I've used MSD ignitions in the past on other cars and have had mixed results.

Anyone have any comments on either units from a reliability, ease of installation, and functionality of either MSD or Crane.

Also like to know if someone that is using one can comment on the gas mileage and driveability and if they think it's made enough of a difference to justify having one on a 2002 or 2002tii.

Thanks.

I have a Crane XR3000 on my car and it is one of the best mods I've done. Easy to install, fast starting, no points to lose adjustment, more consistent and stronger spark, you name it. Down side to date (after almost 5 years) is non-existent.

Many '02ers use the pertronix, which is less expensive, but I had a bad experience with two of them (burned out) before I switched to the Crane unit.

HTH,

I have the pertronix in my tii with the modified dizzy and it works great. Never had any issues. I also have the MSD 6A with Rev limiting ability. I've never had issues with the MSD units, but I don't have experience with Crane. Most Crane installs I've seen were on Domestic cars, so I never bother looking into them. Just my .02 cents. :D

In one big move, I switched to:

Pertronix.
Accel plug wires
#6 plugs
MSD 6A (with tach adapter)
Bosch RED coil

It runs smoother on the highway, it runs cleaner, and smoother at high RPM, thats about it. My milage is the same more or less. About 20.5 mpg :(

Besides making it smoother at high revs, and not having to change points, I'd say it did nothing. The engine is more responsive to carb tuning, meaning the speed or smoothness of the engine changes faster with a turn of the screw.

Hey Harry, is that Crane the optical one?

I think a more powerful ignition is a good upgrade, I can hardly wait to get mine on.

Matt

I run Pertronix, Crane HI6, Fireball coil, Tach adaptor. REv limiter is great since my car spends most of the time at red line. In two years, never had an issue witheither unit. The improvements noticed are easy start, ability to gap pplugs at 0.040 and in two years i have never fouled a plug!

steve k.

Hey Harry, is that Crane the optical one?

Yes, it is. Here's a link to the info at the Crane website. It might be available cheaper at places like Summit.

http://www.cranecams.com/index.php?show=browseParts&lvl=5&prt=161

HTH,

Thanks for the reply guys. I found out when I pulled my distributor cap that the previous owner had already done the pertronix conversion along with some other goodies... http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=355279

I'm running pertronix with MSD 6alBTM w/ MSD blaster 2 coil, and i have no problems what so ever... i've been running pertronix for 6 yrs. now..

Here's the best bang for your buck... Just add the Petronix and this and make some power and mileage gains.

http://e21parts.net/amproducts/engine.htm

Check the dyno charts.

ken

Bringin this back from the dead...

When any of you installed your 6A MSD box and red coil did you need to run a ballast resistor? It has a little sticker on the side of the coil saying "Use only with ballast 1,8 ohm".. I don't want to burn anything out...

I run the Petronix ignitor with a Jacobs Ultra Team coil and Boost Timing Master. It has timing retard +/- 7.5 degree from inside the cabin, adjustable boost ignition retard and a rev limiter. I mounted the controller under the lower left fascia beside the steering column. Coil is kind of large and bulky, but for the 65K volts it puts outI cannot really complain too much. The coil slipped in nicely behind the right headlamp.

I had to return two MSD 6A BTM units after about 3-6 months of use. Both were professionally installed and I even had an electronics engineer design a speacial filter to clip the annoying signals that the MSD was kicking back into my electrical system

In case anybody is in the market for one, I have a left over MSD 6AL unit that I'm not going to use on my car. Up for grabs, I have the schematic of how it was wired in the 2002 before also. It only got used for about 4,000 miles and it's like new, it's 4 years old. Includes the Rev Limiter and the different chips for the different RPMs to limit at.

It was wired into a Crane Fireball XR700 ignition and that stays. They work great. I have had good luck with Pertronix and Cranes on BMWs and MG's.

I'm actually just trying to get everything hooked up correctly... This is my first 2002 so I'm learning as I go along.

The diagrams that come with the MSD box are somewhat useful but I can't figure out where to hook the wires that were originally on the coil... It's tough to use the diagrams in the Haynes book since the colors are all faded... green and black wires look the same. The instructions mentioned that the only wires connected to the coil should be the orange and black. It's difficult to explain - I'll try to get some pictures of what I'm talking about.

Just need some help getting this figured out so I don't burn up $400 worth of ignition stuff...

I'm running a petronix electronic ignition unit, red coil or blue (depending on if I need some kind of ballast, and MSD 6A w/ tach adapter. All with new 8mm wires, cap, rotor and plugs.