Well the time has come to replace the opti once again on the 94 Z. What's my best option out there? I've seen good and bad on the MSD unit, any experience with the others that are available? Looking for the unit that will last until we decide to rebuild this beast.

Thanks, Tom

 

The stock AC/Delco replacement is the safest.

 

One advantage to the msd cap and rotor on the 93-94's is it turns the opti into a vented opti IIRC. I could be wrong though.

 

dynaspark.

 

Is this a trick question? Seriously though, there's good and bad in all of em so it's really a matter of how deep your wallet is or personal preference.

 

Vicious, no trick question. The opti in this particular car was replaced 2 1/2 years ago with a stock GM unit and now it needs a new one. There are several options out there - dynaspark, MSD, GM, etc... I've seen recent threads about some of them but wanted to get a good read from those of you that have done this recently. I really don't want to do this again for awhile on this car (it's my son's who is a poor college student) if I can avoid it. The car is a 94 Z that's pretty much stock except for headers, intake and borla exhaust.

Thx for any and all helpful info...

 

If he's so poor, why not sell it and get iunno, a corolla?

 

The only alternatives to the GM unit I would ever seriously consider would be the Dynaspark & MSD. If you go through Jason or Dal, the GM piece is going to be considerably cheaper than either of those. I recently had to replace my distributor. Personally, I'm glad I went with a GM replacement, but my car is stock.

 

Tom,

First of all, are you absolutely sure that the opti is the culprit? All too often, I have seen the opti get blamed for ignition woes caused by simple items like plugs, wires, poor connections, etc, so I would suggest you rule out other causes of failure first, if you haven't done that already. I myself was guilty of hopping on the opti bashing bandwagon recently. Went into the opti 3 times before discovering that it was actually a plug that had gone bad! Read all about it http://www.cz28.com/forums/showthread.php?t=551936

As for the best opti, the replacement GM unit is more than enough for stock and moderately well modified applications. There are people on these boards who have put down more power to the ground on stock optis than any of us ever will, so you really need not worry. However, a lot of people have complained about GM optis with timing completely out of whack out of the box. the replacement opti I got was a reman unit from O'reilly's and the timing seems slightly retarded off the bat compared to the Delco unit it replaced. The car runs fine, but just doesn't have the torque and response and it had before. As for MSD and Accel units, go for it if your pockets are deep enough to justify hiding a pretty billet item behind the waterpump. Other than that, it's overkill. Besides, if you search the boards, you will find that people with supposed opti problems still had them even after installing a $500+ MSD or Accel opti.

 

Do a search on the subject, there are numerous threads and posts on the Opti issue, or question you have.

WD

 

OEM. But consider it a "wear item" if you are using an ignition amplifier or you get it wet, or run it at high rpm.

Rich

 

Thanks for the help guys. Who has Dal and/or Jason's contact info? I can't seem to find it searching this or the For Sale forums

 

Look on www.shbox.com for their contact info. There is a link on where to buy GM parts.

 

I liked my GM, I like my MSD, all the way to 7k...oops.

 

I've been through a opti nightmare. Don't buy the "just like AC/Delco" eBay/Internet ones. Don't buy the remans from the auto stores. Both of those lasted less than 1k miles. Make sure you get an authentic AC/Delco unit.

IMO, two and a half years on an opti isn't too bad, depending on the mileage you drive in that time, although some folks say they've gotten over 100k on the original opti. Like someone said, it is a wear item.