Stevec

I have a MSD distributor (ready to run) and would like to get a ignition control box. I would like to keep it all MSD and want one with a rev limiter. What would you guys recomend? What are some other features that I should want and stay clear of?

I never used an ignition control box before so can someone explain the do's and dont's,pro's and con's of using one.

Thanks!

oddball

There should be a book with all the info that can go into this....

Note that for the cleanest triggering, you should bypass the module in the distributor and just use the magnetic pickup, thereby rendering a third (or half) of your purchase price worthless. It hurts. I just did this. You can leave the module in there and use the white wire also.

Unless you have some specific need to adding a CD box, you may not see much - if any - benefit.

With that out of the way, MSD has the StreetFire as their entry level, then the 6A's. The StreetFire just puts out a little less power, otherwise looks like a fine box and has a rev limiter. I don't think it's the nicer soft rev limiter, but will do the basic job.

The 6A's add some more power, and the 6A-L has the rev limiter. 6AL-2 has two separate rev limiters for the drags. I'm now running the 6AL-2 Programmable and doing the mechanical and vacuum ignition advance in the box and set up by computer, and triggered from the gutted shell of an Accel billet distributor.
Next up is the race 7 series. You'd know if you needed that.

I've got a 403 running 10:1 compression with a 227/233 cam and a QJet. The MSD box helped startup and cruise ignition quite a bit. More work with the mechanical advance may have gotten me to the same point (eventually). Having absolute control of the timing and doing real time monitoring is awfully nice though.

Stevec

I really want the rev limit feature since I'm spending some good $$$ on this new 455. I'm gonna do more homework before I go ahead and buy it.

Thanks for the help Oddball!

TripDeuces

http://www.4secondsflat.com/MSD%20Di...r%20Tuning.htm

Don't know anything about them except what I've read. Seems to be a decent ignition from what others have said on other forums.

Stevec

Interesting link!

Thanks Trip!

allyolds68

Steve,

I just asked a similar question on ROP because I really need a rev limiter. I'm probably going to go with the stand alone rev limiter

http://72.22.90.30/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=85605

This guy gives really good advice for street applications. He's helped me work through a few things when I was putting my car together including sizing my radiator on a budget

The only down side is I'll probably have to purchase another $28 worth of modules to get the redline down to 5000 RPM's

Stevec

Hey Ally I was thinking the same thing either a stand alone rev limiter or the msd street fire Cd ignition box.

Thanks...

hotrod1442

An MSD 6AL is what you are looking for......probably the most common/widely used box on the market. If you want something that you don't need to have RPM pills to adjust your limiter.....go with a MSD Digital 6, it has dials on the side of the box to adjust your limiters (2 limiters on the Digital 6) as well as a start retard. An added bonus of the Digital 6 is its more compact size, which makes it easier to stash out of sight, so you can keep that "stock" appearance.

Dave

64Rocket

I suggest the MSD digital 6.

Works great for me.

Gene

dc2x4drvr

MSD now sells the Olds "ready to run" units with a built in rev limiter. MSD will retrofit early distributors, they charged me less than 80 bucks.

archeryshooter

I have the 6A on one car and just put the streetfire with the rev limit on my new setup it works fine BUT my tach wouldnt work so I found that I had to buy a tach adapter to make it work, that cost me another 70 bucks. If you check on it there are some tachs that will work without the adapter but if yours doesnt I would get the 6 al I thought I was saving but in the end it was close to the same.

oddball

The tach trigger problem has me intrigued. What was your trigger source? Points?

If it's just a weak trigger source, then it seems like two resistors and a transistor should be a fine fix instead of a $70 module. You'd have to solder and protect it yourself though.

droptopron

If you are purely looking for a rev limiter there is one built into the Crane XR-i electronic ignition conversion. One downfall is that it may not have the granularity you want. It has presets for 4K, 6K & 8K RPM's.

archeryshooter

I have a MSD pro billet Look it up on their site it lists the tachs that dont need the adapter my tach is a Sun and it needed it

oddball

OK. If anyone knows the background on this, I'd love to know as I'm just curious. I haven't seen the problem on my particular combos, so haven't had the chance to debug first hand.
The manufacturers don't really post much useful info about the real problem, just "if it doesn't work, buy this doo-dad and then it works!"