Um-k . . . so, you're telling me that MSD threw down money so they could affect the outcome of the dyno results reported by 5.0 mag then . . . If that's the case, then why didn't their DIS-4 box produce similar hp/$ results in the very same article?
btw . . . mama always told me "if it looks too good to be true, it probably is." But, this is a case where I think a little additional research needs be done. Forums are full of armchair quarterbacks - I'd say that if you don't have first hand experience with these parts, then you're simply not qualified to comment on them.
But . . . that's just me. My car is supercharged btw . . .
As I said, _if_ you are experiencing misfiring, you will get a significant improvement by swapping coils. But if the misfiring is caused by a bad coil, then a factor replacement will have the same effect. It is beyond unlikely that a simple coil replacement will get you much of anything, unless at your boost level, whatever that is, your coil can't produce enough spark to jump the plug gap in that dense charge.
BTW I have tried tons of such parts over the years. You can take an old 5.0 and rip off the ignition and replace it with 500 bucks worth of MSD (or anybody else's) distributor, coil and wires, and you will either see no effect if your old system was working properly, or a big boost in HP/torque if your old system was defective.
It's like the filter advertisements. Yes a new free-breathing filter will add 10 hp to a motor compared to the factory filter full of dirt and gunk. But compared to a new filter, forget it. Once you start sucking in 2x the air with a 'charger, it might give you more since you are trying to pump as much air as possible.
In general, more horsepower is not easy to come by. What you get comes through cam timing, more compression, more air/fuel going in, and/or more RPM. 30 dollar spark plugs and 400 dollar coils are not going to get much of anything over good factory parts in good condition.
As far as the mags/rags go, you can find someone willing to write almost anything about anything. Figuring out what is truth and what is fiction is a challenge. But you have to do it or you will end up owning the Brooklyn Bridge and being out a lot of money in the process.
Best bet is to go to the drag strip and ask the street-type racers there if they have tried such parts and what they found out. You'll get better information that way...