my own data of me driving my car and replacing ****ty opti's tells me that GM OPTI's are crap.

I have a damn vented one, and it is VERY sensitive to moisture and if you go thru a puddle and get it wet, say hello to a day or 2 of misfiring until it dries out.

Optis have very bad reliability and design flaws. I will be in line for the MSD opti as well WHEN this GM one I have goes, not if, WHEN. And the deviation from opti to opti is ridiculous, 2 brand new ones and one could be more susceptable to moisture then the other, etc, etc..... One could last you 50k miles, one could last you 5k miles, luck of the draw, their QA must suck a big one......

If your not an opti hater, you soon will be given enough time

 

I don't see the point of the MSD piece. I haven't held it in my hands or owned one, but I and many other people have had success with it. It does get the blame quite a bit, though.

I've had two aftermarket cams and BOTH dowel pins were too long. That puts pressure on the bearing and kills optis. Both cams were from places that should know better. Just goes to show you that you need to learn how to do things yourself and double check the "pros" .

Ryan

 

OK, so if the stock opti was located in the passenger compartment we wouldn't need aftermarket optis.

Since it is poorly located, we need aftermarket optis.

 

Since I have a dynaspark I haven't paid much attention to the MSD. Are they offering both early and later versions for $499?

If so, then like the dynaspark it's a no-brainer for those of us with the more expensive, less reliable early optis.

Is the $499 list or retail?

 

My original opti probably would of lasted longer if I didn't pressure wash the engine bay.. twice... Hell, I didn't even know what an opti was when I bought my car.

Rob

 

Live and learn. I've had my Camaro for just over three years, and i'm on my third opti. I've put over 100,000 miles on it since I bought her....so about 30,000 a peice. I will be going with the LTCC for my 383 this spring when it goes in.

 

DTE doesnt make the Dynaspark anymore, because of the MSD being made. SO, two guys bought the Dynaspark name, and here you go. The New guys that bought it are here for the customer though.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...rk&forum_id=48
Also, think about the quality MSD has had for years over OEM products. I think you will be extremely happy with the new MSD. IMHO.
Of course, I went DELTEQ, chopped off the rotor tip, and have been cruising and shifting at 6500rpm for a while now, with not one hick up. And the motor has been wet.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...rk&forum_id=48

 

Points to ponder:
1) MSD not proven yet -- this is what I really want to hear, the history.
2) MSD looks like a good design
3) MSD +/- 5 degrees timing, if it is important to you
4) GM Opti can be made moisture-proof, I hose mine down all the time -- my suggestion is to seal it yourself and do a vacuum check on it before you install it, and do an occasional vacuum check on it every so often to confirm the seal...if air can't get in, moisture can't get in.
5) How much longer do you think GM will be have Opti-Sparks available?


Tom Piper

 

can't "seal" a vented opti because thats the point of one, thus the reason why they dry out after awhile. I don't see the point in completely sealing a 96+ opti...............

 

You can seal it. Look at Dynasparks. And Tom Piper 99.5% of the time is right on the money.

 

I switched from a non-vented to a vented Opti-Spark on my '92 Y-body about 1998.
I sealed everything that could be sealed myself (the case to cap, the connector at the harness, etc).
Then, I plug the hose that derives fresh air from the air intake with a vacuum gauge. Next, I use a hand vacuum pump on the hose that normally connects to the intake manifold to pull about 2" of vacuum. I watch how long the vacuum is maintained. In my case, it lasts for at least 15 minutes.

I do a vacuum check about every year.

I hose my engine down frequently and purposely do the Opti-Spark area well and never had a problem from moisture.
I did lose an Opti-Spark but it wasn't from moisture.

Last year, I went to a Delteq.
So, this eliminated a big concern for moisture.
However, I don't think the optical section likes moisture either.


Tom Piper

 

I just want to add one more thing to the list to ponder.
Even though it is really under the heading of "proven history", as far as I know, the MSD has a completely new Optical sensor -- it no longer uses the Mitsubishi sensor that has a fairly reliable track record.

When it comes to electronics under the hood in a hostile environment (especially, the heat), I always want to know how it has survived in several vehicles after several years.
Look at Ford's ignition module that mounted on the distributor -- they eventually would replace them free up to 100K miles. Even the OEM, with their R&D resources, that go to extremes to prove reliability, have problems in this environment.
MSD has a good reputation, but I don't think they have the resources that Ford has for longevity testing.
That is why I have a wait-and-see attitude on the MSD.

Years ago, I worked for a semi-conductor manufacturer.
I saw first hand how heat can cause them to degrade with time -- the more impurities, the faster the degrading.
So, if MSD does their homework correctly, they need some quality components in there.
This is why I no longer will use the automotive chain store rebuilt alternators, even with a lifetime warranty -- I've had them go bad way too often. In order to cut costs and be competitive, the rebuilders are using semiconductors made in someone's mud hut in Ethiopia. I think most local rebuilders use a quality source.

The Dynaspark uses the same Optical sensor that the OEM Opti-Spark does, so it should be the same.

Tom Piper

 

Same thing with my opti, it pulled nicely along until 5000 rpms, then i started shifting it at 6k and it lasted about 2 months after this. Near the end of its life at 6k it even started to make the motor miss at 6k. Then one night BAM, i heard a nice noise and thought i threw a rod, but the until failed to give me spark past idle on all cylinders. I know this cause i started the car back up after having it towed home and it started up and idled perfectly, until i put my foot into it where it would lose multiple sparks to random cylinders. But still idle ok lol. Then it wouldent even want to start half the time lol.