MSD, can you tell the difference?

Did you experience a change in perfomace when switching from a Mopar ignition to MSD?

  • Yes, it increased performance. I love it

    Votes: 44 64.7%

  • No, I was not satisfied with the results

    Votes: 8 11.8%

  • Meh... I like turtles...

    Votes: 16 23.5%
  • Total voters
    68
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PanGasket

PanGasket

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Just was curious and kinda been wanting to post this thread for a while. I wanted to know if you guys you could tell the difference between your stock Mopar Electronic Ignition system and when it was replaced with MSD part partially/fully. Please explain the difference you felt and what you did. I'm kinda curious of it would be worth the money in the future to slowly upgrade from an orange box ignition to a 6AL box, blaster coil, and distributor. I understand the distributor has bearings in it compared to the mopar performance one which is already one advantage.

So please post your MSD opinions and experiences here!:-D
Maybe this will help some other young guns too in the future!
 
Never used an MSD in a Mopar application, but I have seen one fail in a GM application. Car was an otherwise stock C3 Corvette. Not enough there to see an improvement with the MSD.
 
I run MSD in both my cars and would never go back to stock.I like the rev limiters and the simplicity of not worrying about an orange box melting.I,ve heard of MSD failing,but I,ve never had any failure in 5 yrs running a 6AL box with Blaster coil and 8.5 mil. wires.
 
I don't know if I ever realy noticed a power difference on the street, but seems to start and idle better especially when the engine is cold. It also is worth about 1 MPG on my Dart. I have not had any failures but I kept my stock electronic under the hood so I can switch back in a moments notice and not be stranded.
 
I voted for the MSD, but I do like turtles too. Go Terps!!
 
I've switched cars from the stock electronic ignition over to MSD units and did notice much easier starting and improved throttle response.Another thing that helped was increasing the plug gap which you also can also do when using the MSD.

I never ran any of the cars on the track but I'd imagine it would have knocked a bit off the ET as it definitely felt stronger,especially at the low end.

I also ran an MSD units on a couple of tow trucks I used to own which helped mileage and performance and I never had one failure over 10 years of daily use.Highly recommended.
 
Well yes but there are specific improvements. You may pick up 1/2 mile per gallon or so due to the multi spark. Easier starts are a benefit as are lower emmisions.
As far as performance goes,I dont think you'll see much increase if any. Good ign systems are more about reliabilty,ease of maintenance. Look elsewhere for performance upgrades that make a big difference like headers etc.
 
I put a Mallory HyFire 6A (equivalent to MSD) on my 318 when it was stock and noticed a slight improvement in response, gas mileage, etc. However I got it because I needed to upgrade from points and figured I'd just go to the top, since CD ignition systems can be used with any engine or car.
 
I have never had any problems with any MSD products, you dont really need an MSD distributor unless your just after the wow/bling factor, the control boxes will work with most any distributor points or electronic. You do however need to pay attention to which plug wires MSD says to use or that can cause problems quick and will have to gap the spark plugs a little bigger.
 
Back in the late 80s/early 90s I was driving a 66 Chevelle SS 396. The car ran like crap in the winter on the reformulated gas.

I did everything I could with the stock components……. New parts, plugs and everything in tune .

The only thing that solved my problem was an MSD system.

On a street car that is running fine with the stock stuff, an MSD system is probably not worth it.
 
Run nothing but MSD in my cars..and have NEVER had a failure(not saying they don't happen) but NEVER has happen to me..:-D:-D
 
I ran 3 different boxes on my Dart, all of them failed by just shutting off eventually so I always left my stock box in place and have quick connects on the coil wires and things in case I have to change it out.
Died on me at a light one time and I swapped the wires over and had it running almost before the light changed.
Maybe my wiring's all fubared or something but I haven't had one last longer then 6 months yet.
The car ran better when it did work, and started great but I finally gave up and went back to factory style boxes.
Even had a couple of the old 404bc direct connection boxes and once I got the thing started they idled and ran way better but the box was old and had issues as well so it never started quickly and needed at least 7 volts just to throw a spark so I had to bypass the ballast and all that, plus narrow the plug gap.
Great idea when working but frustrating for me to run. I'd love to get a 6 or a old 404bc that would just stay working...
 
I can't take part in the poll but I am interested. I got a feeling that we all will be looking for bluer multi sparks, .06+ plug gaps and such.
Whatever is needed to burn the puppy pee they call gasoline in new engines is what we will need.
 
alitle smother idle on a fairly radical 340 and alot more frequent distributorcap changes, why cant someone just make replacement centerelectrodes for those caps so i dont have to buy the whole cap once a year..
 
the67fish said:
I, you dont really need an MSD distributor unless your just after the wow/bling factor, the control boxes will work with most any distributor points or electronic. QUOTE]

The reason I love the msd distributor is for its curve tuning ability. MSD will work with most distributors, but you don't get that tuning option like you do with their dist
Click to expand...
 
I have points, electronic, and MSD systems. They all run well, but hands down the MSD runs best, starts easiest, and makes the most power. Whether to use it or not is your won feelings. I know how to make them all work well. Some don't have that luxury. If a std ignition equipped engine is tuned properly it will be more than enough in most circumstances. However a properly tuned MSD will give side benefits like idle quality, economy, and better cold starts in the climates that need it. Is it aways needed, no. But it helps.
 
interesting, I have an MSD box that I got with a bunch of parts, always wondered if it was worth using, after reading this I think I will install it in my car, better cold starts and increased fuel mileage are a +
 
After reading this forum MSD gets a thumbs up! And I've never used one.
 
On a timeslip, no, on a street ride, I like'em. Cleans up the idle and add's mileage.
 
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