Has anyone used this opti Dragonfire
 

Link to opti

http://all-ignition.com/gen2-df-lt1.html

Anybody?

:lurk:

Never heard of it.

Few years back I shopped around and looked at all optis and never saw that one.

Looks high quality but have never seen it before.

Interesting. Seems too good to be true considering what all the other ones cost.

It appears to be "All-Ignition's" entry into the high-end opti market. They have a horrible reputation with their low priced opti's, but who knows, maybe this one is the one to end all opti problems. I am pretty certain at this point, I will not be the one to experiment with it...........

In their Ebay listing, they sort of "fess-up" about some of the problems people have had with the older optisparks bought through them by saying "...We have used many of these poor quality distributors in the past and have first hand experience with the optical encoder in these distributors prematurely failing due to poor construction and quality..."

- So I'm assuming that their new "DragonFire" is an all new design from the ground up and is completely separate from the old units that were bought overseas... :confused:

My optispark is showing signs it's about to take a dump on me any day now so obviously, I hope to find a replacement before it's too late. The MSD is way overpriced (IMO) and I've had nothing but problems with MSD products for years now so I'll definitely be steering clear of that option.

Then again, I've read bad reviews of just about every company/manufacturer currently producing an optispark replacement. From summit, to Jegs, to MSD, Accel and now "All Ignition". If you look, you can find good and bad experiences with all of them. Leads me to believe it's pretty much "hit or miss" with any of these aftermarket units. :ack:

Seems a factory GM replacement is the only way to go but the cheapest I've found it for my '92 is $400 through summit and I'd really rather not spend that much if I could find a product equally as reliable for less money...

I emailed "All-Ignition" and asked them a bunch of questions in regards to their "DragonFire" distributor.

Everything from "where is it made?" .... to "how's the timing adjusted" ... and even asked them if they could send me some more photo's of their product, including some internal shots of the inside assembly...

I'll post their response's to my questions here in case anybody else is interested... :thumbs:

Have you researched/considered a Dynaspark?

I went with a GM unit for my 95, but if I had an earlier non-vented unit, I would have been more tempted to try an aftermarket unit. If I really thought the MSD or Dynaspark would be the end all of this problem, I would happily pay the money for one. At this point however, I remain unconvinced they will withstand a leaking waterpump any better than a stock one.

Please post the response.

When I hear "Dragonfire" I think Chinese.

All-Ignition sold crap optis. You were lucky to get it to last a month. There were several threads on the fbody forums about them failing. Not sure how their "new" ignitions are. I sure would not trust them.

Check out thepartsladi on ebay for a new GM opti.

Research the Dyanaspark if you consider it.
Prior to 2007 they were very responsive and a supporting vendor.
I wound up getting one of thier last Dynaspark distributors before they were sold or changed management. Since then they have not been on this forum and some folks have been underwhelmed by thier service.

I'm happy with the one I installed, IIRC it was around $600 though

I've looked into the Dynaspark, Delteq, LTCC and just about every other possible "alternative" to a factory GM optispark.

The MSD unit, despite its fancy red cap and machined housing, has yet to demonstrate any real-world gains/improvements in performance or durability over a standard opti. The addition of the vent tube for the earlier year LT1's is a nice feature (I guess) but I'm really not convinced it makes very much difference in overall optispark reliability, since there's equally as many optispark failures with the later (gen2) vented design as there are for the (gen1) non-vented versions, so the fact that the MSD's optisparks are vented, doesn't mean a whole lot to me, but that's just my opinion.

As is often mentioned, the cheaper "aftermarket" optisparks seem to be pretty "hit or miss" in regards to their build quality with some reporting failure within month's, even weeks, after installation :ack:

I'm assuming this is most likely do to quality control issues in the sweatshops they're being assembled in :lol:

The other optispark alternatives, needless to say, are all very expensive and most of them still require the use of the original optispark so you're not really "eliminating" anything. They may very well be more durable and trouble-free than the original design, but again, only time will tell. I've yet to see anybody do a long term review of any of these high dollar optispark "alternatives."

What I have noticed is that these multi-coil ignition systems usually tend to add a rats-nest of wiring/cabeling to an already cluttered engine compartment not to mention the added cost of having to buy as many as 8 separate coils :crazy:

As for me, I've decided to just pony up the cash and buy a genuine AC/Delco optispark. The one I've got right now is 17 years old and has lasted over 200 thousand kilometers. Can't really ask for much more than that. I wonder how many of those fancy aftermarket alternatives have lasted as long :confused:

I noticed "All ignition" is now offering "genuine AC/Delco" optisparks now for about $350. $50 cheaper than any other place I've found, so I went ahead and placed an order. Hopefully it'll arrive this week.

If I get a response from "all Ignition" in regard to the questions I asked about their "dragon-fire" opti, I'll still post it here.

I put a MSD optispark replacement on my 94 LT1. It was heads up better than the original. Has an extra screw holding the cap on. Real QUALITY in the body of the unit. Now, I just raise the hood and wash the engine off when it gets dirty. NO PROBLEM!!!! Fires right up.

It was worth every penny it cost, there is NO comparsion between it and the OEM replacement unit.

I've used MSD stuff for 22 years and they have always worked great for me.

bill

Been rockin' the MSD opti since May of 2006... no problems out of it. I can tell you it is a much better product than the factory unit I took off the car. Everything is more robust, the cap, the rotor, the brass terminals, the brass on the rotor, the body, the aluminum base.. It is vented, sealed, comes with an actual bearing(not some BS bushing)...

Also it gives you a little bit of adjustment to your timing... Having played with it I can tell you it can make your car run like crap, or run well... That is the limit of my knowledge as far as the "timing screw":lol:

The Dynaspark is another quality unit with a track record here on the forum...Although I have no personal experience with the Dyna, I have read many good thing about them from CF members.

Both MSD and Dyna are more than a fancy cap and housing... they are a better product..
For the best HP gains from replacing your distributor you need to put the MSD sticker on the rear fender....Of course I found this out after putting it on my toolbox:D

:cheers:

:flag:

http://www.ignitionpart.com/default.asp

http://www.ignitionpart.com/List.asp?Shop_id=519

Looks like the Dragonfire, just with a different color cap.

I don't think that there is any question that the MSD and Dynaspark are better built than the stock units. The both have a robust design to eliminate the problems with the stock units.

The question is though that despite the machined parts and bearings, have they actually achieved better reliability. I would happily pay the money for them if they actually were more reliable. I think that is still a real question. Look at the poll here:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-t...1505543-a.html

Only 72% of the MSD users reported no problems. I realize that it is a small and unscientific study of the MSD product, but still, it is not what I would like to see. I am hoping that I don't need another opti, but in the mean time, I am watching closely for everybody's experiences, hopefully trouble free like yours.

That's exactly how I feel as well.

I've never said the MSD was a poorly built product, but I too question just how much it's "improvements" actually do anything to make it last longer than a a standard GM opti-spark....

Take the MSD's build quality for example. As someone mentioned earlier, it has a very "robust cap and aluminum housing".... That's 's all fine and dandy and although I'm sure the MSD is built like a German tank, has anyone really ever had a problem with their opti-spark housings breaking apart :confused:

I certainly haven't. Nor have I had any issues with the terminals wearing out or falling off etc. nor have I had any issues with any bushing or rotor breaking apart either. I don't know. Maybe I'm in the minority here....

The problem I've always had with my opti-sparks (going back a good 10 years now) has always been condensation/moisture/antifreeze finding its way into the distributor and rusting everything out. Maybe others have had different issues with their unit's but moisture problems have always been the cause of my opti's failing and I'm sure it's been the same experience for the majority off LT1 owners as well.

Really, the only feature the MSD offers to combat the moisture problem so common to opti-sparks, is the addition of a vent tube on the gen1 models. So if someone already has a late model LT1 that already has a vented optispark, the MSD really doesn't offer anything new.

A trick that I learned many years ago (which seems to have worked out for me and a few other LT1 owners I know, is to run a bead of silicone all around the perimeter of the opti housing where the two halfs meet together. I tried it on my last opti-spark and it lasted a good 4 years of daily use. After I blew my motor, and started a new build-up, I pried open that opti-spark and it was clean as a whistle inside. :thumbs:

Since that time, I've recommended everyone do the same if/when they replace their opti-spark. It certainly can't hurt anything and it's the only sure-fire way to completely "seal" the unit itself. Anyways, to each his own. I'm sure the MSD is a great piece as are the other "high-end" alternatives but until I see any definitive "proof" that their more reliable than a good 'ol A/Delco unit, I'm just gonna stick with GM.



By the way, "All Ignition" just got back to me and answered some of the questions I asked them about the new "Dragon-Fire" series LT1 distributors. Two of those answers might be of some interest to some of you.../



-------------
".....Let me go ahead and answer your questions:

1) Timing is adjusted via a screw on the side of the distributor. It is set at stock when it is assembled, which is 2 turns of the screw out.

2) Some of the metal components may be machined overseas, but all the electronic components are produced in North America and the distributor is assembled in the US...."
-------------



So there you have it. Timing is set similar to the MSD unit's and apparently the unit itself is made up of parts from both "overseas" (I'm assuming that means China) as well as North America.

Take that for what it's worth....

I went ahead and ordered a new Delco unit from them and it should arrive this week. I'll document the install and post up some shots and a write-up when I get the chance.


:flag:

If you want to find out about all-ignition go to camaroz28.com and search for ebay opti review. This company was selling counterfit optis. They ripped a lot of people off and were unreachable after selling them these units. They had to fight through paypal to try and get their money back. Again, I would not trust anything from them!

:crazy:




http://all-ignition.com/images/lt1graph.png



Wow, 20hp increase. :rofl: