Ignition systems – Need Help

[Paul W]

Sorry guys if I'm flogging a dead horse.

I’m researching aftermarket ignition units for my car and up until now have been weighing up the merits of Crane vs MSD. Just when I though I had the whole thing sorted an ignition specialist has thrown a new issue into the mix – CDI (and derivative) vs HEI units (High Energy Ignition).

The source of the advice is the owner of a company locally who specialises in ignitions, both the garden variety and race / rally custom setups. His comments seemed to make a lot of sense and went along the lines of the HEI units provide a less powerful spark (than CDI based units) for considerably longer duration, and were in his opinion, much more efficient. At the very least it would provide the same power increase as the MSD unit. It was explained to me that the HEI system was the basis of most modern ignition systems and the system of choice for many racers.

Cost? Installed, no different from the installation of an MSD unit and cheaper than the comparable Crane.

I thought I’d run this past the collective wisdom of the board for comment. No doubt the likes of JW or Warren could verify this as a viable alternative or a crock of B.S.

Regards,

[Otto]

What is wrong with the good old Bosch capacity discharge unit that Porsche had on their cars for over 14 years????????? OTTO

[Paul W]

Otto, being a ‘T’ my car currently has no CD unit at all. If the 30yo Bosch CD unit is the best alternative (albeit the most expensive) I’ll look at putting it on. My search is the quest for performance bang for buck – particularly as I’m coming off a low H/P base. Thank you for your response. Regards,

[Paul W]

For anyone interested:

http://www.iceignition.com.au/ignmodefi.htm

The model on their web site is for the V8 EFI application, though they have a model which works on carb’d flat 6’s.