MSD 6AL ignition box versus Duraspark

I would go directly to a Pantera Electronics EIS (Electronic Ignition System). I went from Duraspark to an EIS in 2014 and have never looked back. An abundance of great features and best customer support you can find. I had a problem with mine after 5 years of use, Jon Haas (owner) fixed it free of charge!

Read more here:

https://pantera-electronics.com/eis.htm

+1. I absolutely agree. P-E all the way but you don't need to change out the Duraspark distributor and coil. They work fine with the P-E unit.

Under no circumstances go to the Might Suddenly Die system. That is something to avoid.

Only Russian bots are recommending the MSD's these days. They love to create turmoil.

Big advantage of the Duraspark is availability of parts almost everywhere.

I know this goes against the popular opinions about the MSD 6AL but I have the 6AL on 5 of my cars and I have not had any problems.  That being said the Pantera Electronics ignition system has many features that make it very attractive.  Frankly if Jon had it available at the time I built my car I would have installed it also.  If the 6AL ever goes out on my Pantera I will replace it with Jons's system.  I also use Jon's products and I will say that they are top notch and his support is second to none.

I'll ditto that. I've had no problems with my digital6AL. Jon's wasn't available when I put it in my car. If it ever goes I would change to the PE unit without hesitation.

My MSD 6AL box died a slow death--engine would periodically die for no apparent reason, start, and run good until the next time out. Once the MSD box failed completely (fortunately while backing out of my garage), I replaced the MSD box with a Duraspark I box using the George P. diagram/schematic. Engine runs great and no tach adapter needed. I have installed a number of the PE upgrades (each one well worth it!), but the Duraspark ignition solution works for me.

My 2 cents...

Interesting! What about the multi spark ignition below 3000 rpm of the MSD 6AL? Does that change anything on the engine combustion or is it just marketing B...S?

Brgds

SIG

The P-E will fire and clean up a fouled plug. The MSD will not. The multiple spark of the MSD really does nothing for you if it won't clean up a plug.

I haven't used the MSD's in years and the company has been sold at least once if not twice in the last 20 years. I do not know if the product has been improved. Hopefully so because there are a bunch of us that have stacks of failed units.

I gave up after three and went to the Ford Duraspark which is an exceptional system. For most it will be fine. The P-E is just better. True, aftermarket Duraspark parts are available just about anywhere but there isn't anything to fail on the P-E.

I don't know where Jon gets his technology from but I suspect that he is an alien because it's beyond this planets.

You should buy some of his stuff. He works in his basement and has only one light bulb. He won't even share that with Titania.

if it's not broken, fix it until it is?

the multiple spark at idle was an amazing improvement ... over breaker points. just as the difference between breaker points and any transistorized electronic module system like Duraspark is Night & Day

does your engine run poorly at idle? think about possible camshaft lobe / lifter wear and degrading valve sealing quality as a cause. a worn / stretched timing chain may also be a contributing factor. when was the last time the plugs and leads were changed?

Duraspark is a fantastic system that will be hard to beat, and a replacement system will have its' work cut out for it by trying to earn it's worth vs cost

the P-E system does look like a great way to go ... if you didn't have a perfectly fine operational system in place already

Thanks for all your comments. I had with my Duraspark misfiring @WOT at high rev and there was room for improvement when idling. You might think that this is clearly related to issues with fuel feed/carburetor, but I found after a longer search that is was my Duraspark. With a replacement Duraspark all above mentioned issues disappeared. I'm not an electronic expert and have not understood what kind of failure case I had on my old Duraspark. I found that the previous owner had removed the external resistor in front of the ignition coil (no resistor wire installed in my car) which had caused quite some significant overheat of the coil. My guess is that the resulting over current had damaged an electronic component inside the Duraspark. Unfortunately, this had caused a degraded operating mode which was for me difficult to identify.

Thanks again for your advice

SIG