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Old 12-24-2014, 02:18 PM   #1
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MSD Ignition box

Thoughts? I'm leaning towards the 6AL or street fire because id like a rev limiter. I've read reviews for better starts, smoother idle etc. but is it worth it? The car is a driven street car with intentions of some 1/4 passes, maybe even road course.
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Old 12-24-2014, 02:53 PM   #2
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I'm not sure they are worth the extra complication. I've seen too many fail over the years on cars that didn't even need them. Is your car really hard to start or idle poorly? Rev limiter is nice but there are probably other ways to accomplish that.
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Old 12-24-2014, 05:54 PM   #3
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make sure you get it off a reputable site. I'd get a 6al2 and the appropriate plug n go harness
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Old 12-24-2014, 05:55 PM   #4
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I think peoples go bad because they mount them in dumb spots. mines been going 2 years strong, mounted where cool air pass' under it to prevent it from cooking itself
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Old 12-24-2014, 07:16 PM   #5
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Car starts and idles fine. I mean its got the cc306 so its choppy but no issues
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Old 12-26-2014, 01:01 PM   #6
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IIRC MSD also makes a plug and play harness for TPI cars for use with the 6AL so you wouldn't have too much of a mess
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Old 12-26-2014, 07:27 PM   #7
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IIRC MSD also makes a plug and play harness for TPI cars for use with the 6AL so you wouldn't have too much of a mess
Thanks but I swapped in an LT1, I need to update my sig lol
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Old 12-26-2014, 09:17 PM   #8
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Thanks but I swapped in an LT1, I need to update my sig lol
harness ran me 35 bucks for my lt1
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Old 12-27-2014, 07:06 AM   #9
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Lt1's have rev limiters. They pull fuel instead of timing though.
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Old 12-27-2014, 01:41 PM   #10
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I've run the Eccel 300+ digital ingition system for probably 15 years now, zero problems! Easy to install, has a built in rev limiter.

Comes in a kit with the controler, new coil and wiring harness. Only other thing I did was buy a rubber mounting kit so it doesn't get any vibrations and allow air flow around.

As other had said, your stock tune has a rev limiter in it. When I first moded the car I had PCM4Less do the tune and set the limit high so I could easliy change the rev limit using the accel unit. now I do my own tuning and set it in the tune.
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Old 12-27-2014, 04:43 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by BonzoHansen View Post
I'm not sure they are worth the extra complication. I've seen too many fail over the years on cars that didn't even need them. Is your car really hard to start or idle poorly? Rev limiter is nice but there are probably other ways to accomplish that.
Agreed.

I'm not sure about today, but back 20 to 25 years ago, about 50% of the 6AL boxes were duds - either didn't work out of the box, or died in a few days.

There is a rumor that the main reason the knock-offs from overseas were noticed was that the return rate dropped off quite a bit - they made them of higher quality. I find that disturbing and hilarious at the same time.
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Old 12-28-2014, 12:23 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pampered-Z View Post
I've run the Eccel 300+ digital ingition system for probably 15 years now, zero problems! Easy to install, has a built in rev limiter.

Comes in a kit with the controler, new coil and wiring harness. Only other thing I did was buy a rubber mounting kit so it doesn't get any vibrations and allow air flow around.

As other had said, your stock tune has a rev limiter in it. When I first moded the car I had PCM4Less do the tune and set the limit high so I could easliy change the rev limit using the accel unit. now I do my own tuning and set it in the tune.
PCM4Less did mine as well and set the rev limiter higher but I forget what it's set to exactly. I'll look into the Eccel system.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Huryk View Post
Agreed.

I'm not sure about today, but back 20 to 25 years ago, about 50% of the 6AL boxes were duds - either didn't work out of the box, or died in a few days.

There is a rumor that the main reason the knock-offs from overseas were noticed was that the return rate dropped off quite a bit - they made them of higher quality. I find that disturbing and hilarious at the same time.
Oh man, that is funny and sad
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Old 12-30-2014, 07:58 AM   #13
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i snagged a used 6a for a song and has been fine in my car for like a year, granted i prob only used it 1k miles, idk how much it was used before hand. we will see
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Old 12-30-2014, 06:57 PM   #14
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I have had my MSD 6AL and Blaster coil in my Bird for over 15 years now and it seems to do what they said it would. My biggest surprise was (and still is) is how CLEAN my exhaust tips stay. I can stick a clean cloth in the polished dual tips (I have a BORLA) and there is no residue of carbon on the cloth. Does that mean it is burning all the fuel? I think so. I did need to have a part install between the Box and the tach, (from MSD) an item that kept the tach needle from jumping around. The car can sit all winter, and it fires right up in a second. I did not get the the rev limiter, but that's your option.
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Old 01-04-2015, 02:15 PM   #15
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Sorry to thread jack.I would like to run one also.But I bolt ons.Im getting ready to do some head work.Port & polish,0.20 shaved and new springs.I already have 1.6 rockers.But I would like for my car to burn as much fuel as possable.So should I buy one with the new heads?
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Old 01-04-2015, 02:34 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Teds89IROC View Post
PCM4Less did mine as well and set the rev limiter higher but I forget what it's set to exactly. I'll look into the Eccel system.



Oh man, that is funny and sad


Inside a fake MSD.

While MSD's quality may be slipping I still think it's far better than Accel's. I've had their stuff be bad out of the box.

On a modern FI powertrain I dunno if it would be worth the hassle for street use.
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Old 01-05-2015, 05:13 PM   #17
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I wonder what the real difference is between the street boxes and the marine units. My speed skiff had the marine unit in it and that boat took a pounding and I never had any problems.
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Old 01-06-2015, 05:03 PM   #18
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I wonder what the real difference is between the street boxes and the marine units. My speed skiff had the marine unit in it and that boat took a pounding and I never had any problems.
probably a little extra care with corrosion resistance and vibrations. i bought a mallory marine distributor for my camaro since it was a good price, no real differences that i could find or see only thing that was mentioned was increased corrosion resistance and better vibration resistance. to me marine products sound more robust.. i could be wrong.
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daily econobox and first car

1986 IROC-Z, T56, MGW shifter, Heads, Cam, Holley Stealth Ram 350, t-top, tubular LCA with relo brackets, adjustable PHB, belltech sway bars, ground control weight jacks, SLP mid length headers, 3in w/borla XR1, RIP 3 10 bolts, 12.7 @ 109 so far.. atleast its faster than stock SOLD

1971 Camaro LS3/T56/9in, cam only and still carbed, RIP 2 10 bolts, 11.62@121

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