I just bought a 97 formula with high miles. It runs fine but needs a good tune. Anyways I was planning on putting a new ignition system on it cause A) i hear some bad things bout the opti spark and B) im sure a new one wouldnt hurt, especially a car with 150000 miles on it. I'm still new to the whole car modifying scene so i was wondering if one of you guys with more experience could point me to a good ignition system. Let me know of any you guys would recommend, and also how much would a good one cost? thanks
new ignition
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How is this iginition look to you guys
http://www.martelbrothers.com/catalog/6AL-Ignition-Control-Box-p-13207.html
http://www.martelbrothers.com/catalog/6AL-Ignition-Control-Box-p-13207.html
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7,403 Posts
Do NOT put an MSD or similar aftermarket box on an optispark equipped car....its the best way to kill the opti.
Check into the Delteq Opti-Direct system or LTCC opti eliminator.
Check into the Delteq Opti-Direct system or LTCC opti eliminator.
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98 Posts
your best bet is either a cap and rotor manufactured ny summit for $130 and an oem optical spark sensor, or the entire distributor from GM performance that you can get from thunderracing. The gm performance parts one is a good deal it already has the sensor with it. I would personally go with a stock coil because aftermarket idnition parts tend to mess up the opti. If you are considering doing plug wires too do them at the same time, and if you decide on wires like accel 8 mm they are great the only problem is fouting them behind the powersteering pump like the factory setup because they wont fit into the stock clips, which makes it a chore.
AS far as installing the rest of the system you will first need to take out your intake tube and you cooling fans. Then the harmonic balancer, but you bant use a normalll puller on the ballancer because of the setup. The inner part off the pulley stays on the crank while the outter part comes off. Then you need to take the water pump off. This gets alittle messy because the bolts go through the block and coolant spits oput when you take them out. Make sure you thread seal them before you put them back in. The rest is pretty eady, Its litterally imposible to mess up the timing, it will only fit on the spline one way. You will need to track down a T-8 torxe socket to get off the cap and rotor. Then you just put it all back in
AS far as installing the rest of the system you will first need to take out your intake tube and you cooling fans. Then the harmonic balancer, but you bant use a normalll puller on the ballancer because of the setup. The inner part off the pulley stays on the crank while the outter part comes off. Then you need to take the water pump off. This gets alittle messy because the bolts go through the block and coolant spits oput when you take them out. Make sure you thread seal them before you put them back in. The rest is pretty eady, Its litterally imposible to mess up the timing, it will only fit on the spline one way. You will need to track down a T-8 torxe socket to get off the cap and rotor. Then you just put it all back in
I always say if it ain't broke don't fix it. As far as the delteq, I've actually seen quite a few people having problems with it...Having a 97 you have a vented opti which tend to last longer than the non vented ones. Optis are kinda random though, some last 20k miles, some last 100k+
Did some reading over on cz28...appears it tends to be the non vented optis that have a problem converting to the delteq setup, they need a special optibox. I think the delteq is a good mod don't get me wrong...but if the opti is working fine that is 700 bucks that can be spent elsewhere...
well the thing is the opti is not working fine, its missing a little and im sure it hasnt been changed in the entire life of the car, but i can get a new opti for like 300 bucks vs 700 for the delteq. sorry if im a pain in the butt im just wanting to make a good decision. I guess the real question i have is, is the delteq worth the extra money?
IMO, with a vented opti, no it is not worth the extra money. Have you changed plugs/wires? I would actually do that first...an opti going out is usually gonna have more than just a small miss. When trying to solve a problem start with the smallest/cheapest/simplest thing and work your way up. I would do plugs and wires, then a new coil, and if that doesn't clear it up, then do the opti.
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