Well since Spring is almost here... tune up. And since my wires and coil seems to be on its way out... time to plan what to get.
So who do you believe has the best products... MSD?, ACCEL?, Moroso?, Mallory?, Taylor?, Stock (AC Delco)?

For spark plugs I was thinking: AC Delco Platinum RapidFires... Which do you trust in?

For wires I was thinking MSD... Which do you trust in?

For cap and rotor I was thinking MSD... Which do you trust in? Which do you trust in for the whole distributor replacement?

For coil I was thinking MSD (the new GM one)... Which do you trust in?

And for the ignition contols, I was guessing also MSD 6A... I'm lost here as far as ignition controls go, why are they needed? Don't you have to bolt them to the firewall? Do we have stock ignition modules on our cars?? Please fill me in, a little 101. So which do you trust in?

Thanks a lot...

 

Jacobs Electronics for box, coil, and wires( a bit more expensive, but I swear by 'em). For cap and rotor, just about anything will do, I just buy the top end stuff from autozone, it's quite nice, and since it's red a lot of people think it's the msd stuff, yet half the price. The msd 6a is an ok unit, but it's outdated, there is a lot of better stuff on the market now, some of it for about the same price.
John

 

I say get the MSD SuperConductor 8.5mm wires, I've heard only good things about them. That's what I'm getting next time.
As far as plugs, platinums will last longer but the spark isn't as good.

 

Yeah thats what I've heard, but is it really taking away that much spark? Which ones have good spark?

 

Just be careful that when you choose some of the ignition control boxes, solid core spark plug wires will not be able to handle the current. You need to get the spiral core or other type (this is according to the instructions for the MSD 6a ignition box.)

 

Are you sure you have that right? I don't have the MSD instructions, but solid core means solid stranded wire. I'd believe it if they said "resister core" couldn't handle the current.

 

I'm not going to swear by it but im 95% sure the exact words were "solid core wires." Maybe somebody else can back me up... I lost the instructions.

 

Back 2 the glass ceiling...

 

yes I recall reading that as well .. they tell you not to use solid core.. I believe it's because there needs to be some resistance with that box.. solid core in theory would handle more current.

 

I personally have no confidence in Accel products. I've used their wires and had problems. I bought a hei supercoil for my big block velle and noticed no difference cept it looked better. I also put an accel 51000 series distributor in an 80 stepside I had. Lost the ignition module the first year and after 20,000 miles the bushings were sloppy.

I have an MSD 6a on my 70 pickup it seems to work great. I'm using it in conjuntion with a mallory unitilite and jacobs ultra coil. The first set of wires I used were MSD 8mm helicore. They barely lasted a year. They got very hard, like a wooden stick. I'm currently using belden 8mm race resistance race wire. It's on its 4th year and no problems at all. I also trust the mallory distributor much better than the accel. I've had 2 mallorys and both have stayed in good shape and accuracy for years.

The Jacobs ultracoil is awesome! When I first installed it in my 80 truck, the truck went from sounding like it had a nasty cam to a dead smooth idle. Also the exhaust smelled perfectly clean instead of rich. Word of caution, you can't use a mallory unitlite and jacobs ultracoil together without an ignition box in between. The ultracoil will draw too much juice. This is why I currently have an msd6a. No other reason. Might have something to do with the accel module burning out too.

Friends who have installed the jacobs havent had as much success as I have. However they were using jacobs plug in system whereas mine is hardwired. I've fixed most of their problems by hardwiring their systems together. Seems they get bad connections at the connectors.

Plugs. Splitfires worked good, but not worth the price. Had problems with the rapidfires, but the same set works great in a stock chevelle. Don't think they like performance ignitions. Currently I either use autolites or stock ac delcos. Both always work!

I'm interested in hearing about the new digital systems. Currently my firebird has the accel 51000 dist. and everything else stock. (I know but it was still laying around and I needed one)

 

MSD.

 

if you really want to add an ignition box i'd go jacobs, but it's kinda a waste. i recomend going with a hypertech coil with your stock distributor and no box. rapid fire spark plugs and accel 300 + race wires or taylor wires. most ignition boxes don't help much at all on a mild engine and are more for looks than anything else. on a dyno the gain is minimal except from the jacobs which is only slightly better than the others.

 

About accel. Accel products are okay, and good for the price. I have an accel cap/rotor and an accel supercoil and haven't had a problem with either. However i bought an accel ignition module (p/n 35362) when i was tuning up my gta (do it once do it right....right?), and it instantly gave me a hard start problem and a slight miss. I put a regular delco unit in there and now it fires right up and the miss is gone. A waste of $40. However, i talked to the folks at Jegs and they real nice about it and let me exchange it for something else. I also have bought 2 msd products: a pack of 8.5mm super conductor wires and an adjustable timing control (p/n 8683). Those wires are definately good wires (tested them with a DMM before i put them in and was very impressed compared to the stock wires), but they didn't come with the coil wire . I haven't installed the timing control yet.