I agree 100%. A free-flowing exhaust would be an improvement over the restrictive stock setup, plus your engine will sound better. I have been here since 2004, and I have yet to see anyone prove any horsepower or torque gains on a dyno from an aftermarket "high performance" ignition over the stock Duraspark ignition on a stock or street engine.

If you noticed, the guys in here who are telling you to save your hard-earned money on a performance ignition and put it someplace else instead have all been around here for a long time and all of them have excellent feedback and knowledge of what they are talking about. By contrast, the ones who are telling you that you need a racing ignition haven't been here very long.

I love how some people feel threatened and resort to swearing when they feel that another person may be right. Given your obvious limited ability for logical discussion and critical thinking, I don't see any need to give you any more "smart" comments, Chief.

 

You're right, everyone does have excellent feedback, except you. In case you haven't gotten the hint, no one on here, including th OP, wants your input. All of your comments have been garbage and most of them are just to start fights. Do everyone a favor and sign off... Permanently...

 

I never said needed it's nice, maybe wanted but not needed. Also you cannot make an educated comment unless you've owned one and can back that up. Try this. http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2...utor/index.php and http://www.stangtv.com/tech-stories/...ng-6-cylinder/ enough said I'm done.

 

Actually, you are wrong yet again, Johnson. I have excellent feedback with a score of 162 positive rep points. That's more than you and everyone else in here who is raving about aftermarket ignitions.

 

Whatever makes you feel better Chief. Even our worst presidents get a few positive rep points, you just can't see their negative ones I will agree that aftermarket is expensive and maybe not worth it in a dollar to hp gain perspective. But you are completely wrong when you say there is absolutely no gain whatsoever and that we are all dumb for putting in an aftermarket system. Many guys will say that it is also dumb to put headers on, yet you are preaching that this is a must do upgrade... Your comment at the beginning is valid, just don't dog on everyone that doesn't have the exact same setup as you. And yes I know you will call me out and say that you never said we were "dumb" word for word. Just readin between the pretty bold lines that you're painting. The OP wanted to know what people thought of their ignition systems, not just yours. Let everyone tell him what they think because you don't know how their systems act in their trucks. Your opinion isn't god's word my friend...

 

I hope that was a sad attempt at humor.

 

Actually, you are wrong yet again too, co425. Did you not read your own articles? The first is comparing the D.U.I. with a custom curve to a stock 1973 dual point distributor with a points ignition. The second article is comparing the D.U.I. with a custom curve against a 1965 Mustang with a stock Load-O-Matic distributor and points ignition as well. That is comparing an electronic ignition against a *mechanical* ignition. That's not a very fair comparison at all. The OBVIOUS winner is going to be the D.U.I. ignition. No one in here said a points style ignition performed better than an electronic ignition.

I thought this discussion was comparing an aftermarket "high performance" ignition against a stock Duraspark ignition for a stock or street vehicle?

 

i appreciate your comments and feed back. a quick search showed a thread i think you started quite a while ago asking the same question. I see that you have decided to stay with the DSII system, and you appear to be quite happy with it. this weighs heavily on my decision to upgrade or not.

for arguement's sake, i'd chanllenge your challenge. By the same way that no one has been able to prove an increase in performance with an aftermarket ignition, no one has been able to disprove such an increase either.

I see a potential for a decrease in BSFC for a given torque output at a given RPM with a multiple spark or adaptive dwell system. If an aftermarket system were capable to produce more complete combustion, torque production would go up for a given BSFC and better fuel economy would (or could) result.

given the 460's appetite for fuel, i would say that complete combustion is not a strong suit for the 385 series engine. I would not expect to see a measurable gain in the real world, per se, but i would see a potential for a precieved improvement in driveability. which is what the guys with aftermarket systems keep saying with "glad i did" and "never go back". I think, anyway.

all of that being said, given the combustion conditions contained within a stock setup, perhaps multiple sparks or adaptive dwell provide no measurable improvement. just because there is a "potential" for improvement, does not mean that it will be so. i understand that.

the only thing that i keep thinking is that i can change ignition systems for about 150 bucks. while headers or exhaust will cost twice that much. if there is ANY improvement with the ignition system, then it could be money well spent. sure, headers WILL provide a measurable gain .. but they are 400+ bucks ... and that is not in the cards right now.

so really, the question was: "of the limited list of things i can do, would an ignition upgrade provide any noticable gain?"

still open to all input ....

thanks everyone!

 

Lariat did you even read both articles. One was points one dura spark.

Just stop. Keep your dura spark. I'll keep my HEI.

 

Did you get that, meborder?

There is a gain if you are spinning your truck past about 5,000 RPMs, because the Duraspark doesn't go much further past that threshold. And no one is dumb for putting in an aftermarket ignition if they are starting from ground up or if they are going to race their truck. If you are not doing that, replacing a perfectly capable Duraspark II ignition for an aftermarket racing ignition on a stock or street driven vehicle isn't going to get you anywhere faster.

You are underpricing the cost of a complete ignition system, and overpricing the cost of a decent set of headers. $150 is not going to get you a very good, reliable ignition system, while a pretty good set of headers shouldn't cost much more than about $350.

The answer is "NO."

 

Y'all have fun with the rest of this thread. I've said my peace. Respectfully bowing out.

 

No, it wasn't. If you read the entire article, it says that they had a problem caused by "an erratic spark from our budget Duraspark setup" that they rigged with a GM ignition module. But then they compared a custom-curved D.U.I. ignition system to a new Motorcraft dual-point distributor for a 1973 Ford Torino with a stock curve and coil. They further explained that the "slow advance rate of the points distributor showed its' weakness in both street driving as well as dyno testing."

The only thing that article proved was that the D.U.I. performs better than a points style ignition, which I agree with.

 

IF your stock system is worn out and your timing is all over the place, then I would respectfully disagree with you Lariat. Replacing worn out parts with something new manufactured is going to have positive results, aftermarket or stock replacement.

IF your stock DuraSpark system is fine, I agree with Lariat. You are going to see FAR more improvement with a set of hedders and exhaust. No point in spending $200-$300 on ignition upgrades for even 2hp when you can get 40hp from an exhaust upgrade from an FE. Seriously.

 

Just curious, why do people prefer an HEI setup over a Duraspark setup? It's the exact same technology and they operate on the exact same principle. I can see how an HEI setup is easier to set up if you're starting from scratch, but I don't understand why one would remove a functioning Duraspark setup for an HEI setup. To me it seems like a lot of work to get back to where you already were in the first place.

I've read several cases on this very forum where someone is having an issue with a Duraspark setup and will switch to an HEI setup, and then the truck works again - then the individual is left with the impression that HEI is better than Duraspark. In that case, the individual saw an improvement because their Duraspark setup had an issue such as a bad module. If they had simply fixed what was wrong, they would have had the same success. This kind of example is a direct result of a lack of troubleshooting, and instead throwing money and parts at a problem.

I'm not saying one way or the other, I'm simply saying that I hear people say over and over that HEI is better than Duraspark, but no one can show me why, quantitatively. It's the same circuit, so I don't understand where the difference comes in. If someone can actually show some quantitative data comparing the differences between the two, that would be much appreciated.

Unless it's just preference - some people simply prefer one thing over another, because they like what they like. That's perfectly fine too.

 

Because, if it's marketed as a "performance" part, looks pretty and costs more then it has to be better than an OEM part (tongue planted firmly in cheek)