MSD Street Fire CDI

[acador]

So I decided to upgrade my ignition system to a MSD Street Fire CDI ignition, and WOW, what a difference it made. I was running a E12-80 dizzy in my L28 240 and the car was running great, but I kept fouling my plugs b/c I have it tuned fairly rich. I installed the CDI setup to prevent the plug fouling and for the rev limiter, but I didn't expect the increase in WOT performance. The exhaust smells better, the engine sounds more powerful, and there is a noticeable seat of the pants difference. I just wanted to post this for anyone on the fence about the value of a CDI ignition. It is $140 well spent IMO.

One thing I found interesting was the change in timing. I had the non-vacuum attached zx dizzy set at 17 degree base timing. When I removed the E12-80 module to wire it directly to the MSD, the base timing changed to 8 degrees base. I was able to adjust the base timing back to 17, but I was surprised by the change.

[ozconnection]

Hey, that's great news.

Any pics?

(I run MSD 6AL on my L28's. Does the Street Fire unit replace the 6AL?)

Edited May 15, 2011 by ozconnection

[acador]

I don't have any pics at the moment. The msd street fire line is for the "budget minded" according to them. Its a little less powerful putting out 435volts compared to the 6AL's 530volts. With my compression being less than 9:1, I figured the street fire would be sufficent and the $75 dollars in savings would be better spent on the next performance part. I'd probably stick with the 6AL though if I had a high compression race engine or ran a lot of boost.

[Zed Head]

Are you sure that you're not feeling the benefits of an extra 9 degrees of advance? That would be noticeable by seat-of-the-pants. There is no reason for your timing to change with the new module. The E12-80s don't have any timing control like some later ignition modules do.

[acador]

I am certain the timing was a 17 degree before I installed the MSD and 8 afterwards. I have been doing extensive tuning on the carbs, cam, and igntion timing over the last few months so I very familiar with the setup. I even marked the timing position on the distributor so I could adjust it at the track without bringing a light.

The only explanatoin I can come up with is that maybe there are a few milli-seconds of processing taking place on the MSD that is delaying the signal. If that were the case though, it seems like it the delay would be exaggerated at higher rpms.

[71ZZZZZ]

Hey acador, I'm thinking about this unit to replace a dead unit (from another maker) in my 240. I'm running a Mallory Unilite distributor w/Webers on a stock engine. Did you have to use one of the tach adapters to get your tach working? Did you actually adjust the timing at the distributor or the the CPU in the Streetfire did it? Did you upgrade to the Streetfire plug wires too? How's the performance/reliability now that you've had it installed for several months? Thanks for any info...

Edited August 6, 2011 by 71ZZZZZ