the stock ignition is pretty good. stock ecu with msd seems hit ant miss (mine didnt like it), but if you're not running the stock ecu, CDI is a must

 

i have a Jacobs FC1000 on one car, and MSD 6A's on the other...



exactly the same to install, but MSD has a huge following and makes a lot of other products to link up with your 6a. Jacobs is a much smaller companyand not so mcuh history. i did have a brand new FC1000 fail on me within one hour of using it. but the one i have in there now hasnt let me down yet.



theres not much difference between the two. get wich one you think looks better, lol... that'll make you happy later on.

 

Jacobs is owned by Accel.... pretty dang big company if you ask me?

 

im putting a msd box in my car, my tuner suggests it so I will listen to him, however I would not bother if the car has a stock ECU

 

i tryed to use this Accel 300+ digital thing. never could get it to work right. seemed cool when i got it. built in Rev limiter. no need for chips or pills. just select the RPM on the side and thats it. really small and a lot lighter than the others. i think i had just got another dud.

 

why does it matter if i am running a stock ecu or not? i thought that the msd was just to increase spark to help it run smoother

 

others have said that on stock ECUs they did not see a difference or it did not respond well.

The stock FC ignition system is pretty good as is, I would invest my time and money elsewhere.



A full and complete tune up along with a decarbon treatment will probably make the car feel much smoother then it is now.

 

well i think that i am running rich so start up isn't so good.

 

if you are indeed running rich putting a MSD box is not the solution, getting the car running properly is the solution.

 

i'm not sure i'm explaining this correctly, but here goes.



there is this thing called dwell or charge time, its the time between firing events that the coil has to charge. time is basically = to rpm. after a certain amount of time the coil is fully charged, and more charge time just makes heat.



so since the stock ecu, was designed to use the stock coils (or vise versa) its charge time is correct. which is probably why it doesnt always like cdi



with an aftermarket ecu, the charge time can only be approximately set. so a CDI works better, because a CDI doesnt have to charge the coil, it just charges a capacitor, which is much faster. the coil is just used as a step up transformer.



Mazda has also published an SAE paper with a study of igniton on a PP engine. they tested a CDI and non-CDI ignition, both with the same amount of power, and the CDI makes 8-10 more hp at a 260-270hp level