What aftermarket distributor would yall recommend?

[Skunksmash]

I have been looking at that MSD distributor, but i have questions as to whether or not it is really worth the extra money. I could save a little bit by getting the stock replacement, but if there is some advantage to one of the aftermarket units, i might get one of those instead. I am open to suggestions on which one yall think is best. This would be for a daily driver truck. (87 1/2 ton 5.7L TBI 2WD. <-- I always put that cause the sticky note says to do so.) And as you guys may know from that other thread, i also intend to pull out every trick in the book to see if i can squeeze out 22 MPG out of one of these old trucks. Just a little challenge that i think might be fun to try and accomplish. And i have heard that some aftermarket ignition systems give a hotter spark. And that will eventually lead to a small MPG gain. If i can do that it will maximize the gains i get from my HHO generator that i intend to build eventually. Anyway, back to the topic at hand, which aftermarket distributor do you guys think would be best for this goal? I would just like to get a few opinions.

[VileZambonie]

try summits new line of ignition components. They're basically the same as MSD but less expensive and Summit stands behind them.

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=700+115+%2D203994&D=%2D203994

[jefferias]

i bought a streetfire msd dizzy w/coil and adj. vac. advance.   i love this unit  works awesome was only like 150 bucks and the tuning of the vac. advance will help out with gas mileage

[Skunksmash]

What advantages do yall think these units have over the stock ones? What has been improved upon which is not there normally?

[Captkaos]

Getting 22mpg highway out of a stock 87 TBI 350 should be fairly easy.  My stock 87 305 TBI is getting almost 23mpg.

[VileZambonie]

A capacitive discharge ignition system will give much more intense spark and more complete combustion. Timing is more accurate, It works through a higher RPM range, better quality components, better advance mechanism etc. If you look at their dyno results you can see the difference when compared to a standard HEI

[eventhorizon66]

Just out of curiousity, I have a fairly new MSD Pro Billet HEI #8365.  Do you think there would be any power to be gained by using a 6AL box rather than the module?  And maybe switching over to an external coil?  I'm kinda wishing I had gone with a #8361 Street Pro Billet and a 6AL box in the first place.

[VileZambonie]

Absolutely. Run the cd box. The AL just gives you a rev limiter which you may not need. Run the high output coil also but make sure you are running the msd cap and rotor also. the resistaqnce value in the carbon button is different.

[eventhorizon66]

Do you mean I should keep the current MSD high energy in-cap coil (~ 42,000 V) or use an external Blaster SS coil (~ 48,000 V)?

Man I wish I had gone with a Street Pro Billet in the first place. 

[Skunksmash]

A capacitive discharge ignition system will give much more intense spark and more complete combustion. Timing is more accurate, It works through a higher RPM range, better quality components, better advance mechanism etc. If you look at their dyno results you can see the difference when compared to a standard HEI

Ok thanks for the answer. But what component makes the ignition system capacitive? Or is just all of them being superior?

Also, will this system wear out faster? Will the cap, rotor, and spark plugs last just as long as on a stock system?

[VileZambonie]

They'll last just as long with the exception of cheap spark plugs. Cheap plugs will deteriorate more quickly. The ignition module is capacitive. It replaces your factory ignition module.

Event- If you are running an MSD HEI and are keeping it then just use the in cap coil for now but don't use a standard HEI cap & Rotor. As I said the carbon button is different and many caps will melt at this point.

[eventhorizon66]

Event- If you are running an MSD HEI and are keeping it then just use the in cap coil for now but don't use a standard HEI cap & Rotor. As I said the carbon button is different and many caps will melt at this point.

OK thanks.  I'll have to look into a 6AL box though.

[VileZambonie]

I have a 6A with an HEI set up in my blue truck for now but will be changing the distributor and coil down the road. I have the 6AL and MSD distributor and coil in my 74. I originally had a modified HEI with the 6AL and when I finally put the distributor and coil in I swear to you the difference was amazing. I was sold from that day forward on MSD. It was worth the $ all day long. I think for the pink truck I'm gonna try the summit brand stuff just to see how it compares.

[eventhorizon66]

Sure, experiment with lower cost stuff on your GF's truck.    Thanks for all the advice, Vile.

Even though I did hijack this thread from Skunksmash.  Hope you found this info helpful as well.

[Skunksmash]

When you say ignition module you mean things like this, right? The little red box thing. Is that what you mean by 6AL?

http://www.msdignition.com/ignition_1_5900.htm