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msd ignition

K10 KRAWLER

1/2 ton status
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Location
Carstairs, Alberta, Canada
So I am curious about something, I see a lot of guys run their msd ignition box in the cab to keep them dry. so I was thinking, what does the msd box replace? (on a 93 350) is it worth buying to do this? My truck will see a lot of deep water.
 
The box doesn't replace anything. I just makes "Multiple Spark Discharge" rather than a single spark. They work good in an old school engine that isn't Fuel Injected. I had one on my rig (89 blazer) and did not tell any difference (that is until the box failed me 7 miles down a dirt road while camping near Yosemite). Good thing i used the plug and play harness and was able to quickly and easily put my rig back to stock and drive out.
 
Well, on my blazer, I have the box, the distributor, and the coil. It replaced my whole HEI distributor.
 
I have the MSD distributor and coil as well. Yes, i think the MSD box on a Fuel Injected engine is a waste as they are pretty optimized from the factory. I would recommend getting an MSD coil though as they produce a hotter spark (more voltage).
 
IMO, getting any MSD ignition for any engine is a huge waste of money. I have a 68,000 original mile 72 Pontiac Ventura II that I put an MSD ignition setup on and the damn box burned out 4 months later. Since then, I've put in an HEI distributor and called it good. And the funny thing is, I never really noticed that big of a difference between the MSD and the HEI.
 
Allot of the "problems" that people have with MSD's is there motor doesn't really need the extra spark it provides. It's not going to hurt anything (except increased plug wear), but for the most part, a properly setup HEI will work great for 90% of the people who are running an MSD. Where they really help is when you are running much higher compression, nitrous, or a blower. Anything that will make more cylinder presure is going to require a stronger spark. Or if you plan on spinning the motor past 6000rpm, the HEI can start to missfire from there on up.
 
brian at tbichips.com says basicly a wast on tbi systems. old stuff its good.

i had one on a 350 carbed truck and it did help burn the oil better it was eating.

then set it aside when i sold the truck and 4 years later i reused it and like others 5 miles down the road it craped out. and i had plug and play so i was able to bypass to stock and still going.


dont buy offroad msd f$%^kin junk boxes if you get a msd setup.
 
Allot of the "problems" that people have with MSD's is there motor doesn't really need the extra spark it provides. It's not going to hurt anything (except increased plug wear), but for the most part, a properly setup HEI will work great for 90% of the people who are running an MSD. Where they really help is when you are running much higher compression, nitrous, or a blower. Anything that will make more cylinder presure is going to require a stronger spark. Or if you plan on spinning the motor past 6000rpm, the HEI can start to missfire from there on up.

:waytogo:
Nice to see someone with experience that knows what's going on. You are right on the money toomany. Let’s make it simple with a quick analogy. Let’s say you are trying to light a candle outside on a perfectly calm day; in a sense this is the same a stock motor and a match will do just fine. Now let’s say there are 20 mph winds outside and you just can't keep that match lit. Fire up a blow torch and that flame isn't going out. On your truck if the motor is pretty much stock then the factory ignition system is probably sufficient enough to light the fuel efficiently as it was designed to. In a modified motor with higher cylinder pressures due to higher compression ratios; nitrous; or boost applications you add a great deal of turbulence in the cylinder thus making it a windy day outside and you need that blow torch... In short, if you have a stock motor that you don't turn high RPM's then lighting that candle with a blow torch will provide minimal gains at best. Will it help? Of course as I'm a believer that every little bit helps. Will you be satisfied with the gains provided for the investment on a stock motor; probably not and then you would be on here upset that you invested your money and didn't see a "significant" increase. I run a box on my 87 K5 that is injected because it has a slightly bigger cam profile than stock, Jet Stage II chip, Holley 670 CFM throttle body, TBI spacer, Edelbrock Intake, and Doug Thorley headers and duals to exhale. Did I see a difference? You bet I did and I love it. No more rich smell out the exhaust and I can cruise with my back window down and get out of the truck without smelling like exhaust fumes. If your motor is pretty stock then I would say upgrade the coil, wires, cap and rotor and you should be A OK... If you have any questions give me a shout at MSD; 915-856-2739; you can shoot me an e-mail too at [email protected] .

Phil
 
Don't suppose there is any kind of warranty left on an approximately 5 year old MSD 6A box. I'm the original purchaser with a receipt?
 
Monday - Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm mountain time are my hours. That phone number is my direct line; If I don't answer leave me a voicemail and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
 
Monday - Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm mountain time are my hours. That phone number is my direct line; If I don't answer leave me a voicemail and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

:thumb: If you don't hear from me today then i might not be able to call until monday. I definately want to talk with you about it though.
 
excellent answer, how about the offroad box, some love them and some say they are junk? i have been thinking about one but can not decide.
 
:waytogo:
Nice to see someone with experience that knows what's going on. You are right on the money toomany. Let’s make it simple with a quick analogy. Let’s say you are trying to light a candle outside on a perfectly calm day; in a sense this is the same a stock motor and a match will do just fine. Now let’s say there are 20 mph winds outside and you just can't keep that match lit. Fire up a blow torch and that flame isn't going out. On your truck if the motor is pretty much stock then the factory ignition system is probably sufficient enough to light the fuel efficiently as it was designed to. In a modified motor with higher cylinder pressures due to higher compression ratios; nitrous; or boost applications you add a great deal of turbulence in the cylinder thus making it a windy day outside and you need that blow torch... In short, if you have a stock motor that you don't turn high RPM's then lighting that candle with a blow torch will provide minimal gains at best. Will it help? Of course as I'm a believer that every little bit helps. Will you be satisfied with the gains provided for the investment on a stock motor; probably not and then you would be on here upset that you invested your money and didn't see a "significant" increase. I run a box on my 87 K5 that is injected because it has a slightly bigger cam profile than stock, Jet Stage II chip, Holley 670 CFM throttle body, TBI spacer, Edelbrock Intake, and Doug Thorley headers and duals to exhale. Did I see a difference? You bet I did and I love it. No more rich smell out the exhaust and I can cruise with my back window down and get out of the truck without smelling like exhaust fumes. If your motor is pretty stock then I would say upgrade the coil, wires, cap and rotor and you should be A OK... If you have any questions give me a shout at MSD; 915-856-2739; you can shoot me an e-mail too at [email protected] .

Phil


I am thinking of a setup similar to that to. I will most likely run my engine stock this upcoming season, mainly due to the fact that my build is costing me to much. but i would like to get more power. I have heard a rumor that tbi systems usually cap around 300 hp due to the throttle body? is this true? or would a holley throttle body allow you to updrade to maybe a 383?, and get towards 400ish mark? or would i have to go with a tuned port system for that?
 
Josh,

There was an issue with the OffRoad box for a while that has been corrected and are trouble free since. I had an OffRoad box fail on me to be honest with you however this was one of the troubbled units. The OffRoad box is really only necessary if you will be completely submurging the thing under water or are gonna be beating the thing with extreme vibration. i.e. Baja 1000? :) I run the new 6AL-2 on mine and have no issues; then again there is absolutly no water here in the desert southwest but I do beat on the truck pretty hard.
 
The TBI system does reach its limits around the 300hp range. I'm estimating my motor to make about 330hp and it runs great. My next motor will be about a 10:1 roller 383 and the TBI is going to be questionable but I think it will run well. I can say the truck runs very well and impresses people the way it is right now. Not to mention it is reliable as can be. Wish I could say the same for the front 10 bolt!
 
:waytogo:
Nice to see someone with experience that knows what's going on. You are right on the money toomany. Let’s make it simple with a quick analogy. Let’s say you are trying to light a candle outside on a perfectly calm day; in a sense this is the same a stock motor and a match will do just fine. Now let’s say there are 20 mph winds outside and you just can't keep that match lit. Fire up a blow torch and that flame isn't going out.

On your truck if the motor is pretty much stock then the factory ignition system is probably sufficient enough to light the fuel efficiently as it was designed to. In a modified motor with higher cylinder pressures due to higher compression ratios; nitrous; or boost applications you add a great deal of turbulence in the cylinder thus making it a windy day outside and you need that blow torch... In short, if you have a stock motor that you don't turn high RPM's then lighting that candle with a blow torch will provide minimal gains at best.

Will it help? Of course as I'm a believer that every little bit helps. Will you be satisfied with the gains provided for the investment on a stock motor; probably not and then you would be on here upset that you invested your money and didn't see a "significant" increase.

I run a box on my 87 K5 that is injected because it has a slightly bigger cam profile than stock, Jet Stage II chip, Holley 670 CFM throttle body, TBI spacer, Edelbrock Intake, and Doug Thorley headers and duals to exhale. Did I see a difference? You bet I did and I love it. No more rich smell out the exhaust and I can cruise with my back window down and get out of the truck without smelling like exhaust fumes. If your motor is pretty stock then I would say upgrade the coil, wires, cap and rotor and you should be A OK... If you have any questions give me a shout at MSD; 915-856-2739; you can shoot me an e-mail too at [email protected] .

Phil


fyi PLEASE use paragraphs it helps to be able to read it. :doah:
 
Josh,

There was an issue with the OffRoad box for a while that has been corrected and are trouble free since. I had an OffRoad box fail on me to be honest with you however this was one of the troubbled units. The OffRoad box is really only necessary if you will be completely submurging the thing under water or are gonna be beating the thing with extreme vibration. i.e. Baja 1000? :) I run the new 6AL-2 on mine and have no issues; then again there is absolutly no water here in the desert southwest but I do beat on the truck pretty hard.


can you do anything with my offroad dead box? or am i stuck with it and the offroad rev box and all direct wiring that goes with it i cant use anymore?
 

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