Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Are there any benifits of converting from distributor to coil pack ?

What would be involved in the conversion if possible?

cheers.

What car is it? My understanding is you will need a new ECU because the existing computer will just be controlling the fuel injection not spark unless you have a carby car which there is no computer
Pros- precise spark timing, better spark
Cons- reliability with mud and water
I'm sure there are more but thats the most i can list off the top of my head

sorry - 80s twincam petrol.

Good luck converting an 80's 1FZ-e to a coil pack set up .
It is an electrical horror story every thing is different comp', loom,and on and on and on................................................

Im already replacing the management system with an autronic system so all the "hard work" will be done anyway i think.

Just wondering if there would be any advantages it going coil pack while im at it.

guzzla wrote:Im already replacing the management system with an autronic system so all the "hard work" will be done anyway i think.

Just wondering if there would be any advantages it going coil pack while im at it.

As said, more precise and stronger spark most probably. If not a performance engine, I don't know if the benefits would be great.

yeah do it - compared to a dizzi there are no cons - its all pro. dizzies suck.

The pros of a coil pack.
1. Each coil works less as they're firing only once every engine revolution instead of 3 times. This allows better cooling and better performance from an equivilant coil.
2. Less moving parts.
3. Less susceptable to water ingress.
4. If a coil fails you can still drive home on 4 cyl's.

Cons.
1. Set up expense.
2. Less availability out of metro areas for replacement parts.
3. Nup can't think of any more.

If you're rewiring and going autronic then do it.

Ruffy wrote: 3. Less susceptable to water ingress.

my uncle had a set of msd blaster coils in his shed ready to be put onto an engine and they didnt look to well sealed

for the extra cost it doesnt seem to be worth it for what id gain at this point. If i ever start upping the boost over 10psi then it may be worth it but il stick with the dizzy for now.

Cheers and thankyou.

i missed that you were turboing it Coil packs would be great because you can get precise spark tuning and maybe even run two spark maps if your running dual fuel.

coil packs ain't that expensive to set up, you can use a EF falcon coil pack (about $100 new), than for the ignitors my brother used 3 VL commo power transistors, you could also use the power transister off TN, TP or TS magna and various other mitsubishi's. (bosch BIM034 from memory).
and all these parts are probly more redily available around the place than cruiser bits.

So anyone had any great problems with coilpacks and water/mud??

Remydog05 wrote:So anyone had any great problems with coilpacks and water/mud??

would running them underneath your dash stop any possible water problems, or would the extra length and proximity of the leads to each other negate any bonus's of running them in the first place??

shakes wrote:

Remydog05 wrote:So anyone had any great problems with coilpacks and water/mud??

would running them underneath your dash stop any possible water problems, or would the extra length and proximity of the leads to each other negate any bonus's of running them in the first place??

im geussing you would lose some voltage in the length of the leads but maybe

would loose some energy through the long leads, also if the leads run near electronics could cause interferance issues. water and mud will effect coil pack less than dizzy. a dizzy will fill up and hold moisture in, coil pack won't.
also with a dizzy the spark has to jump a gap(rotor to cap), meaning the moisture would conduct easier than the gap, causing missfire.

i would run coil pack over dizzy anyday

the falcon ones are sealed a lot better then most dizzies plus they enable you to get more timing advance which in turn gets a lot more torque

Coil packs are the way to go for all the reasons mentioned, also with many aftermarket ecus you have the ability to choose what type of igniton module you use either constant charge or constant duty, this gives you more control of the dwell (coil build) time which you will need with boost at higher rpm, otherwise you may end up having to reduce spark plug gaps to the point that off boost driveability, economy and idle quality suffer as a larger gap is required to ignite the leaner cruise mixtures. If I could get my hands on the MSD unit I would use them as their output potential is much higher, I have used them on V6 commodores that were boosted where the spark blew out at boosts around 10 psi with standard coils.

your mention of the spark blowing out at 10 lb is what me mechanic said. since il only be running 5-7lb the coil pack is not needed at the moment but may be an option further down the track when I catch the boost bug.

We had coils packs failing at 10 psi, they were stock ones. It all boils down to the amount of energy required to energise the plug gap and the amount of time the coil has to charge(dwell). The higher the RPM the less time available to charge the coil also the greater the cylinder pressure and turbulance the more energy is required to jump the gap. An efficent combustion chamber creates more turbulance making the gap harder to jump. I can't say at what boost exactly you will encounter major problems but I know that even a naturally aspirated engine will make more power if coil packs are used, you may have to compromise with a distributor by closing the plug gaps down to .7mm which does make for less efficient combustion, less power economy and idle quality. Also plug changes will be needed more frequently. Coil packs are worth the effort and expense.

Joel