Working on my kid's street ported GSLSE, Stock ECU. The coils are missing. History on the forum shows a preference for the MSD 8222 Blaster High Vibration. which at the time of me typing this retails for about $70.

There is a coil from Holley listed as the Sniper EFI. it's a no oil canister that is advertised as being able to be mounted in "multiple mounting positions" Both coils are rated at 45k volts, spark duration is the same. On paper they seem almost identical, yet the Sniper EFI coil is half the price. I also don't understand why Holley has four or five in house brands for coils. It's confusing.

Then we have the parts store coils for under 30 bucks. Hell, I saw a cockauto for under ten dollars. the cheapness makes me nervous about quality and being able to produce spark at the rpm a rotary would see.

Finally we have the used OEM. Which I think are branded as "Diamond" but I may be wrong. Of course these are on average 35 years old, and I have none available at any local wrecker so my only other option is eBay or such.


So, if your budget has been stretched thin by the most absurd things needing to be replaced, but need coils, WWYD?

 

do they have any info on the sniper coils? mj (micro joules, i think) those probably wouldn't be any different/better than the holley ones.

 

For what it's worth, I bought the NGK factory replacement from Rockauto and it worked fine for a bit. I later installed AEM IGN1A coils when I installed a Haltech ECM though so I didn't use it for long. OEM coils are indeed Diamond and they're not cheap, although if you can find a used set it shouldn't be too bad.

 

I would go with the NGK at rockauto, even tho its $40.00 per coil, second choice would be the Beck/Arnely coils, they have never disappointed me as a brand.

 

I've been daily driving with some MSD high vibration blaster coils for a few years now and have had zero issues, even on a wasted spark setup. If the budget is there they are my suggestion. Otherwise I'd try to find some stock Diamond coils. I've had issues with normal aftermarket replacement coils when mounted in the stock location.

My concern with the Sniper coil is that it looks like the system is designed for use with a CDI box. Generally coils are okay with running either way, although I don't have enough experience on the subject to make a final call there. You also would not be able to use the stock ignition wires (to the dizzy at least) or the factory mounting location. Not sure if that's of concern for this project or not.

For EFI I'd definitely go with IGN1A coils like derSchwamm. That's what I'll be switching over to once I have the budget to ditch the dizzy.

 

I would stay away from the Holley stuff! Stock or MSD. No experience with NGK coils?

 

The Sniper EFI coil doesn't provide enough info to be sure, but based on it being designed as a CDI coil, I would guess that it has rather poor specs for an induction ignition setup. This is especially the case with a setup with a relatively low max charging amperage like the stock ignition system. The stock system current-limits at something around 3.5-4 Amps and a low inductance coil built for CDI will store very limited energy (providing a weak spark), and charge too quickly, spending a lot of time in current limiting (which heats up the ignition modules, shortening their life).

I would go for the MSD 8222 or a stock coil, something with a low primary resistance and higher primary inductance (7-8 mH). That will provide a much stronger spark across a larger rpm range than the Sniper EFI coil.

 

With hopes this isn't jacking this Thread, is there a time when coils should be changed? I mean, besides at a failure event (which I am not sure I would be able to pin-point as a bad coil...). I ask with original coils on my 80SA at about 110,000 mi. Everything 'seems' fine, and I have an NOS set of coils in stock. Do coils 'just work' @ 100% then drop dead? or do they slowly fade away in performance?

Stu A
80GS
AZ

 

Stu, I've yet to see an actual coil failure (unless it cracks and the magic fluid comes out). Usually a failing ignition is either the dizzy (cap/rotor/etc) or the ignitors. When ignitors fail it will usually happen only when hot and will get worse over time. If you car sputters and dies after running to temp for awhile but then when it cools, starts right up, suspect your ignitors. Took me like 3 or 4 times and one tow to figure this out LOL.

 

If your still using a dizzy then NGK coils from rockauto is your best bet. I had a couple of the blaster coils fail on me. But if your going standalone ECU ign1a coils are great. U can flood the engine and it will still fire up. I have 4 in direct fire with rx8 plugs.