Correct coils, wires, plugs to run w/ Pertronix setup

BP7ES or BP6ES NGK if you don't drive the car hard. As far as coils are concerned, a coil on its own will not yield a lot. A high energy inductive unit x2 or MSD type unit x2 is what is needed to really get adequate zap. As far as wires are concerned, get a set of Taylor "universal" wires and cut them to fit for you. They are the best.

 

With the dual Pertronix set-up you'll need coils rated at 3.0 Ohms resistance. Use their FlameThrower coil part number 40501 (chrome) nor 40511 (black).

 

I run the Bosch Blue coils and wires I got from Kingsborne. I also run NGK BP5ES plugs and set the timing at 7* BTDC. Car runs great up to red line and plugs never foul. 1977 308

 

bosch blue coils, BP5ES, and tayor spiro wires here.

 

here's what i did, trim as shown, double the wire back on itself and jam it in using some of the dialectric grease stuff that comes with the package. that makes a very good connection with the inner wire and the set screw.
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and on the other end, for that OEM look, trim off the boots carefully and you can reuse the existing boots from your cavis wires. brakeclean the white lettering off, and good to go...
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FWIW I found that NGK Iridium plugs BPR6EIX made as much difference as the MR182 system did. I'm using standard coils and wires.Pertronix system has been in for 12000klms and the plugs for about 5000klms.All good K

 

I would recommend using either Pertronix Flame-Thrower 40501/40511 3.0Ω coils, or use Bosch red coils with ballast resistors instead of the Bosch blue coils. Bosch blue coils have a lower output due to the lower winding ratio.

The Pertronix Ignitor I has about the same current output as a points based setup (e.g. not much) so using NGK EIX or EVX fine tip plugs as kena recommened makes a lot of sense for easier starting and less fouling of the plugs.

 

Will someone please post a pic of their MR 183 unit?? I still have yet to see one in the flesh

 

As Adrian says, the Bosch red coil is a good one but you must use the ballast resistor to increase the resistance otherwise the module will burn out through high current draw. The blue coil actually has quite a low rating. The 40501/40511 Pertronix coils have the correct internal resistance so make installation a bit easier. I think you will find that the Ignitor has double the spark energy of points and coupled with a high output coil which allows you to open up the plug gap, gives a good boost to the ignition system.

 

Tom, the Ignitor 3 is only available for American V8's. Delco, Motorcraft, Chrysler and Mallory kits only. Shame. There is always the Ignitor 2 kit to consider. Available for the Marelli 8 cylinder distributors. This kit allows the use of a low resistance coil (such as the Flamethrower 2 coil) for increased spark energy. It also has adaptive dwell, polarity protection and can switch itself off if the ignition is left on without the engine running.

 

well I am confused. I have an MR182 system that was installed and setup by a pro. I am still using the blue coils. Would it be better to use the Pertronix Flame-Thrower 40501/40511 coils.

is the MR182 the 2nd generation of pertronix?

 

Geno, the MR-182 is the standard Ignitor. The Ignitor 2 kits are prefixed with a 9 (9MR-182).
The blue coil will not work as well as the Flamethrower coil or any other high output coil with the correct resistance. The Flamethrower coil is rated at 40,000 volts whereas the blue coil is somewhere between 15 and 20,000 volts. The increased voltage available enables the plug gaps to be opened up and this will lead to better throttle response, smoother running, better fuel economy and potentially more horsepower.

 

Thanks Mark, very helpful.

as far as plugs and gaps, any recommendations? Currently running NGK BP5ES gapped per factory specs, what should those be opened up to with flamethrowers?

 

Strictly speaking you should keep increasing your plug gap until the engine starts to feel "wooly" and then close down by 5 thou. This will result in the smoothest operation, best throttle response and most fuel economy. Funnily enough though, this is not the best power gap which is about 5 thou smaller. Another tip, cut back the earth electrode until it covers only half of the center electrode. This will allow the spark to form a "ball" on the end of the two electrodes rather than being squashed between them. Sweeter running engine and it costs nothing but a bit of time.

 

Serious about cutting off the electrode???

Why does NGK's R&D dept not already do this?

 

Gapping can create a bit of difference if you have optimized everything else, but this applies more to lower revs and slow combustion than with high revs/full throttle which has a different dynamic regarding the fuel/air mix turbulence. On a dyno, you can see that a humid and cold day actually makes more difference in output and combustion than gapped plugs.

I still enlarge plug gaps for big V8s when using a CDI but stopped gapping for low to medium capacity engines as there is not that much difference in flame front propagation.

I am not sure that fuel economy is a hot topic in this forum

 

Flamethrowers came in today.

on the rear coil, nothing was hooked up to the resistor, the (-) ground is only connected the pertronix.

on the other coil, there is one wire coming off the (-) terminal to pertronix, and another wire running through the resistor to ground.

Does this look correct? and if so doesnt the other coil need a ground and if not why?

tia,

Geno
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Sounds wrong to me, if you wire the minus terminal of one of the coils to ground via a resistor then that coil would not be able to work correctly. Maybe someone accidentally wired the tach via the resistor to the coils minus terminal?

In your setup one coil should only be wired to the corresponding ignitor (red from ignition +12V to plus, black from the ignitor to minus), the other coil is wired the same way but has an additional wire coming from the tach and also going to minus. The condensers are not required with an ignitor setup.

Good luck,
Adrian

 

the black must be the tach wire, bc I fired it up and it runs perfect.

overall it idles much stronger and smoother, and revs smoother and stronger through the mid range. Overall, a very good improvement to spark, thanks guys for the tip.


Geno