Guest tony78_280z Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 Increasing spark sounds like the most important and most intellegent first upgrade. Why not burn all the fuel that is in the cylinder before worying about adding more fuel to the cylinder. Increase horse power and fuel economy. I'm confused as to how MSD coils "adds more spark" when their voltage range is in the 40,000-50,000 like all the others including a rebuilt OEM. I heard from a non-reputable source that the MSD actualy sparks or fires more than once very rapidly to be sure all the fuel is burnt. In my mind the doesn't sound right as it would cause misfire and timing problems. Wouldn't a person need better plugs and wires to handle more spark? IS there some special spark plugs to go with the MSD setup? How about the ignition module? THANKS -Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 240zJake Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 Nothing special needed, although new plugs and wires are recommended. It does fire multiple times to fully ignite the fuel until 3000 rpm when it switches to one big spark. Does not cause misfires and timing problems because the first spark is still at the same time as it was b4 the MSD conv. and after that point the fuel is already burning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 Yah, its a bit like the old 'twin plug' engines (had one in my 85 200sx) The first plug would fire at the proper time, than a millisecond after, the other plug would fire. Instead of two plugs, the MSD just fires the same plug 2 or 3 times. Better/more complete burn, hence good power and better fuel mileage. It's suprising what a better burn will do... When I got my 200zx, I took a friend for a good run in it and he thought it was a V6! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 Just wanted to clarify something... The MSD (Multiple Spark Discharge) 6 or 7 units fire three times up to 3000 rpm. After that it does the normal spark thing, but it does put out more voltage than the stock ignition system. These units run anywhere from $120 to ~$250. The MSD COIL is a high voltage coil, but does not get you three sparks. It just gives you a higher than stock voltage spark if used in a stock system. Also I would be shocked if the stock ignition system put out 50K volts. I would suspect 25,000 or 30,000 volts. Having been hit with both the stock system and the MSD, the MSD is DEFINITELY making a hotter spark. EDIT-- One more thing. The MSD unit will make a difference. On a stock system just changing to a higher voltage coil won't do much of anything at all. So do the MSD and the coil or don't bother would be my advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 MSD Multiple Spark Discharge EDIT: You already got it Jon !M! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tony78_280z Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 What do you mean by --> "MSD (Multiple Spark Discharge) 6 or 7 units" I thought the Coil contained the MSD device. You are saying I need a high voltage coil and an MSD *?something?* in order to get the multiple 3 sparks. Assume I'm a newbie and have no idea what i'm installing, but would love to get this upgrade in an HEI Chevy 350 type setup. What would I need to buy at the autoparts store? (Coil? Ign Mod? Dizzy? Wires? Plugs?) And estimated how much would it cost? Thanks for all the replies and I hope I can get these last few questions answered. -Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 MSD unit: http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=esearch.asp&N=110&Ntk=KeywordSearch&Ntt=msd+6&x=13&y=14 MSD coil: http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=esearch.asp&N=110&Ntk=KeywordSearch&Ntt=msd+blaster Crap, that didn't work. Well click on the first link and look down the page a little and find the MSD 6A or the MSD 6AL units and check em out. Then click on the second and look for the MSD Blaster II coil, and check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240Z_Master Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Sorry to throw another problem into this equation. But what about those distributorless ignition systems. I want to upgrade my entire ignition system to something that doesnt use dist/points. What units to use? cost? I was thinking like a MSD 6AL for the ignition, but what about how to control the sparks, or the "Individual Coil Packs".? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 DIS is the best, huge coil dwell time makes for a much better spark, even if it is only 1 spark. Electramotive is the only one I've seen up close, and the problem with it is that you need to make a custom pulley and mount the trigger for the crank. I've seen probably 10 of these running on cars, and 3 of these cars had problems with the sensor touching the trigger wheel at high rpm. The bracket to mount the sensor has to be BURLY to prevent it from vibrating and hitting. Basically it's a bunch more hassle, and it's expensive, so IMO should be left as one of the last things you do. Also for a street car the DIS systems burn up spark plug wires really fast with their 90,000 volt sparks, so you're replacing them quite a bit more frequently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240Z_Master Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Good to know, my current setup is the stock ignition with the MSD Blaster 2 Coil. I could probably just upgrade the ignition to like a MSD setup, and forget the Distributorless setup. I forgot you had to attatch the crank trigger etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tony78_280z Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 To confuse the issue further... So If I add an MSD system would that require retuning the carb? I heard that most performance parts require retuning the carb. I would assume I would need to go down in jet size after installing this system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tony78_280z Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 To confuse the issue further... So If I add an MSD system would that require retuning the carb? I heard that most performance parts require retuning the carb. I would assume I would need to go down in jet size after installing this system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 You shouldn't need to retune after adding MSD. Doesn't your 78 have FI anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tony78_280z Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 Nobody ever reads the signature Thanks for the answer though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tony78_280z Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 DOH!!! Where did the signatures go!! I've lost my identity! Oh there it is *shew* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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