Aftermarket ignition ...do you really need one?

Saw this from Chrysler Engineer Dave Zelkowski, had this to say about aftermarket ignition systems-

"The ONLY thing they will do for you is lighten your wallet. If there is nothing wrong with the stock ignition components it won't help. If you have some old tired components then it could be a benefit. (This is a key phrase to take note of, 20 (50!) year old pieces will have lost some function) I've been through this aftermarket ignition thing before. I spent a week on the dyno with the Super Touring 2.0L testing five different systems whose manufacturer's claimed big results. I found zero. The down side to their systems were that the complexity was increased and they weighed more. The Dodge Super Touring Stratus uses a stock ignition system and a stock engine controller and makes 300hp normally aspirated."



Pishta

MSD 6 (deceased)
MSD 6 (deceased)
Mallory Hyfire V dinosaur (PN 690)
MARK TEN B
Crane Hi-6 (black)
Crane Hi-6 (black)

I never paid more than 10% of retail for any of these over 30 years of collecting. MARK TEN B has a toggle switch to enable/bypass and flipping the switch does zero to affect idle but it does alter the voltage sent to coil, hard to tell what it sends to coil but an analog meter kicked to >70V on the slow meter but an O-scope would tell me more, possibly 300V from the large capacitor in unit. All the multi strike units altered the idle just a tad but I think it was more of a retarding affect? This was on a 4 banger carbed truck with stock internals. The modern boxes DO add rev limiters and some add retard window features too so not a complete waste. Turbo and 13:1 motors may see benefits but not common builds.