For the Racer who feels they have a failed MSD®Ignition, there is a simple test that TechWest Racing Services can walk you through to confirm a true failure of your MSD®Ignition. First you will need a Volt/Ohm meter (this check can be performed with an analog or digital meter as well). The type of meter will not change the outcome of the test performed. Set your volt/ohm meter on the 1k ohms scale, then position the MSD®Ignition in approximately the same orientation as mounted in the vehicle. This is done to ensure that the MSD®Ignition is relatively in the same position as when the failure occurred. Next take either lead and attach it to a bare metal area on the MSD®Ignition. The second lead needs to be hooked to the Large Red wire that provides your main 12vdc input. In an Undamaged MSD®Ignition the needle will stay in the home position (ie. max Ohms for scale chosen). A Damaged MSD®Ignition will show a reading of 3k ohms or lower. The readings mentioned above are the result of our experience with repairing customers MSD®Ignition systems. If you plan on testing your MSD®Ignition while it is still mounted in your vehicle PLEASE remove the LARGE RED wire (ie. main 12vdc). Failure to do this will result in possibly damaging your meter while performing this test on your MSD®Ignition.

TechWest Racing Services has received alot of questions on this subject lately so here's our take on the subject. Yes it does make a difference to performance of all the key ignition parts. The stock value stuff in the range of 3000 to 5000 ohms is just that stock. It is what the OEM folks have set as the long life point for sparkplug wires. This version of sparkplug wires should NOT be in your racing program. Next is the old school thought of Solid Core sparkplug wires. Now they had a place early on in the racing world, But with the advent of all the neat electronic stuff we attach to our race vehicles this version will kill or screw with them and are not worth a look at this point. Now the question we keep seeing is what is the correct value of resistance to run in my program? The answer is a simple one if you have done alot of testing of wire sets over the years. The range we like to have our customers use would be in the 150 to 300 Ohm's of resistance per foot range. With the testing TechWest Racing Services has done, these values best match the products we suggest our customers use. But as a general rule of thumb if your running sparkplug wires with a resistance value of 1500 ohms or less per foot your in the ok range for racing. But is that where you want your program today? Hummm

The long and the short of it, Yes the smaller you go the better performance you can access. Now like everything else when you change to the fine wire plugs you will need to update and run other components. Which when combined with the fine wire plugs gives you the wanted improvements. You need to understand that when your dealing with any type of performance quest. It is the sum of the parts that gets you the improvement not a single component. There are no Demon Tweaks out there you can bolt on and just thrash the competition. The key here is to take your program from the automotive standard spec's. And move yourself to the aerospace industry operating format. They believe in getting all systems to work at max effort while still being able to work well across all situations. We do understand that there are programs out there that require certain parts to be run. Either due to track/sanctioning rules or contengency payout's. But if you don't have these limitations or just want to run the best possible solution for your program give us a chance to show you another way to do things.

Have you ever noticed that really powerful electrical systems use some form of focused energy. This can be either man-made or mother nature produced. In nature the best lighting show is the one that spiders across the sky in all directions. While the lightning with the biggest punch is a single strike. The best man-made example would be a welding system IE.( Stick,Mig or Tig ) all provide a real nice single arc to get the job done. With these examples from above in the back of your mind. Does your current racing ignition system provide you with multiple arcing across your sparkplugs? Or does it have a strong single strike arc across the gap to help get the air/fuel mixture burning. Now your asking yourself how the $@$%$$ do I check for that on my racing platform. Well it is as easy as pulling out the sparkplugs your running and check the arcing. You will need some form of magnifying glass to examine how your current system is performing. What your looking for is about 3 to 5 points on the center electrode were the arc is hitting in a multiple strike environment. On a single arc setup you should see a single general area that is being hit time and time again.

These plug types will allow you to change and adjust the way your air/fuel mixture starts to ignite. We are talking about the same idea as unshrouding the valves in the head for better flow. While in this case were talking about unshrouding the arc point on the sparkplug to effect the timing of the air/fuel mixture ignition point. Now for some the choices are unlimited as to what fine wire plugs are out on the market. While others are going to find the selection very limited. But the good news here is the trip is worth the time spent trying some out in your program. Granted these are not a single speed demon item for the racing community. But neither is unshrouding valves in cylinder heads. They are but one item in a whole package that will bring about the results your looking for. Humm sounds like Balance&Blueprinting. Have you ever noticed that really powerful electrical systems use some form of focused energy. This can be either man-made or mother nature produced. In nature the best lighting show is the one that spiders across the sky in all directions. While the lightning with the biggest punch is a single strike. The best man-made example would be a welding system IE.( Stick,Mig or Tig ) all provide a real nice single arc to get the job done. With these examples from above in the back of your mind. Does your current racing ignition system provide you with multiple arcing across your sparkplugs? Or does it have a strong single strike arc across the gap to help get the air/fuel mixture burning.

If you’re like the rest of the racing community out in the world today. You really only have a limited amount of time to make the needed changes and get ready to test. With this in mind TWR Services would like offer some suggestions of items you need to add to the to-do list. Pull all of your ground connections off and inspect them for oxidation on both contact surfaces. Once they are cleaned up reinstall and tighten properly. Pull off the electrical connectors of your coil and check for oxidation. Once again clean and prep them if possible, if they look marginal replace them. Then reinstall both back the correct locations on the coil. Next pull all the connections off of the Racing Ignition box and inspect them for oxidation. Clean and replace as needed. Replace the Dist cap and rotor; don't bother with cleaning these items. Fresh is the better option here; you will be ready to fire up without the stalling and sputtering problem. Pull the battery out and give it a warm bath (No kidding) this will remove any possibility of surface oxidation. Which in turn gets rid of a trickle discharge problem some racers run into during the racing season.

Pull the sparkplugs out and put a fresh set in ready to go. This will save you the time later down the road when you’re ready to start testing. It happens every season; somebody gets in a hurry towards the start of the season. And in the mad rush to get things going never changes out last seasons sparkplugs. Just a thought.

The Ignition coil is on the same rotation cycle as the sparkplug wires. If you have a 2 year old coil or older on the racing unit. You should consider replacing it; the coil has to work very hard under the hood. And after 2 years of service it is time to swap in a fresh bullet.

Take a look at the sparkplug wires if they are 2 years old or older. You need to take them out of the racing program and put them on the street car. The wires start to age very quickly after this point. So do your racing program a favor and consider replacing them.

 First question here would be: you are running more than just the one grounding strap from the battery/chassis connection and the engine right? The best solution would be to start with a grounding strap running from the chassis to the engine block. Then you need to have a grounding strap running from the chassis to each cylinder head. By now your saying to yourself hey this is bull I don't need all that in my racing program. We would like to let you in on a commonly know fact in the work of electronics. Electrical energy is lazy, it takes the easiest path or not at all. So with that said, when you're looking for the winning edge for the racing program it makes sense to take advantage of all possible solutions. Now the kind of ground we are referring to is a braid type of cable NOT standard battery cable. The product should be 3/4 inch wide and long enough to reach each mounting point with slack for movement. We usually like to see at least 3 inches of play, more is always better. Of course you need to make sure you have a solid ground connection at each mounting point. Now why the braid type of cable? You’re talking basic electrical energy flow here. The energy flows on the outside of each wire in the cable. So if you’re using a braid type of cable Vs a standard battery cable. You will have multiple wire strands to carry the energy Vs just a few strands of wire. And an added feature is this product is lighter than standard battery cable or welding cable. So in closing this upgrade will allow your racing ignition system to provide top performance across all cylinders. And bring your racing program to the next level of performance. Remember it is the small things in any racing program adding up together that makes the difference at the track.Add an answer here.

With today's racing ignition systems, they like to see a solid and stable energy source to provide you with a 100% effort. Running with just a battery, yes it does operate and work all the systems including the ignition system. But you are giving up the engine performance the engine builder put into your program. You may have heard that the alternator puts drag on engine performance. That is correct, but a battery over time and under use gives up its energy and goes flat. And folks when your out to give your best effort in close competition these days we do not have the luxury of giving up any time at all in any part of our racing programs. The benefits of running an alternator over come the drag issue and more. Give it some thought to switching to an alternator charging system in your racing program. And if you are already there great, one less thing of the thousands out there to worry about. We just ask you to give it some thought it is worth your time and energy in the end!Add an answer here.