Ingnition upgrade for 1UZ-FE?

[jibbby]

Ok, trying to understand what benifits can be made by upgrading stock ignition on the !uz.... Accel next generation ignition offers on their advertisements that "The accel 300+ Digital Ignition delivers 40% more spark then it's closest competitor.. MSD is another ignition upgrade unit... Can anyone tell me what advantages can be made on a non AFI 1uz-fe by using one these units...

Is it a good idea to try and upgrade the ignition on a non AFI engine? What would be some of the draw backs and or advantages to using these units? Any conflicting ECU problems? Are they only good with the turbo'd and Supercharger engines? Is there anyone using these? I remember using the MSD on Chevy's years back and did help, but I am sure they have come a long way in over 10 years... Can anyone be so kind as to give me the lowdown on this?

 

[KDog]

There is no advantage, other than lightening your wallet. MSD is never an upgrade, accel are lieing about their spark abilities. There is no reason to change the ignition system on a stock engine.
Your money would be better spent repairing your current ignition ie new leads, rotors, caps, plugs, coils and ignitors.

 

[jibbby]

Thanks Kdog, so Accell you think is lying about their claims? I figured there is no advantages....so will I move on....thanks..

 

[KDog]

If you have the units in front of you its very easy to prove for any electronics tech. All of which is irrelevant because the spark energy the unit provides will be more then enough for pretty much every situation ie you shouldn't let it stop you from purchasing the unit if you so desire.

 

[rivmasta]

Kdog, heard you were a bit of a guru...

We got a verified 10% increase at the treads when we upgraded the ignition system on a 4age 16v over standard ignition with our EMS - do you think this would be more likely from ignition mapping or from better hardware? (coilpacks, ignitors, magnecor leads.) May also have been a dodgy rotor button/lead/cap I suppose!

Dyno runs were 24hrs apart. Interested in your view!

 

[KDog]

Most people actually do see a gain back to back on the dyno (when testing on a dyno is done properly which is hard to achieve).

You are correct, the gain was because you either cahndged the tuning or in the process you fixed something in the ignition system.
Unfortuantely your situation has way too many variables to reach any form of conclusion.

Of course if you are adding forced induction or increasing boost then moving to CDI will have an advantage.

 

[jibbby]

10% increase? That is impressive from ignition work if that is the case.... 10% on 330whp hp is 30rwhp.... You can feel that.....So Kdog where can one seek gains in the electrical makeup of the engines on a NON AFI but nos 1UZ-FE motor? Is it already max'd out for performance at stock (ignition electrical?).. I have the nos plugs, the wires, new grounds, etc..just wasn't sure about these Accel and MSD claims....

 

[rivmasta]

Yeah Jibby, but our 10% was from 82rwhp to 92! Nevertheless, you could really feel it.

KDog - Our 1uz will also be NA, (sorry Jibby, dont mean to hijack... but...) and definatly no NOS (CAMS would take a very dim view of that!) do you think that we'de still have a tq advantage over a stock system, even if its just tuning flexibility?

I like the no moving parts portion of a distributorless system too, and for reliability we mount a spare coilpack and a spare ignitor permanently on the car. Do you think this would be more reliable than the standard system?

 

[jibbby]

Highjack away, I always like to learn something new....I don't mind at all...

 

[KDog]

Sorry didn't see the NOS part.

For NOS you would probably want to make sure your spark was working properly if that means you put in a CDI unit then go that way. For ease of use I would say CDI is the way to go.
Note with the 1uz you can put in a 2 channel CDI and use the dizzys, plugs, rotors. Saves some $$$. You could probably use the coils but it wouldn't be ideal, a proper coil designed for CDI usage is the way to go.

I personally like to use Mercury or Yamaha Marine CDI coils. Or the bosch coils I use a fair bit and are 90% ideal. From a paranoid point of view they can be found at most auto shops and are the ones I use most often due to price availability etc

Given that most 1uzfe engines we use here are +10 years old it is always worth while to replace the ignition parts, at minimum the leads, plugs. I always do the lot. Damage that can't be seen with the eye on the rotors buttons and caps will also cause a loss in performance. Occasionly brand new leads are crap so you might want to check them before you install them.
The 1uzfe stock ignition isn't stressed out. It has twin coils, ignitors and dizzys which allow more then enough charge time for the ignition coils. If you were running a single coil system on this engine you would have problems, more so if its been modified and its torque curve shifted to a higher RPM.

If you are having reliabilty problems you are using the wrong parts. cough cough cough MSD cough cough AEM cough cough.

PS: for peoples interest they would be suprised to know that the F1 field is split about 50/50 between using inductive ignition and CDI.