i see a lot of these boxes installed on cars at the cruise shows and if you ask about it most of them cant really tell  if there is a difference with it or not. sometimes wonder if they had it done because it was the thing to do.

has anyone installed one on their car and does it really make a difference to go thru the trouble of installing one


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the dynamic duo

c3vr life member #97

i believe they are mostly for looks. that being said, they may provide a little hotter spark but if you are not racing i dont see whereit serves any purpose. just out joy riding around the country i dont think it makes any difference. just my opinion.

Original post is getting old but not the topic. I was running an MSD 6AL which is the analog version. Principle advantages were hotter spark to higher RPM and multiple sparks from idle to 3000 RPM, plus you can open the plug gaps to .060 reliably. There's also some published material that OEM ignitions fall off pretty bad before/near red lines.Stumble with fuel injection is not as common as carb motors but it will clean up off-idle response and make it crisper.  It also has a rev limiter that you can chip if you don't want to depend on your car's electronics and a tach output for other stuff that needs a signal. I was also running a launch control via the rev limiter chip input which allowed better traction control since the car's traction control is so crude. It allowed a time based RPM limiter. Had some other problems develop so to eliminate possible bad box, I upgraded to programmable MSD-6AL-II which is the current digital technology with even more spark and duration. Programmable doesn't have chip input so I lost my launch control but better tires fixed a lot of that anway. On the other hand it has ignition retard by RPM which is easier to program than the car's ECU (assuming you know where the advance curve program is at.) Also, it only retards, you can't increase the advance so ECU really needs excess advance so you can offset it with the MSD. Programmable also has two rev limiters. You can use one to heat the tires and one for launch RPM. Mine hooks much better with launch about 1500-2000 RPM and it's nice to pin the petal at the last second and have it come off with the line lock. Is it worth it? There is performance but it's not a blower! Also the more you hot rod, the more apparent the results.

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I have installed two of these controllers. You will never know the difference until you bounce your motor off the rev limiter. I also have one of their LT1 distribtors. It is sealed against water with an "O" ring and it is precision made with roller bearings on the shaft  You get the satisfaction of knowing that MSD systems will work, but you will not get a large boost to the seat of your pants like a supercharger. JRB