[daredevil95]

Hi, my crappy MSD optispark distributor broke, I was going to replace it with a AC Delco optispark but, it's close to $500 bucks. I'm not gonna go with MSD again becuase of bad luck with that brand. Is there another brand of opti distributor I should buy that is cheaper then AC Delco but, has good quality? I reviewed a Accel opti on the internet for around $250 bucks, is this a good opti? or any suggestions as to what affordable opti to buy? It's going in a 1994 Vette. thanks in advance.

 

[shoebox]

Accel has a poor record as does almost everything else that is cheap. The AC-Delco is what I would use. Shop around. Too bad you just missed the sale at Summit when they were $200.

You could always send your MSD in for repair and it would be cheaper than buying a new opti.

 

[tarheelsoldier]

I sent my MSD in for repair. It cost around 150. Shipping included. And it came back almost brand new. Only this g they reused was the casing.

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[screaminZ]

I sent my MSD in for repair. It cost around 150. Shipping included. And it came back almost brand new. Only this g they reused was the casing.

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$150 for repair?? thats pretty good. does anyone know if MSD offers that for as long as you have their opti????

 

[tarheelsoldier]

For the first year its free. Then you pay. I don't think it ends unless you do it a lot. But don't quote me on it.

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[screaminZ]

For the first year its free. Then you pay. I don't think it ends unless you do it a lot. But don't quote me on it.

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thats awesome, im opti shopping right now and didnt want to pay the money for the msd opti, was gonna go delphi, but for a msd if it goes out and you only have to shell out 150 for a reman... hmmm

 

[Roger Mabry]

I have a Dynaspark Gen II (Opti)

They will warranty it for one year and then charge $125.00 flat fee (including
shipping back to you) for Life for the original buyer.

Works great and their service is excellent.

 

[daredevil95]

The problem with the MSD is that it broke with well under a thousand miles on it, I bought it new in 2010 from Jegs and it came with the 6A box for $900 bucks and didn't install it/cam install until a year later so the warranty is over. So, I'm a very disappointed with their MSD product. What good is the MSD if I have to rebuild every 1000 miles for a $150 bucks?? or I might get lucky and get a few thousand miles out of it?? I'm definitely not trusting that product anymore, I guess I'll go with the AC Delco, those seem to last awhile plus, I'm getting good/quick at pulling the front of the motor off in about a half an hour and the harmonic balance easily pops right off now....so it's easy at this point!!

Anti freeze drain tip: instead of draining the radiator fluid from the bottom which su*ks on a very low Corvette, I have been using a shop vacuum....it sucks the whole system dry in about 2 minutes!! lol

Thanks for the advice

 

[cocobolo95]

Like any other product there are bad ones that slip through quality control. My msd opti bought 5 years ago, also from jegs, has not missed a lick. Even though my 95 has a bad rod bearing for the last 2 years, I still crank it up twice a week and let her run.

 

[tarheelsoldier]

Hell I have had my MSD on it since around 09? And I had it rebuilt last year. Around 3-5k ago. I dunno I have heard of msds breaking but my experience is a bit different.

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[Racy Roadmaster]

I think if you take your time and analyzise the situation,you will find alot of MSD optis going very long times and distances. MSD in my opinion is a very good product. If you want to check out another opti, check on the
Dynaspark model,I may not have the name spelled correctly but everything that I read about it says that is has been engineered with
the best of components and technology,and I dont work for them ,either!
ed:thumbsup:

 

[daredevil95]

Like any other product there are bad ones that slip through quality control. My msd opti bought 5 years ago, also from jegs, has not missed a lick. Even though my 95 has a bad rod bearing for the last 2 years, I still crank it up twice a week and let her run.

yea, I agree with you....bad ones slip buy all manufacturers. I hear MSD has a lot of a problems with LS engine coil packs and Ford 4.6 3V coil packs, so I'm not sure about MSD quality/longevity but, not many people post success stories, we usually only hear about the bad stories. So, for every bad story there might be 100+ good stories....who knows?? I didn't mean to turn this post into bad mouthing of MSD, I was looking for an affordable alternative to MSD or AC Delco. I started to look into the Dynaspark Opti that someone mentioned in this thread, $600 bucks seems pricey but, if it does the job then maybe?? NAPA has a $200 opti with lifetime warranty, I might get that one because of the warranty, I'm getting pretty good/quick changing the opti so, for $200 with a lifetime warranty, this may be the way to go...change opti every year or so. It's not that big of a deal....it's just frustrating that some of us pay all this money and get a shoddy part. I'm starting to believe it's not worth spending the big money on a supposedly super good opti because they seem to break as much as a cheap opti....so why bother flushing money down the toilet? It appears to be a game of chance with these opti's / manufacturers.

 

[USMC]

I went thru four before I got a good one.

 

[DUDBIRD113]

I ran my msd opti for about 3/4 of a year and put about 10k miles on it, then i blew my trans up. That opti saw about 7 grand when shifting. Besides isnt the new gm opti not what it used to be? Cheaper manufacture?

 

[daredevil95]

I ordered the Richporter optispark today at NAPA, $197 bucks and a unlimited lifetime warranty. If it breaks they will replace FOC!! We'll see how this goes, hope I get lucky with a good one!! Down the road i may send out the MSD for a rebuild....if i add nitrous or forced induction then I'll probably need the MSD or not? Thanks for the help.

 

[DUDBIRD113]

I bought a cap and rotar from napayears ago, the pieces looked good but it didnt fit right. Well if the opti craps out youll be able to hone in on ur opti changing skills lol

 

[big lou]

I bought a new cardone optic a1. got 8 years out of it and when it went bad i went back to where I bought it and they give me a new one. because its has free life time warranty

 

[daredevil95]

I bought a new cardone optic a1. got 8 years out of it and when it went bad i went back to where I bought it and they give me a new one. because its has free life time warranty

Yea, i think it's better to go with the cheaper opti's that have a lifetime warranty, the higher priced opti's don't seem to last any longer and they don't have lifetime warranty....so why bother spending the big bucks on a MSD/AC Delco. Plus, once you change a opti a couple times, it's easy and takes about 45 minutes to replace....so no big deal.

 

[TA94_Austria]

Thats an interesting point i will also need a new opti now and dont know what to buy because im from europe and so sending it in for warranty is a bit difficult because one way shipping is about 65$

 

[daredevil95]

Thats an interesting point i will also need a new opti now and dont know what to buy because im from europe and so sending it in for warranty is a bit difficult because one way shipping is about 65$

yea, I know the feeling. I spent $900 US on a MSD opti / 6A box thinking I'm buying a high quality part and it's no better then a $90 US dollar Chinese made part. So, IMO it's not worth spending the extra money. Being in Europe I would go with a GM opti distributor. good luck