I have been incredibly lucky, i.e I have 95K on the stock engine on the original opti and plug wires.(I change NGK V plugs annually). Finally I have started to develop a bit of a high speed miss at around 5000 rpm noticable in 4 th gear under heavy load in open lapping events. Most people can't believe that I haven't had the opti crap out yet.

My dealer has a price for the whole opti but keeps the cap and rotor in stock for significantly less. What other parts of the optispark wear out other than the cap and rotor? Is it worthwhile to just do the whole thing? (BTW I have gone through 3 water pumps and I think changing them as soon as any drip occurs has likely saved my original opti so far)

 

Do the whole thing. In the US, you can get a complete GM opti for ~$220.

 

shoe box, have you ever seen anything happen with the optical wheel inside? just curious because i work at napa and only get the cap and rotor. obviously its worth it to pay more the 1st time to change the whole thing then go back and do it twice. i can also get MSD cap and rotors for the LT1, what do you think about them

 

No one has seen an MSD cap and rotor yet. They have not shipped them.

The cap and rotor is not the only thing to wear out. There is a bearing on the drive end that can cause dust that blinds the optical sensor. IMO, it just makes more sense to change the whole thing, when the cost is only a little more than a cap and rotor. Add that to the fact that you have to remove the same amount of stuff to get to the opti, no matter if you replace cap and rotor or the whole thing.

 

so you think that there is any chance of the opti causing the ignition fuse to pop. i have had this same problem before when the car was running poorly, before i put the blower on it. missfire at about 4500-5000rpm. now its doing it again but this time i dont have alot of miles on the echlin cap and rotor, which is why i was asking about replacing the whole thing.

the engine was running just fine while cruising around and when i stopped at a light it started to backfire, and missfire. shut it off for a few seconds.when i restarted it it ran a little shakey and after a few more miles it popped the fuse and shut off

 

The opti receives it's power from the computer. I don't see how it can cause a fuse to blow.