Does anyone have info. on eliminating the Opti Spark for a different source of Distributor? I believe there is a kit on the market to change over , but I am not familiar with it or the results/installation, etc.... How about a web site?? Current GM OPTI seems to have failed after less than 1,000 miles and 1 Month old!!! Thanks, Mark

 

The options are:

LTCC - www.bailey-eng.com

DynoSpark - www.dynotech-eng.com

DelTeq - www.delteq.com

 

ok guys heres the thing,, all of you aout there have seen or heard pdoblems with failing opti's- is there a gurranteed fix,
is anyone currently running any of the three listed bellow and what comments do you have?
i think my opti is going out cause after a cooling fan replacement the car started to mis and backfire- why do they put the bleed valve for the collent directly over the dist?? since all of these routes are expensive i would only like to spend the money once-

LTCC
DYNOSPARK
DELTAQ

thanks in advance for your feedback

 

Delteq here, Very good quality, and there customer service is great. much better than Dynasparks, at least with me, until Phil R worked with me. The guy that posts here from Dynaspark kinda comes across as a un nice guy. DO A search with Archive in C4, you will see.

 

I have the LTCC kit, and while I think it is superior in overall functionality, it can be quite the pain to install. You first need to order the box and wiring harness from Bob Bailey, then you need to get the coils and brackets from GM, then you need to get some lengths of sparkplug wires and boots and fab up some wires. After all that, you then need to get everything mounted and wired, and let me say this, the wiring harness that comes with the kit is a sheer monstrosity. There are individual grounds for each coil, but none for the control box, the harness is about 3 feet too long to you need to coil up wire and zip tie it. All in all, unless you have a lot of time on your hands I can't really recommend the LTCC kit to anyone else.

The Delteq kit is a completely different story, they sell everything as a ready-to-bolt-on kit. All pre-fabbed up, for about the same price as the complete LTCC kit. Wires, brackets, mounts...you name it, and it's done for you. And from what I hear they have great customer service as well. This is a much easier solution, the one advatage the LTCC kit has is the 8 coils vs 4 coils for the Delteq.

The Dynaspark is an upgraded opti. Personally, I can't see spending $600 on a billet opti unit. I'm sure it's better than the OEM GM unit, but it's just not for me. The major advantage the Dynaspark as over the LTCC and Delteq is the fact that all you are doing is swapping the Opti out, very easy install with no extra fabrication necessary.

 

You will probably hear from people with differing opinions about all three of these options.

I installed a DynaSpark in my '94 last year, and I'm very happy with it.

The DynaSpark is completely sealed, and DynoTech actually encouraged me to go ahead and hose down my engine whenever I want to. DynoTech analyzed the OEM Optispark distributor to identify all of its problems, and engineered a bolt-on replacement for the Opti, that attempts to address all of the design- and process-related deficiencies of the OEM units. I'm very impressed with it.

The Delteq system is a Distributorless Ignition System (DIS) upgrade that eliminates the cap & rotor portion of the Opti by replacing it with four Cadillac Northstar wastespark coilpacks. Converting to the Delteq requires that you continue to use the Opti's triggerwheel and optical sensors to feed the necessary camshaft position/velocity/accelleration data to the ECM which then triggers the Northstar coilpacks.

The LTCC system works in much the same manner as the Delteq, but uses eight LS1 coilpacks instead of the four Northstar coilpacks that are used by the Delteq. If you convert to the LTCC, you will still be required to use the Opti's triggerwheel and optical sensors, same as with the Delteq.

Be well,

SJW

 

thanks guys some really good input-

 

I am a Dynaspark user too and have no complaints.Nothing is bullet proof they all have failures.The real question is why did it fail? They have a 1 yr warrenty if you bought it from a dealer.It would help if you state the year of your car when asking questions like this.

Optis fail in one of two ways:
1.The cap and/or rotor fail.The cap can be come imbedded with carbon tracing causing misfiring.The rotor can fall apart.You may not get a SES code for this but the car will run like crap.
2.Something (other than pieces of the above) gets inside blocking the optical pickup and causes a SES fault code(16and/or36 on my 93).This is usually what happens when the WP dumps on it.

You can modify early optis (see my pics)to be vented like the 95-96 version which helps.You can RTV the cap and plug to seal it better to prevent moisture intrusion.On the one in my pics the plug area had a bead on it the only problem was it was just lying there not attached to the cap except for one little spot.

Optis can fail due to chain/gear wear inside the timing cover.The added vibration causes the bushings to prematurely fail.

The Dynaspark addresses all these issues inculding the venting for the pre95 cars and usesz bearings instead of bushings.I did the reasearch before I chose it.Do some searches in the archives on the Opti for more detailed info.....

 

my car is a 92 , it has 193000 miles ,, the previous owner says he replaced the opti 2000 miles ago, one of the cooling fans stopped working and the temp got up to 245 deg- i changed the fan and then the problems started- it stumbles till about 2000 rpm's where it takes off- is poping out the exhaust, and lacking power, there is no coolend in the oil or exhaust,, beofr ehtis i had a problem that when i let off the gass at high rpm's or speed it would sometimes backfire like all the fuel wasn't being burned- i have replaced all the engine sensors so far and now this problem, when i read up on misfires and crappy running conditiond they pointed to the optispark- if anyone has any other ideas i'm up for some help with this,.,, the only code that is throwing is code 26, it is a stick shift car- thanks

 

DynaSpark on my 94 LT1, Exceeded my expectations! The best unit for the money. One stop shopping and all the parts are included in the purchase.

 

Optis can fail at any time but before you go that route it sounds like something you did during the fan install might have caused your problem.First thing to check is the coolant sensor on the WP.It sounds like your running rich and a bad/broken/disconnected sensor will do that.Check all plugs near the front of the engine(coil/ICM/plug wires).You might get lucky.

This is for all newbies, it really helps if you include anything that was changed prior to a problem occuring.A lot of the time a mechanic screws up things around what they are fixing(guilty myself) so the location of repairs can point to things around it that may help get your car running right.The more history the better.

 

Also, since it was only 2k ago the opti was replaced, could it be something tied to that replacement which has just shown-up now, e.g. something not tightened and/or has loosened-up?

What is the running temp (digital and analog) of the engine now since the fan was replaced?

Does the problem happen when it is cold, or only after warmed-up?

Is it possible that the overheat (although 245 isn't that hot), caused an air pocket in the coolant in the block, causing hot spots? Have you checked coolant level and cracked the two bleeders to assure no air pockets (with lots of paper towels underneath to protect the opti)?

Hope this helps..

 

well i only touched a few things all have been verified- i was thinking abou tthe opti because without thinking cracked the bleed valve i later noticed the water was running right on it - could that temp of caused any problems with the valvetrain?

 

One thing to check real quick, the connector that goes into the Opti, wiring harness. Unplug it and check for corrosion, green from copper. I had one do this. Just a thought.

 

That is what I want to hear do they match up or not?

 

After some problems with OEM optispark units ( broken rotors), I am currently using a Dynaspark and so far so good. The car running perfectly and I am very happy with the choice.
About the price it seems fair for a well made unit, no improvisation here!