I've read a dozen various posts on the e12 and nearly as many on the pertronix. Enough that I am not sure about either anymore. Here's the deal: I bought a buffer to polish some parts and discovered it takes way more time and patience than I have. I have an E12 80 distributor (and adapter plate) and the original point type distributor which I am willing to put a pertronix unit in. I don't have enough patience to polish both units. So, if you were putting one or the other into completely fresh L28, carbed with Z therapy SU's, a 6 into 2 header and twice pipes, in front of an 83 five speed, and you wanted complete reliability and a clean installation, which way would you lean? At this time I have no idea if I have the 3 or the 4 wire tach.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other. I've tried both. (Actually went back to points, but that may be a failing of my car, since neither EI worked in my car to my satisfaction.)

Either way, if it were me, I'd pack spares and basic tools with me. Either a spare E12-80 module, or a set of points to replace the Pertronix. That way a failure of either doesn't leave you stranded.

Edited June 11, 201113 yr by Arne

I'll second Arne's suggestion about having a back-up. On my 1st Z, I had a set of points fail on a rural levee road 10 miles from anywhere. My "spare" set of old points had me back on the road in less than 15 minutes. Sure beat a 10 mile walk!

Though my Pertronics ignition has been flawlessly reliable, I have a set of points and a associated short wire in my tool compartment...

I am a novis to the z world but putting in a pertronics was the first real work I did on my Z and it seems to work perfectly. The Z mechanic I brought it to also said it was a great product....just my 2cents

You might compare the costs of the two modules. I think that you can get the new Pertronix kit for about 70% of the cost of even a cheap O'Reilly's E12-80 module.

The junkyard would save some money on the E12-80 if you can find one, or you could spend a lot more for higher quality. Up in the 2's.

Besides that, the big plastic E12-80 "matchbox" won't polish up very well.

I put a vote in for the E12-80. I had a Petronix installed by the PO on my 71 daily driver and got a lot of misfires over 4K RPM. A friend recommended the E12-80, so I picked one up from the junk yard for $35. I can now rev the motor till she blows I guess, no misfires up to 7K.

I am guessing that there is a lot of variability in the Petronix due to the spacing of the magnets with Hall effects sensor.

I have used both. Actually, I had 2 Pertronix. One fried and the magnets fell out of the second one. They worked fine before they failed, but I was not about to buy a third one.

The E12-80 woked fantastic and I never had a problem. Of course I carried a spare module just in case.

Marty

When I had an E12-80, I picked up spare modules at the scrap yards for peanuts. In addition to the ZXs, Nissan used the same module on many mid-80s four cylinders. Look at 210s, late 510s, 710 and '80s pickups as well as ZXs.

Edited June 11, 201113 yr by Arne

Wow, I guess you get what you pay. I've not used either so can't speak to reliability. That's good information.

Side note re money - the E12-80 uses the VR trigger so you could retrofit to the very inexpensive GM HEI module in the future, if you had to, with some wire splicing and a little fabrication.

I already have a known good e12 unit and don't have the pertronix piece. It is funny as I read posts last night until my eyes ached and clear is no clear cut winner or looser, that was why I posted the question. I was hoping someone could give me overwhelming support in one direction or the other. I live in northern Idaho. It is a 50 mile drive from anywhere to anywhere and would have to order any part for either unit and most of the time a cell phone is little more than a paper weight. I converted to the gm module on my turbo car but that isn't something I want under the hood on this car. It is "clean clean clean" so I am even worried to some degree about the wiring connectors. I am not this anal, but my painter polishes the toilet seat before he sets down and he doesn't want anything "messing up" his work.

One point in favor of the E12-80 is its trigger mechanism. It has a 6 point reluctor and a 6 point stator, and so long as you fix the vacuum advance (they're almost always broken) there is no gap to be set or anything like that. I believe the Pertronix works like the 280Z distributor where there is a sensor which has a gap that needs to be maintained for it to function. While that's a lot better than points which wear out, I have seen a car die due to the sensor moving on the 280Z distributor (at an autox no less).