Hi all, I'm still in the novice stages of car tuning. I need some help with selecting the right proformance ignition parts for my car. I want to go with the MSD brand if possible, so far I found 3 msd caps at my local autozone store; the red power cap/ w tower ($34.99), modified cap for extreme power(+10), and modified stock replacement(-3). Which one of these should I buy, I'm not going for all out proformance; the only mods I got now are short ram, exhaust, and no power steering and I only plan to upgrade the header and exhaust in the future. Also I encounter another problem, the sales guy sorta scare me with this, he said I didn't need to replace the rotor it should come with the MSD cap. Incase if it doesn't come with it, can I use a bosch rotor? I can't find a local dealer for MSD spark plug wires, would it be ok for me to use AeroSpeed or Accel Thunder Sport brand wires, or will I see some type of drawback. Another thing I have come across is an external coil upgrade option, is it really worth it or is an upgrade for higher HP mods? The only technical issue that I have with is car is when driving the car for a while and the engine warms up completely, when I come to a stop or let off the gas my rpms drop to zero. It feels like the engine is running really hard or about to cut, but it doesn't. Once I put my foot on the gas it goes back to normal. I'm going change the plugs and fuel filter and general maintence issues as well. Are iridium spark plugs ok for my car as well. I know I sound like a newbie and all, but this is my 4th car I have purchased in 4 years of driving. I just want to tune thing up and hope runs for couple years or until finish college.........

 

how many miles on your car?

 

It had about 125,858 miles on it when I broke it, and I have put just about 2000 miles on it. No oil leaks, or any other leaks. The clutch still feels strong, and brakes aren't squeaking. I brought this car from a used car dealership and it was fair condition, a few ticks here and there, but I wasn't expecting perfection though. I'm getting a tune-up at the end of this month, but I would like to do the ignition stuff myself, so that I can save a few bucks, instead paying twice for the parts and labor at a repairt shop.

 

it doesnt come with the rotor, you are gonna need to buy a new rotor to be on the safe side, i have this same set up on my civic.

heres what i would get:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MSD-I...spagenameZWDVW

and

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BRAND...53377402QQrdZ1

 

You don't need aftermarket ignition components. Your stock ignition sytem will support 300+Hp. Just get stock replacement stuff, you will thank me later.

The stumble at idle may just be that you need to adjust your idle. Also, dont' get all fancy with the plug. Get the good ol' NGK's like Honda recommends.

-Change the oil
-Cap and rotor, and maybe plug wires if you see signs of "arcing"
-New plugs
-Set the timing
-Adjust idle
-Clean your air filter
-Check all fluids (Coolant, P/S, Brake...)
-Tire pressure

And get on down the raod...

Did I miss anything?

 

if you do want to go with msd products, just get the modified stock cap with and external coil tower because you can use your stock style plug wires. a regular bosch or whatever rotor will be fine. a msd coil comes with detiled instructions for installation and will take roughly 1-2 hours working slow, soldering connections with shrink wrap and hiding all the wires and mounting a coil. i didn't notice much of a difference on my car, but it did get better gas mileage because of the tune up i performed. the iridium plugs last a long time too.