almost MSD
 

I ordered some Accel coils Friday and they finally got here today. Don't feel a huge difference right now but everyone i have talked to said wait until you drive it more and let them "break in" i guess you could say. i went with Accel because they were a lot cheaper through my work and are the same specs as the MSD. sorry for the shitty pic ill get a better one at work tomorrow. and thanks ION for the write up

FYI I ordered and installed the MSD 8870 coil interfaces after having issues with the blade connectors making poor contact. I actually accidentally knocked one coil's wires out and didn't realize it until I started it. It ran on 2 cylinders, lol.



Spark is much better now.

haha well i think i have them in there pretty good as is but if my car ever starts running on 2 cylinders ill have to figure something else out.

Chris, you chose MSD over Accel. Was this based on other recommendations to you or have you used Accel and then pulled it? Would you say it was worth the $$$ invested?

I always heard that GM igntions were pretty good in stock form and on SOME GM cars/trucks the MSD was actually a downgrade.

If I heard otherwise I would have upgraded my ign when I had to replace the coils

I know a few people who had issues with the Accel DIS coils...

I only used MSD since that is what the common "bigger-power guys" are running. Definitely worth it. As I said before, everyone upgrades their air, fuel, and they forget the spark. With bigger airflow amounts, you need a strong spark that won't get blown out or otherwise distorted by the amount and velocity of air/fuel coming in. I doubt it makes much of a difference on an N/A car.

This I've heard ;)

Good to know this, I was just about to order just the MSD coils... Gues I'll have to save a few more beans and get the full setup.

You are correct. Running boosted seems to trash the plugs although not as bad as running lean IMHO.

can we get the MSD coils for the LA1

That's what they're using is the coils for the 3400... The stock coils for the 3400 aren't all that bad in performance situations (ie: boost) like the 2.4 ones.

ok thanks

In my opinion even on a stock 2.4L reliability wise, going w/ the MSD setup IS an upgrade.

For the question of better-than-MSD coils, the AC Delco D576 coil is said to have a stronger spark. It looks just like an MSD 8224 coil, and it fits on the MSD 8870 block that Ion showed. Also you could use a stock GM ignition coil plate from any 4-cyl car from the late 80s or early 90s. For junkyard guys, here's a list of cars that use the individual D576 coils:

BUICK PARK AVENUE (1999 - 2000)
BUICK PARK AVENUE ULTRA (1996 - 2005)
BUICK REGAL (1999 - 2000)
BUICK REGAL GS (1997 - 2004)
BUICK RIVIERA (1996 - 1999)
CHEVROLET IMPALA SS (2004 - 2005)
CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS (2004 - 2005)
OLDSMOBILE LSS (1996 - 1999)
PONTIAC BONNEVILLE (1999 - 2003)
PONTIAC BONNEVILLE SSE (1996 - 1998)
PONTIAC BONNEVILLE SSEI (1996 - 1999)
PONTIAC GRAND PRIX GT (2006 - 2007)
PONTIAC GRAND PRIX GTP (1997 - 2005)

I'm not sure if the LA1 coil is different, though they should all have basically the same shape and spark, so you guys should be good to go.