What are the gains from MSD igniton?
 

So I got my exhaust, next will be the Yaw carb, after that id imagine electric fan, but is the igniton worth it?- most of the results ive herd werent so impressive-anyway what are your experiences and any thing else you guys would recommend?-thanks

do as search theres a hell of a buttload of alot topics abotu it. i have good stuff abotu teh direct lead fire or dlfdis or watever the heck it is hehe watever. jsut do a search.

The MSD is a godsend. Faster starts, better low-RPM driveability, better gas mileage. MUCH better cold starts and cold driveability too.

And if you're in it to save money, or would simply like to learn more about it, DLIDFIS is the answer. Click my www button.

I upgraded my whole ignition recently to the MSD 6A, Jacobs wires, 3 new MSD High Vibration coils, NGK B9EV's, new Mazda cap and rotor.

I was not impressed. I saw no difference. I have not yet tested it in cold weather though.

yea i'd say i'm not impressed with the msd it runs nice made the torque curve almost too flat i cant tell by the seat of the pants dyno if its faster or vhat??

For the dollar, I don't think you could spend your money any better. I noticed a power increase but the most noticable result was the smooth climb through the RPM's, longer lasting plugs, better gas milage, and a rock solid idle. I happen to have 2 MSD's right now and one's for sale - I fryed one a few months ago and sent it in for warrenty replacement. Took them forever to get it back to me so I bought another one - that should be testiment enough that they are a great upgrade to your ignition - I couldn't wait to pull that ignitor set up and get back to the MSD. If anyones interested, I have a 6AL for $150 canadian ($100 US) - new rebuild with completely new guts and all the accessories (+ receipt from factory and strickers too!!!). Sorry for using your thread for a want ad but the topic came up and I had to exploit - PM if interested.

I got a smoother idle and a lighter wallet. I took the box off and put it on my TII where it would do more good.

Don't waste your money unless you've got it to burn... if you've got a rough idle, hard starting or what not, replace your sparkplugs, cap and rotor, and set your timing. There ya go... nice smooth idle, good power, without a couple hundred down the drain.

Oh, and the electric fan is not worth it either (at least in terms of any power gain), unless you get something for cheap.

Here's the route for power on a 12A: exhaust, better carb, porting. The other little (but expensive for what you get) stuff is nice, but don't worry about it until you have the real mods done.

After the exhaust and carb, assuming you don't want to build your engine, I'd waaaayyy rather sink my money into suspension mods and wheels/tires, if I were in your position. Those mods *will* make a noticeable difference on the road.

:bsflag:

I was replacing plugs every 2500 miles, cap and rotor and wires every 5000-7500 or so, timing was always dead-on... sure it would run acceptably when warmed up but in the winter it was a total bitch.

Hey, I'm sure it was bad in the winter, I won't argue with your experience. I believe it. Personally though, I drive my car in the summer/fall/spring only. I guess I automatically assume this when people ask questions... in my mind, it's a crime to drive a nice RX-7 in the winter:)

Anyways, that's where I'm coming from - I and others I know have no problems with the stock ignition and I can't imagine why you'd want any better than what it provides when in proper condition (for the mildly modded cars we're talking about anyways).

For a guy looking for power and summer driving, I still say there are better places to look before MSD and e-fan.

However, I'm sure that if what you're looking for is easy winter starting (which is so far from what I'm looking to do with my car I don't even remotely think about it when talking about this stuff), I have no doubt the MSD may be a nice piece.

If you cant start in cold weather and your timing and plugs are fine, look into your carb and choke not ignition. I dont get it. If you car idles rough, something is probably wrong with your idle circuit in the first place. Replacing the ignition system sounds like a bandaid fix to me. I've always ran the stock ignition and never had any problems starting, accelerating, redlining, idleing... even with power way beyond stock.

On the other hand, peejay's taken a gutted stock 12A with his mods into the 14's and everybody else hasn't..........;)

If gutted stock= street ported with a header, and 14s= 15.1 then yeah :)

I know he's mentioned 14's with a goal of 13's before WT was dead. Or was it V8kilr? One of those guys, but I'm thinking it was peejay...:cool:

Why are you assuming everyone else hasn't lol?

RXcetera and I are running those times. Both with stock ignition;)

WT's goal was 14s with a stock carb. Only missed it by .1xx :(

LOL

Besides, this was when the car was DEAD STOCK... I put the MSD on a couple months before i did the engine swap.

The carb was adjusted right - in warm weather it would have a 3000-3500rpm idle with the choke pulled all the way out.

As for winter driving... I *love* the way the ol' SA handled the snow. It was 95% as good as my 4wd Subaru was. Dead-nuts predictable when sliding the roads at 70-75mph (I was taught to learn to slide, instead of bothering to find traction :) ) and I never once got it stuck.

LOL

It wasn't gutted, it wasn't stock (except for the carb), and I didn't get into the 14's.

i can run low 14's with stock ignition. i have not had the money or time to screw with ignition.

jr

Sure, no doubt you could... the ignition isn't for ultimate power, the ignition is for driveability! If you don't care about driveability then don't bother.

You don't have to "not care" about driveability to keep the stock ignition. It has fine driveability, at least in every condition I've ever seen with it.

Define what you consider driveability. I can't think of anything lacking with the way my car runs right now (RB Dellorto, RB exhaust) It idles nice and smooth, starts easily, and does just about everything I want it to. I just don't see why I would want to improve on something that is already just fine.

I don't know guys - sounds like different results from different people. I can tell you this... I fryed my MSD this summer and went back to the ignitor (with the performance coils and wires) and the car ran like shit compared to the MSD. It was so disappointed, I went out and dropped another $300+ Canadian to get another one rather than wait for the blown one to return from the factory. I just couldn't wait - I was so spoiled by the MSD, I couldn't drive with a stock set up. I'll say it again, best bang for the buck (and I run RB header/Exhaust, Koni's and Tokico shocks/springs, upgraded wheels and expensive rubber. The MSD was peanuts compared to these mod's.

What do you mean it ran like shit? Explain.

Dude, if I took you for a ride in my car, I guarantee you'd agree it runs anything but like shit.

No low-RPM hiccups or bogs especially when cold.

The ability to start the engine in the dead of winter and go back inside while the engine warms up, or brush the snow off the car while the engine warms up, without having to sit in the car and keep blipping the throttle to keep the plugs from fouling.

(Don't give me any BS about "the best way to warm an engine up is to start driving it right away" - impossible to drive with a cold engine because the lack of defroster heat means you can't see out the windshield until the engine warms up anyway)

Plus, and this is not insignificant - the engine becomes MUCH more tolerant of worn plugs. I could leave the plugs in for 7500 miles or more without degraded performance, because the ignition'd just power through the crap. It's nice not having to order new plugs every month...