Is it really worth my while to put in a 2nd gen coil. I live in vegas so it is normally warm for start ups, but beside starting what esle will it offer me. God Bless

 

Nope. its a direct fire but there is no gain the amt of spark. Just replace your existing coil with aftermarket such as MSD.

 

Done it, love it. No noticeable gain in HP but idles better, better gas mileage, changes tone of exhaust. Easy, cheap mod, why not do it?

 

Faster throttle response! Much faster.

 

Much smoother idle since I did it (took about twenty minutes). My butt dyno claims that there was a power gain too, but that may be disputed. Anyway, I do not regret it and I highly recommend it...

 

I think almost everyone here knows my opinion on ignition improvements to the 1st gen and older rotaries, and why a late leading ignition system (called wasted spark on piston engines) is better than single fired aftermarket or through-the-cap stock systems. While total power output measured on a dyno may not be any higher than the stock setup, the benefits to driveability cannot be overlooked, and are well worth the effort and time to set it up. My butt dyno noticed a big difference, and when I went back to stock once, it felt down on power (this was a retro fit of an '81-'85 dizzy into my REPU with J-109 ignitors).

 

cool, does ANYONE HAVE PICS OF WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO WITH THE WIRING ON the inside of the coil? do i have to drill a couple holes or can i use the pre drilled holes down from the strut top on the driver's side?(does everyone have those holes right there besides me?)

 

I only had one hole I could use which was the hole for the fusible links. Moved the links, used that hole, then used some self tapping screws to mount it the rest of the way.

 

There is, at least on mine there was, an existing hole on the side of the strut tower. 1 scew and it mounts solid. as for the pics..........I got those off of mazspeed.com with a complete tutoral on it. Haven't seen one on here so I can't answer that one.

 

I've got my 88 GTU setup with a direct fire 2nd gen coil. I converted the car to an aftermarket fuel only computer and needed to deal with the ignition. I already had the 2nd gen coil and a distributor so it was a simple choice. Its been working good for 4000 miles. No ignition break up at 8300 RPM.

 

BAMM!

before



after



More pix on my site...

http://hroman.slac.com/rx7/2ndgencoil

 

I recently triggered a 2nd gen ignitor and coil assembly with my MegaSquirt on the bench. The sparks were very nice. I'd have to say that it's a bad idea to remove the 2nd gen leading ignitor. It would be better to figure out a way to make the J-109 trigger the 2nd gen ignitor.

 

Need to sticky those pictures.

 

Nah, too many people would ruin them. Who wants to figure out how to trigger a 2nd gen ignitor with a J-109? The resulting spark will be more powerful.

 

Jeff, I'm listening... I'd love to be able to just use the second gen ignitor, can it be done?

Alvin

 

i know absolutely nothing about ignition. i really wanted to do this, but just didn't have the knowledge to do so. did research for a week on something everyone does in 20 mins. i just don't know wat to do with it....wheres the grounds needed for it. wat else needs ot be spliced...im just ignorant

im feelin like an idiot

 

Zyrano, nope because the 2nd gen ignitor was designed to be triggered by a 5V square wave from the ECU. It wasn't designed to accept an AC signal from the variable reluctance sensors in a 1st gen dizzy. In other words, it has no VR conditioning circuitry. The J-109 does and would be able to trigger a 2nd gen ignitor. I just need to figure out a good way to do it, and if the voltage needs to be reduced from 12-14 down to 5. Some people have said they can work with a 12V trigger signal, but may not live very long. Also, the 2nd gen ignitor is considered dumb and needs dwell control from the ECU. Well, the J-109 references the reluctor wheel's speed and outputs a dwell time. This should be compatible with the 2nd gen ignitor.

According to 83turbo,
To use an NPN:
Emitter goes to ground.
Collector goes to '86 ignitor red wire and to a 1k resistor to +12v
Base goes to J109 ignitor output and to a 1k resistor to +12v

I haven't tried this yet, but I have some spare PN2222A transistors laying around. I'd very much like to try this if I don't use my 2nd gen coil+ignitor assembly with a MegaSquirt.