Bosch Red Ignition Coil for '85 QV?

Purely guessing, but I wouldn't assume that those coils are compatible with the electronic ignition of the 308 fuel injected cars.

I bought new coils for the 2v injected and 4v QVs from T Rutlands last fall, cost was $185 ea.

Looks like they still have those listed on eBay, at $185 - NEW Magneti Marelli Ignition Coil FOR Ferrari 308 Gtsi Gtsi 4V QV Mondial | eBay

Someone has a remanufactured coil listed at $69 - Ferrari Mondial 308 Gtbi GTS 308QV Ignition Coil 115013 | eBay

 

I used two red coils on my GT4. (Leave ballast resistors in place.) I actually just had to replace one, because it was arcing from the tower to one of the posts (probably an internal crack or failure.)

I just upgraded both to Pertronix Ignitor coils to match the Pertronix system I'm installing. Hotter and less expensive than both stock and Red Coils, which appear (by the lack of availability through all the places that used to carry them) to be getting phased out of the market by Bosch.

 

I have had them on my car for 9 years now.

 

Not sure, I would have to ask my mechanic (he is a member here and could post the answer - I need to get in touch with him anyway so I'll give him a heads up about your question here)

But in a nutshell, it isn't a big deal. Two red Bosch coils and no special setup beyond what is required for ballast, etc.

Again, I put them on in about 07. Zero issues since. You wouldn't know it was different back there unless you looked so they will work just fine.

 

go get 2 new boxes with modern internals from ricambi via ferrari service of Bedford. plug and play.

 

If you have have ballast resistors now, replacing with a Red Coil will require you to keep the ballast resistors.

 

You need to run Bosch red coils with the ballast resistor or they will overheat and break in the mid to long term.
Bosch red coils are designed for a (weaker) points based ignition, they will create a much shorter spark in your QV setup compared to the original transistor coil.
Transistor ignition coils do not need a ballast resistor, as the current is managed by the transistor ignition.

 

Good to know.

My car runs fine as far as I can tell, but I'm going back to the factory set up after reading this.

(BTW, what is the difference between the Bosch red and Bosch blue)

 

If anybody needs coils I have 2 new red Bosch coils for sale.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/ferrari-parts-collectibles/513665-ignition-coils.html

 

Bosch Red requires an external ballast resistor which can be bridged while starting to compensate for the lower voltage available. One of the best and robust coils for points based ignitons.
Bosch Blue coils have a higher internal resistance and do not require a ballast resistor. They have a lower current than Bosch Red coils and create a shorter spark.Good coil for low revving four cylinder engines.

 

What kind of voltage differences are we talking about between a Bosch Red and the stock coils?

 

What he said... When the correct coil is readily available from several sources for around $140 why mess with an all together different setup. After all you are talking about high voltage, overheating in an engine bay right over the gas tank along side fuel lines.....

 

I'm assuming you refer to the current difference, the Bosch Red coil has around 3.5 ampere primary current, the stock coil around 6-8 ampere.
The double amount of primary current (6-8A vs 3.5A) available to charge the magnetic field will result in a 3-4 times longer spark for the stock coil, compared to the Bosch Red coil.

Due to the lower primary resistance, the stock coil will also charge faster, so more energy is available at the top end compared to the slower Bosch Red coil.

 

Thanks.

Guess what my next project is going to be.

 

Stopped by TRutlands this morning.

I have two new factory coils again. Anyone want two red Bosch? Free.

 

Two red Bosch coils are a great replacement of the original Marelli coils in the early GT4's and GTS/GTB's points based ignition setup - you can even install them with the original Marelli ballast resistors.

 

I appreciate your input with all this.

 

Inductive electronic ignitions such as the Digiplex measure and limit the current to avoid saturating and overheating the coil. With the Digiplex the current is limited to 6-8A.

Coils for electronic iginitions are designed with a very low primary resistance to enable a fast charge of the coil/magnetic field. This helps getting as much energy (which influences the length of the spark) as possible stored in the available dwell time.