So, we (SakeBomb Garage) as many of you know have been making and selling our *genuine* IGN-1A coil kit for the FD (plus 20b/RX8/Miata/LS/Universal Boosted Applications/etc.) We also sell our mounts, spark plug wires, and Mil-Spec standalone coil harness for the FD (and other platforms) separately from the coils for custom projects. Starting a year back we started to see a higher frequency of people buying just the parts minus the coils. That was a little confusing to us (as we're competitive on genuine IGN-1A coil pricing) but we never really questioned it too thoroughly until we started to get customers complaining about coils experiencing breakup. Upon further investigation and asking for pictures/purchase history/etc, it seemed that the strangely high numbers of customers with unresolveable breakup issues had one thing in common... 100% of these problem cases bought their coils elsewhere (ebay, other vendors, etc.).

Around the same time we started getting messages from "vendors" in China claiming to want to sell us IGN-1A coils for a ridiculously low prices. Each time we played along and got samples, and each time those samples were complete fakes! Literally a $5 standard ignition coil inside a casing that LOOKS like an IGN-1A coil! We were shocked (pun 100% intended ). After testing we found the same... standard coil inside a case resembling an IGN-1A coil (which would be very hard to distinguish from the real coils if you didn't know what to look for). Sirs and madams, this post is to inform you how to spot a fake (there are lots now) and who sells real, actual, non-BS IGN-1A coils.


Sources for real IGN-1A coils (special batch code markings on the side, check under stickers):

• SakeBomb Garage
• AEM
• Holley
• Mercury Marine

Sources for Fakes:

• Anything form Ebay
• Many sellers on Amazon (including prime)
• Random online vendors / retailers
• Anything priced too low to be real

(customers need to even be careful for knockoff fake "name brand" coils as well (fake sticker on a fake coil)... we've seen fakes recently with fake AEM / Holley stickers... Holley had to switch to laser engraving the coils but I'm sure that will be knocked off too eventually)



IGN-1A coils come from ONE private source that SakeBomb / AEM / Holley / Mercury Marine etc. buy from... these are *not* available to the public.*




How to identify a fake:

There are a few "fakes" out there form different knock-off manufacturers.* There appear to be 2-3 fake coil manufacturers out there based on the samples/castings for cases we've seen.

-Black Potting: If you see black potting on the underside of the coil around the heat sink, it's a fake.* Real IGN-1A's use an opaque white glossy potting.
-Black Paint on the heat sink: Another giveaway is black paint on the heat sink (versus black anodize on the heat sink). Paint is cheap... $5 coil cheap. You'll also notice burs on the heat sink and other finishing issues.
-Weight: Real IGN-1A's are HEAVY due to their internal winding design, materials, construction etc. The fake coils in an IGN looking case are light. Real IGN-1A coils are roughly 14.6oz where the fakes are around 12.8oz
-Brass bolt inserts: Real IGN-1A's are silver
-Poorly aligned / poorly cast silver inserts: They may look silver but the alignment and fit/finish is not quite right vs the actual coils.
-Poor case casting quality: We'll post some pictures below... this can be subtle and harder to identify but if you hold a standard IGN-1A up next to a fake you'll notice some odd things. Extra flashing, not quite right magnet shape, etc.
-Spark Plug Post Details: The real coils have a neck-down after the barb to hold the boot on, the fakes are smooth.

Pictures of fakes below:

FAKE: Painted heat sink with black potting (rough surface finish and poor machining quality)


FAKE: More black potting


FAKE: Square edges, mis-aligned inserts on this copy (this one is one of the more obvious copy brands)


FAKE: Red... looks cool, but alas... it's not real.


FAKE: Red with black potting


FAKE: Very good copy... this one is hard to spot. No batch number, but otherwise convincing aside from the heat sink.

 

Great post! I would love to see real vs fake comparison picture for all the above points, as i have never seen the real thing.

 

Thanks, I've seen a few fakers about here as well. It would probably be nice if you also posted a detailed shot of what your genuine coils look as well so folks can contrast and compare then purchase a set from you if they find they've been duped :P

 

Good info. What about those from Haltech? I'd think those are real as well.

 

Based on pics they look legit... I can't imagine Haltech would sell fake coils

 

We'll get up some comparison pics, but basically if you bought them on ebay, Amazon, or some small online retailer for cheap... they're probably fake. The point of this post is not to try to get people to buy coils from us specifically, it's to make sure people are not conned into buying fake coils online because the price sounds too good to pass up.

 

I didn't take it as such, just thought having photos of the real deal may be helpful for folks.

 

Looks like even Summit Racing is selling fakes

 

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/a...2853/overview/

They also sell the AEM version.

 

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As an FYI FAST is not a company I'd point the 'knock off' finger at. IIRC they're a part of Comp (Comp Cams, etc) and are based out of Tennessee.

 

Political commentary redacted.

 

No politics allowed dude.

 

TwinCharged RX7, please keep the politics out of the tech section.

 

If you guys wanna argue, we have a whole section for that! https://www.rx7club.com/doo-political-discourse-204/

Can we please keep this thread about knockoff coil reports?

 

Post some pics of legit next to knock off.

 

They already did that. Read the thread

 

Please point out where there are side by side pics of legit vs knock off

 

Ok. Technically not side by side. Just detailed pictures and text that show exactly what to look for.