As the title says, how do I know if I'd benefit from a new ignition coil? Car is an 1982 Datsun 280zx turbo conversion running Megasquirt (MSnS-extra 1) for fuel and timing, about 7 PSI boost. I have some issues at higher RPMs that I need to diagnose via data log, but I still can't figure out. Will a MSD blaster-2 help? Hurt?
Only if your stock coil isn't working.
Turbo + Problems at high rpm = What is your plug gap set to?
My Volvo 850T would lose spark at high RPM and 14lbs of boost when gapped to the stock setting.
Closing the gap to 0.026 fixed the problem.
I also had a similar issue with my Turbo'd MX-3. Check your plug gap and report back. Lower gap if over .040.
I am not confident in the expense of using MSD products.
I would use a conventional high output coil like a divorced HEI coil or a Ford EEC V coil.
Until recently, the only coil failure that I've ever had was an MSD blaster coil only hours old.
What plugs are you running, and how are they gapped? I assume this engine has an ordinary distributor. Are all the parts in perfect condition? Are the ignition cables high quality, or parts store junk?
Going way back to '80s turbo car know how, with turbo SAABs used in racing, ordinary copper NGK or Bosch plugs were preferred over anything fancy. Closer than standard gaps were required, but I forget the actual measurements. Plugs were also changed frequently.
I have NGK plugs, one heat range colder than stock, gap at 036". Stock I think is significantly larger; I already tried closing the gap to help. The heat range change is due to pinging I was having. Wires are Magnecor. I'll grab a data log soon and check it out in detail.
I'd try some race gas just to see if it went away. ..
I had to gap the plugs on my turbo Miata down to .025ish to prevent cutting out at higher rpm.
What problem or symptom are you trying to solve?
It's not like you can have too strong a coil, so it wouldn't hurt to upgrade if you suspect any kind of ignition issues.
On the Jeep, at the stock .040" gap, I ended up pulling a bunch of fuel out of the tune at high rpm and WOT after putting in a better coil. It wasn't noticeably misfiring or anything before, but it was missing enough to make the wideband read leaner than it actually was. Once I put the new coil in, suddenly it was showing stupidly rich (it had been running rich the whole time, I just didn't know it).
A stock Ford ECCC-V coil produces 45,000 volts. More than enough for any race engine, and they get used on MANY race engines. Just sayin...
The car hesitates around 4000 or 4500 RPM, rather than pulling strongly. It pulls, then bogs down, then pulls some more, then bogs down more.
I have no idea why, and am working on collecting a good data log. But, I figured for $30 to $50 I could rule out a problem I don't know if I actually have.
With load, without, or both? Wondering what fuel pressure is doing...
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