A Public Apology to 123Ignition / Albertonics D.V.

[JackkTheMackk]

In addition to removing my original comment in a recent thread about installing CCW 123Ignition distributors in 911SCs, and in the spirit of transparency (and apparently, legal survival) I’d like to offer a public apology, as a gesture of good faith, and perhaps mild self-preservation.

If you just so happened to read my comment before it was removed, please go ahead and disregard it. Pretend it never existed, like a bronze gear that never wore prematurely.

So here it is: I’m truly sorry for attempting to help fellow 911SC owners avoid a multi-thousand-dollar engine teardown to replace a chewed-up bronze crankshaft gear, should they coincidentally be running a counterclockwise 123Ignition distributor. I now realize that offering to share facts, measurements, lab results, and unaltered RAW-format macro photos comparing four of their gears to one original Bosch gear might be deeply offensive… to the manufacturer that stands proudly behind their product.

After receiving their latest email (pasted below), I’ve started this thread out of good faith. They're right, I did say I would wait for their response before posting publicly. And I totally intended to…
I just happened to wait nine full days, send four follow-up emails, receive zero responses, and watched people on this forum actively discussing these distributors going into their engines. So yes, I briefly chimed in with a heads-up. My mistake.

To be clear: my original post didn’t accuse anyone of anything. It simply mentioned that multiple confirmed failures had occurred involving 123 CCW distributors and that it might be smart for others to double-check their setups. I have never once tried to slander, defame, or spin up conspiracy theories on forums.
I was just sharing data and photos that support repeatable, observable events.
But apparently, that was enough to cross into legal-action territory.

So, out of respect for the process, and a healthy appreciation for companies who prefer to open dialogue with legal threats rather than, say, creating an account here to publicly confirm they’re actively investigating (yet never asked me for contact info for the other known victims to gather more context on this systemic trend), promptly replying to one of four emails, or even just confirming they downloaded the photos, I’ll keep this public apology up until they share their own findings.
Assuming any testing has been done.
Assuming they plan to share it.

If anyone out there just happens to have a story about a shredded bronze crank drive gear that coincidentally occurred while running a 123Ignition distributor (specifically the counterclockwise version) please keep that information private. Do not DM me any photos, measurements, timelines, or firsthand accounts. Definitely keep that information to yourself.

In the meantime, I’ll be over here, not sharing data, not warning anyone, and definitely not doing anything outrageous like comparing gears or preventing expensive engine damage. Wouldn’t want to risk another strongly worded email.

Disclaimer: This has absolutely nothing to do with Ed at 123Ignition USA. He's just the U.S. distributor (not the manufacturer) and even went out of his way to have an adapter sleeve made so you can run the original Bosch gear instead. He’s not responsible for these issues and has always been helpful and honest in my experience. Could not give him a more raving review.

[Balisong]

Legal punishment is severe. I understand they subject you to the Dutch Oven.

[pmax]

The pictures you posted below don't look good, that's for sure.
https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/1176775-123-distributor-911sc-2.html#post12456419
I guess the demands mentioned in the letter are for those damages.

Your PSA is certainly understandable. These aftermarket vendors should stand behind their products.

[mb911]

Oh interesting. Hmm I like my 123 dizzy but maybe not that much. Time to look for a spare Bosch unit.

[shoooo32]

To be considered defamation, the statements need to be false. While it's likely true that the documentation Jack presented is hurting their business, nothing presented appears to be overtly untrue.

The surface finish of that gear likely exceeds even the coarsest AGMA standard. It would be interesting to know the finish requirement flowed to their gear supplier and/or hobbing vendor. The first step for 123 would be to identify the product requirement and validate the concern. If a non-conformance is identified, a root cause/corrective action plan would trigger containment activities (may include stock sweep, customer notification, potential recall or gear replacement, etc). From there they'd likely target the hobbing process.

In the meantime, I'd be looking at any 123 distributor out there...