carb and disty? I'm using the K730 kit from redline, This is the K731 for refrence same carb They just changed the baseplate I think. I believe that's the same kit I bought a few years back. As far as spacers under the carb, yes there's room. But, you need to use the shorter air filter unit. Here's a pic of the set-up on the '84 BRAT I had. http://photobucket.com/albums/c264/TomRhere/84%20BRAT/?action=view¤t=84brat010.jpg Weber is mounted on an EA-82 carb intake, and the disty is the Hitachi model. Spacers under the carb are from jameng.com p/n 99005.120. They're 1/2" tall, and I used 2, but not real sure now if it's really nessecary to do so. Currently running this same Weber/intake on my '86 BRAT, but I spun the carb 180*, and flipped the throttle bell-crank over. Only have 1 spacer under carb on this set-up. http://photobucket.com/albums/c264/TomRhere/White%2086%20BRAT/?action=view¤t=flippedlinkage.jpg Hitachi disty on this one as well. Using the EA-82 carb intake will help in the performance area, as it has a larger port opening for the carb. http://photobucket.com/albums/c264/TomRhere/White%2086%20BRAT/?action=view¤t=EA-81EA-82Manifold2.jpg I'm working on a write-up on what needs done to what on the manifold swap. I can answer questions if you have any, or try to atleast.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fishums Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 So if you decide to change your distributor from a Hitachi to a Nippon Denso. Are their any special parts needed other than the distributor itself? Anything other than a cap and rotor that is :-p I am alreadying running a high preformance coil btw. Thanks, Christopher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Interchangeable as far as I know; just the cap and rotor are different. So if you decide to change your distributor from a Hitachi to a Nippon Denso. Are their any special parts needed other than the distributor itself? Anything other than a cap and rotor that is :-p I am alreadying running a high preformance coil btw. Thanks, Christopher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 And the coil. The high performance coil's are not known to be all that reliable. Get a good stock ND coil I say. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exister99 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 So if you decide to change your distributor from a Hitachi to a Nippon Denso. Are their any special parts needed other than the distributor itself? Anything other than a cap and rotor that is :-p I am alreadying running a high preformance coil btw. Thanks, Christopher Well, there's also the matter of that little FM suppressor gadget. I guess that's not a problem if you install a CD changer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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