So lately i’ve been having problems with what i think is the distributor in my car. incase you can’t look at my sig, its a ‘94 Trans Am. Pewter said he thinks its the distributor. the car jerks and pulls back and misses something awful in the very high rpm ranges under WOT… doesnt’ seem to do it up there if they car isn’t in WOT… maybe just a hitch or two, nothing really major (but still annoying)… I konw that there is a the Delteq CPC system and one other place makes something like it, but i dont have that kind of money. Does a MSD ignition system replace the distributor and how much does it cost?? And do you guys have any other suggestions?? I really wanna do something quick… my gas mileage has dipped to like 17 mpg, when i was getting 19-21 before… Now, i do have one exhaust leak right where the header bolts to the manifold (broken header bolt), but i dont think it would cause that kind of drastic loss…
Any help is much appreciated… i relaly wanna get somethign done… and hoepfully keep the cost reasonable… (which in my situation, hardly anythign is reasonable :))
I have heard of the distributer coming loose and moving around affecting timing, but it would run bad at all rpm’s. I would suspect the ignition coil going bad before the distributer. It sounds like the coil cannot keep up with the high rpm surge needed at WOT.
Well here’s the thing… a little while back i had bought a MSD blaster coil for it… and the car had never had any hesitations, hitches, or misses before i installed it… after i installed it, is when the car first started doing that… so i took it back out and put the stock coil back in (figuring the MSD may be bad or something)… but it still does it… worse than ever… so i dunno what is going on…
rule #1 - if it ain’t broke don’t fix it 
You may have gotten a bad coil, but the old coil should have worked :dunno:
Without seeing it, I am out of ideas.
well… my problems go back a ways… my car ran great until i had a shop do a tune-up on it (it was missing)… plugs and wires… well… after they did that, it ran worse… took it to someone else, had it put on the computer, and that guy said that the wrong plugs were put into the car, thus this was why it was runnign so bad… so… he fixed it (so i thought)… ever since then, the car hasnt’ idled very well in drive when sitting at a stop light or w/e… lights will flicker a lil, etc… but they car had never hitched or missed or anything… so, i heard that my changing the coil, maybe that would help the idle, flickering lights and we’d be arlight… well… when i changed coils… then that’s when the problems started… they’ve been gettin worse as time goes on…
So pewter told me he thinks its the Opti… and i can’t disagree very much, cuz i’ve heard that the Opti’s blow ass… but i really wanna find something … i need it fixed, and i need it to be cheap… or i can’t do it…
If Its The Opti Good Luck Brotha I Hear They Are A Bitch, Im Gonna Have To Change Mine And I Am Not Looking Forward To It At All
yea no shit… when it WAS still cheap last summer, the local shop told me they wanted 3 hours of labor to do it… cuz, form what they said, you have to take the water pump off and all kinds of shit… i dunno anythign about it
but the opti is expensive as hell now
and i dunno if i can afford it
i’d love to go with Delteq, cuz you can leave the opti where it is and just unplug it, but its very very very expensive
isnt therea ls1 coil over plug conversion … prolly another expensive option but other than that id say have pewter do it !!
hmm…mine was doing that and then i put a MSD digital 6 igniton box on, a BLaster Coil and new plugs and wires…it fine now!!!
there is a company that makes a 600 dollar opti spark and it revs up to 7200rpms without missing…supposed to be awsome!!! or u can do a Delteq or LTCC conversion…the LTCC is like the LS1 coil on cylnder. And the Delteq is like the northstar ignition…its 4 coils and its 2 cylinders per coil…thats supposed to be the best right now…but the down fall is, both still use the opti …but the opit just needs to spin…it does nothing with the spark or anything wiht those systems!!! Now Delteq is coming out with Delteq 2 and its supposed to get rid of the opti all together!!!
link for delteq…a lot of ppl like this more than the LTCC(ls1 conversion)
link for LTCC
links for the Dyna Spark!!! this is supposed to be awsome!!!
optispark aint that bad. changed plus/wires in a supercharged vette. was a mother fucker to get at thecap, but not out of the question. deffinitely wasn’'t a 1/2 hour job.
what about deleting the optispark and oing to a magnetic setup off the crank pulley? have a coil pack setup.
well i’d love to do that, but problem is i can’t afford it…
shit, i’d be willing to tackle the opti install if i could even afford the opti in the first place… they are a fortune!
if anyone knows where i can get one cheap (other than ebay… i’m already looking there) please lemme know!!!
how long did it take you to change the opti??
like, is it really easy to screw up, or is it just time consuming?
Sell Car and Pick up this 
http://www.jjsautomotive.com/00formula.htm
http://www.jjsautomotive.com/96formula.htm
^^^^^^^^ this one sounds really good for an LT1ost :boink
You can get rebuilt opti from the parts store. I think i paid $130? or so. but needed the cap also that i cannot remember how much that was. Just an option but i don’t know what people opinion on rebuilt opti. The job is not too bad to do if I recall has been a while. Hope this helps
cool beans…
as far as the other cars… nahh… i’d never buy an LT1 formula… to be frank, the T/A’s are the only good looking firebirds from '93-'97… the front end on the reg. firebird is hideous in my opinion… and honesly, i know there’s not much of a difference, but i wouldnt want a LS1 formula either… when it comes down to detail, the T/A’s are soooo much nicer! and besides… i dont have ANY money to throw at a car… i can’t afford a freaking distributor… how can i get a new car?
It just takes time to change, not hard though. MSD makes a cap and rotor replacement if that’s all you need to change. Cheaper than a full Opti.
wiht the Delteq and the LTCC…u still need to use ur opti…neither of those two delte the opit all together…both of those still need the opti to be there…but delteq is trying to make something to get rid of it all together!!!
Opti-Direct Requirements
The Opti-Direct (and every LT1 ignition system) uses the Opti-Spark sensors to determine crankshaft position and calculate the spark timing. Therefore, any Opti-Spark-related trouble codes must be resolved before installing the Opti-Direct. Unfortunately, this sometimes requires Opti-Spark replacement at additional cost. On the good side, Opti’s seem to last longer without all that high voltage running through them.
now changing the opti and changing plugs are different…to change an opti…u have to take off water pump, crank pulley and a lot of other bullshit that will take well over a 1/2 hour!!! Thats why i tried the igniotion box and it runs great now with a new coil and plugs also!!
the whole opti for 130??? or a cap and rotor?? thats what advanced sells them for, at least when i worked there???
Jeff is right, MSD does make a cap and rotar kit!! but it will still be a bitch to change i belive!!
buy a GM opti,there not bad to change,get the MSD cap & rotor,cheap aint the way on this!unless the have it down packed!something like this i buy GM ,saves money in the long run!