How much could MY car benefit from the MSD 6AL?

[ShortThrow50]

look at my mods below. regardless of the pulley, i only got 7 lbs of boost at 5100rpm and 380rwhp and 396 torque on the dyno. After the 5100 rpm power drops off. I have all stock ignition. My car also sometimes feels like the hp is flat between 2-4k rpm if i punch it sometimes. My tuner was telling me its becuase i need some ignityion upgrades like the 6a or 6al (i cant remeber which one it was he said). He also said, my car would be a totally different animal with these upgrades. Makes sense to me but I want to hear you guys experience as well. My main thing is the 2-4k rpm. I guess it just isnt gettin enough flame with the blower and h/c/i being all stock. thanks fellas

 

[Gearbanger 101]

I would skip the 6A, or the 6AL and go with the 6BTM. The 6BTM has a built in adjustable boost/timing retard to pull timing out at the top end (unlike the 6A and 6AL) and prevent detonation. This is especially important on a supercharged engine and will be a necessity if you ever decide to push your combination any further. It's also got the same soft touch rev limiter that the 6AL does as well.

Also, make sure you're running spark plugs that are a couple of heat ranges colder than stock and don't gap them any wider than .035. This could be one of the reasons you're breaking up on the top end.

 

[ShortThrow50]

thanks for the quick post buddy. i just had the car tuned and thought that i wouldndt need the btm becuase all the retard would be in the tune. The tuner was tellin me, that i need more spark basically because the stocker isnt sufficient for my mods. the btm is a little pricey and was hopin to get something to help my symptoms. ALso, i do have the recommended plugs gapped at .35

 

[millhouse]

thanks for the quick post buddy. i just had the car tuned and thought that i wouldndt need the btm becuase all the retard would be in the tune. The tuner was tellin me, that i need more spark basically because the stocker isnt sufficient for my mods. the btm is a little pricey and was hopin to get something to help my symptoms. ALso, i do have the recommended plugs gapped at .35

Your right on…a BTM isn't needed if you have a proper tune.

You shouldn't be having that big of spark issues with your combo however…although an aftermarket ignition certainly would only help. For now, try gapping your plugs down to .028 or .025 and see if that clears it up. The stock ignition works quite well…but you will need to close the gap up a bit for it to work properly.

What plugs are you using?

 

[ShortThrow50]

Your right on…a BTM isn't needed if you have a proper tune.

You shouldn't be having that big of spark issues with your combo however…although an aftermarket ignition certainly would only help. For now, try gapping your plugs down to .028 or .025 and see if that clears it up. The stock ignition works quite well…but you will need to close the gap up a bit for it to work properly.

What plugs are you using?

i forget the numbers. ill have to check that out and post up. so your sayin to close the gap more?

 

[ShortThrow50]

nobody else?

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Closing the gap a little more couldn't hurt. Especially if that turns out to be the problem. To be honest, you really shouldn't need an ignition upgrade at your current level. Perhaps your stock components are just worn out over the years. That being said, if you're going to replace them, might as well go high performance with everything.

 

[Vipersix]

"Only" 7 psi boost is actually quite significant in combustion chamber dynamics. Depending on your N/A compression levels, you could be experiencing some fairly extreme compression with "only" 7 psi. With high compression comes the need for strong electronics. Ford did pretty darn good with their ignition system but it's no match for the cheapest aftermarket ignition available. I would recommend the 6AL variation in your favorite brand coupled with a good quality coil.

Plug gap depends on the final compression and ignition system. MSD recommends the following: 10.5:1 - 13:1 = .040" - .050"; Above 13:1 = .035" - .045"

 

[Gearbanger 101]

I'm running a .035 gap with a set of TR6's @ 10psi with a 9.5:1 nominal CR on my set up with no issues what so ever. To be honest, buying my Kenne Bell Boost-a-Spark now seems like it was a waste of money at this level. My car performs the same whether its on, or not?