Ignition Question

[94 formula]

I see many guys here have upgraded wires and coils but does it do anything. I know that the entire ignition system may be the biggest downfall of the LT1 but does it really help that much. I see many guys sigs have upgraded ignitions with hardly any mods. I'm running stock size wires off a GM coil and GM opti. Is this holding me back any? I always figured the entire job of the ignition was to provide a spark to ignite the gas in the cylinder? I've always looked at it as you can light gas on fire with a match or with a flame thrower or am I wrong?

[Cerwin Vega Fan]

The LT1 ignition system has a bad name because the Opti's tend to burn out and are not the funniest part in the world to change. The LT1 system provides plenty of fire for spark unless your pushing really big numbers.

[Injuneer]

If your stock ignition system is in good shape, it will provide more than adequate spark for a healthy "bolt-on" engine. The thing you need to think about is the fact that your car is going on 12 years old, and things may be starting to wear out, just from old age, if not from mileage.

When were the plugs and wires done last? The stock AC/Delco plugs are supposed to last 100,000 miles. Sometimes they do, but many times they don't. The small platinum "pucks" on the center electrode and ground strap fall off, leaving you with a huge gap that the stock system can't fire. The solution is to change the plugs, and other brands of platinum plugs and even non-platinum plugs have been found to be more reliable.

The stock wires are a high quality Packard 7mm wire. In general, they last very well. Unless you have evidence of arcing or misfires caused by the wires, you should leave them alone.

The stock coil is another "some are good and some are bad" piece. Most of them last, but you will get one once in a while that fails. The coil is riveted to the metal plate that holds the IC Module, and that plate is bolted directly to the front of the passenger side head. Lot's of heat soak involved. Simply spacing the plate off the head with some washers will help prolong the components' life.

The Opti has lasted up to 180,000 miles, at least based on some of the posts I have seen on other forums. What distributor cap and rotor will last that long? On the other hand, a small amount of moisture will destroy them in short order. Its another case of "if it aint broke.....". But, having had the opportunity to switch between a failing Opti (50,000 miles) and a system that eliminated it from the circuit simply by removing one wire, it made me realize how much the deteriorating Opti had sapped the engine of smoothness and power.

If you have a failing part and you replace it, you restore the power you were losing. But if you replace a part that's still in good condition, you will not see any gains at all. The tricky part is assessing the condition of each component.