I posted about this a long time ago (prob a year or so ago), and the general consensus was that the stock ignition is quite good, but I am still curious to know if there is an ignition system out there for our Lightnings and who makes it?

There might not be much to gain from it, but I was looking into mods that should not void the warranty and that make the engine in general more efficient (yes chip and pulleys are out of the question hehe). Also an example of how much an ignition can help on other vehicles is that on my 90 5.0 I did notice a power increase, but where it really showed up helping was I gained a consistant 4 mpg on the highway.

Other then that, anyone have some tips on other things I could do? I was thinking about doing a catback (mostly for sound) and changing out the plugs with denso's, and I already have a K&N filter and use synthetic oil. I know those mods won't do much overall, but for now I don't want to dive too far into things until my warranty is up (have the 6yr/60k warranty since I was able to get it for 1/2 price). Also, just for kicks, I might even do a before and after dyno run just to see the difference

 

Actually JLP posted a pic within the last couple months of a new system he is working on with Nology. It looked like the mac daddy setup. I hope he finds some gains with it.
Dale

 

I have This

http://www.ignitionsolutions.com/productsBooster.asp

Got it from JJ


The Plasma Booster (here comes the Jokes)
didn't turn out to be the next big mod, like I had hoped for,
HOWEVER the fact is that Multi Spark was always a proven performance product. Go back 10/15 years and everyone was
running a MSD, not so much for added power, but instead a way to have a more efficient burn in the cylinders, (hence you can throw more fuel at it). Since Pinging, Detonation AND HEAT is a killer for us, (not to mention, it slows you down) I simply used logic, what is it that takes the heat out of our cylinders??? -->Spark<-- So if I use two zones colder plugs, and use a Multi Spark System, then I should be removing more heat than the next guy ???? And since I use Denso IT-22's which are known for excellent idle, and on top I add 4 times the Spark to the Fire, it just makes sence that it WILL give me a more powerful burn in the cylinders, AND A MORE FORGIVEN TUNE.
Don't know if it works out like that on paper, but in my mind it does

BTW
I also think with the Nitrous The PB IS a good Mod to have.
Look at the KB users, depending on how much boost they're
running (hence added cylinder pressure and heat) most are
forced to lower the timing all the way back down to
@ 11- 14 or 15 degrees to prevent Detonation. Some are also
forced to use the Boost a Spark.
http://www.kennebell.net/accessories...oostaspark.htm

Call me silly, but I feel it plays a part of MY puzzle of Mods,
and my continued success in personal best ET's from my L.
However I truly don't think you'd find that much performance
improvement on a stock Boosted Lightning, it's your call of course.

EDIT
I HAVE TO WARN YOU,
It's a royal pain in the butt to hook up
Here's a picture
NOTE:
You must expose a wire from EACH COP Connector
You must connect a wire to each one
Now just imagine TRYING to get to the back two

 

you can also use the msd stacker8 thats what I got.

 

I've read somewhere that a guy was using the Plasma booster and the boost-a-spark on his cobra. He said that it idled smoother and solved some ignition problems he was having. Has anyone here done this and is it even possible to hook both up at the same time?

Mike

 

Thanks for the info guys, it stands to reason that we should get a decent boost with a solid dual-spark ignition system since it should be inherently harder to ignite compressed A/F.

Mike I am not sure if you can run two systems together, personally I would not do it (would just use whichever seemed to work better alone), but I am no expert on the matter either.

I really wish Jacobs would build a system for the Lightning. I know a lot of folks don't like them, but I've had both MSD and Jacobs units, and there was no comparision in my 5.0L. I gained more mpg and the car ran smoother with the Jacobs, I didn't get any dyno results but I am pretty sure it had to be making more power (also I gained a bit over 1mpg more with MSD and gained 4mpg with the Jacobs on the highway, so something had to be working better). Another thing is, I know it was putting out a ton of spark also when needed, on super cold mornings (it occasionally gets down to below 0F in the winter here) you could literally hear the spark coming from it inside the cab. If anything it had too much spark, 8.5mm wires = christmas tree under the hood, I swapped to some 10.5mm wires and I could still see a few spots where it was glowing.

 

That's my friend Jon who has both. The Boost a Spark(positive hookup) is a capacitive discharge and the Plasma booster(negative hookup) is a mulispark. It's the same concept as the MSD ignitions, but in two packages.