(See subject) - what coil/distributor/plug wires should I use? I mean what brands, etc. Car is as in sig.

 

i'd just run good factory or factory replacements since you aren't heavily modded.

 

I have big plans tho.....

Nitrous, intake, cam, heads, exhaust - what about then?

 

MSD and Mallory are good components as well as Accel. i run a Mallory distributor/rotor/cap with an MSD 6AL box and an Accel Super Stock coil and wires. no complaints at all. blue streak cap and rotors are also good quality parts that are inexpensive.

 

What are the reasons for needing one of those digital ignition boxes (like an MSD 6AL)?
What are the benefits?
Will I have trouble getting it to work with the stock ECM?
How much tweaking is necessary to make one of the boxes work well with my system?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to learn as much as possible about the subject.

 

on a n/a motor you don't really need on until you get into gobs or HP and rpm (i take mine to the moon at times hehe) the stock ignition just doesn't provide enough spark past about 4800rpm. if you are gunna run the bottle i would highly suggest you get an aftermarket ignition. they are not hard at all to piggy back into the stock ignition. they come with all the necesary instructions.

 

High compression, 6000+rpm, power adder, or 500+hp in general would require a hotter spark. If you don't have any of the above then don't bother going to a CD system, just get a better coil.

 

What is a "CD" system?

Which coil should I get? I mean which brand, style, and part number, etc. There are way too many choices and I don't know what makes one better than the other!

 

CD stands for capacitor discharge. Inductive is HEI and what comes stock on most cars.
Any hotter coil is fine, even stock is good. There has yet to be any proof that changine from stock HEI has gotten anybody any better 1/4 mile performance. At least I haven't seen anything unless we're talking about 12's and better, then there might be an issue. Like I said, don't do anything unless you need to or it'll just be a waste of money.

 

Look into Jacobs Electronics. They have a complete computer and coil system that you tie into the stock distruibutor. It's very nice and very reliable. I have heard of troubles with MSD. My Jacobs has been running for 10 years now and they still sell it.

The also have a "nitrous mastermind" add on box that automaticly retards the timing when spraying. This is a must or you will loose an engine quick. The box will interface directly with their ignition system.

Read up on nitrous first before buying/installing anything.