MSD Optisparks

[meissen]

Just relaying the info that's posted over there - I was surprised at all the people that came out of the woodwork to say their MSDs didn't work.

[Phantom409]

Ya, but it's the net and no one wants to look like a jerk if they F'd something up so the easy way to do it is to blame a part.

I would be willing to bet that something when wrong on the install.

Hell he could have gone over 7000 rpm's with it and that screws opti's any way, MSD or not.
And if that is what he did an AC Delco isn't going to fix his problems.

[ba94ta]

Ya, but it's the net and no one wants to look like a jerk if they F'd something up so the easy way to do it is to blame a part.

I would be willing to bet that something when wrong on the install.

Hell he could have gone over 7000 rpm's with it and that screws opti's any way, MSD or not.
And if that is what he did an AC Delco isn't going to fix his problems.

when i got my msd it says it is capable of 10,000rpm's? dont know if its true cause i dont ever expect my car to ever get close to that but i was just saying thats what they advertise.

[Phantom409]

I would never push my MSD that far into the red line.

[steve40]

i had a msd opti...looked like a really nice unit. it came out when my friend was having issues with the dynaspark, so i went this route. 3 months later, barely any use and the screws backed out and it failed. the good thing...msd replaced it for free. at that time i heard a lot of issues with the msd and kept the gm one on. 4 years later, its still going strong to 7000 rpm, it's in jay's car now, all i did was open it up, put some thread lock on the screws and re-sealed it. i'd say thats the best bet, saves come cash too. also, all clearances where double checked and the install was done right.

does suck to see they are still having issues. it shows so much promise of the gm unit

[meissen]

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/lt1-lt...-tomorrow.html

Gotta love it - MSD rebuilds an optispark for the guy and 1mi later he's getting low res pulse failure again.

[ITSSLOW]

The opti is the biggest (actually only) reason I didn't get an LT1 car.

[Darren]

The opti is the biggest (actually only) reason I didn't get an LT1 car.

I think if I am ever in the market for a 4th gen this will be my thoughts as well!

[MP81]

Mine as well.

[Phantom409]

Well if you like the body style of the LT-1 cars you can always convert to an LS-1 computer then you won't have the Opti and you will have the car style you want.

We all know the Opti is the low point of the car but before MSD came out with theirs everyone complained about not having anything besides ACDelco.

The way I see it, an Opti is an Opti no matter who makes it, they all have there down falls and will fail.
It's the nature of the beast

The MSD Opti had brass contacts but other than that they still use the same parts that come from the same supplier.
I don't think anyone makes a perfect Opti, just my opinion.

Ever look to see how Accel's Opti fairs?
Just curious.

[ThreeHonks]

The opti is not even close to as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Plenty of people have gotten 100K+ miles out of theres without even changing the cap and rotor. I dont know any other type of distributor that can go that long on a factory cap and rotor.

Half of you guys have never even personally dealt wtih the Opti. Talk to some of the faster guys over on LTXtech or LS1tech and they'll tell you the same thing im telling you.

EDIT: at least 90% of the failures are in the early, unvented optis anyway

[meissen]

My optispark has been going strong for 5,000 miles.. it's the one from Joel's car. So however many miles Joel put on it + 5,000.

[steve40]

The opti is not even close to as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Plenty of people have gotten 100K+ miles out of theres without even changing the cap and rotor. I dont know any other type of distributor that can go that long on a factory cap and rotor.

Half of you guys have never even personally dealt wtih the Opti. Talk to some of the faster guys over on LTXtech or LS1tech and they'll tell you the same thing im telling you.

EDIT: at least 90% of the failures are in the early, unvented optis anyway

very true....just wish i never dumped the money for a msd unit...live and learn.

def would not walk away from a lt1 car cause of the opti....i miss that down low grunt mine had.

[DETROITMUSCLE]

I would only ever buy an LT1 car to drop an LSx into it, cars have enough problems on there own but that piece of shit is the route cause of wayy too many for me. Its a shame to hear that no one has really been able to improve upon the design as well considering the amount of time the motor has been out and all, yet still the best solution is to switch to a coilpack setup

[98blackbeauty]

Well I believe my opti is original and I have 121,000 on it. I plan to pull opti and take cover off the check it, but do not really plan on replacing it, unless it looks really bad inside, or bearing seems to be going. If it works leave it alone. I wonder how many coil packs verses opti's have failed?