Replacement Coils - Which ones to buy and how to quit trashing them.

v6buicks

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It sounds like an article, but I'm looking for advice. I replaced all three coils with AC Delco Professionals last year thinking they would be the last ones I need to buy for a long time. This might still be the case. As most know by now, the Camaro is getting tuned once and for all on Friday, so the real problem might be remedied then. However starting has been very rough lately and this morning it was running really rough for a minute before finally smoothing out. It feels exactly like it did before I replaced the coils. All the OE units are starting to get too old to trust, and the aftermarket doesn't seem to be much better. For now I'm just going to bring my spare stash with me to the dyno in case I need to limp this thing along.

Long tern, which coils should I be considering? What brand are you guys running? Are you taking any extra measures to keep them from failing? Thanks
 

v6buicks

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I believe they’re the coils with the blue bottoms.. most people will say just get junkyard units. They came on the supercharged cars and supposedly have a hotter spark.
So you think that junkyard units are still the way to go? I just feel like they're all shot by now. I've trashed three of them already. I think I only have two spares left.
 

SaturdaysGS

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You might be able to find new, or rather NOS.. maybe. I didn’t realize they’re probably all going to be high mileage units.

I’d stick with OEM regardless, I’ve always heard the aftermarket were meh, the MSD (performance model) were trash and the ZZP’s were rebranded MSD’s which they supposedly later really had their own made, but never heard definitive proof they were as good as or any better than OEM, besides their own claims.

Then there’s the rabbit hole where guys were stacking icm modules.........let’s keep it simple.
 

SaturdaysGS

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The main issue with them is build up of corrosion on the posts or the housing cracking and spark jumping.

My Turbo car I ran the silver bottoms (just cuz they were working fine) they were old, and I ran a tight gap .030.

I would say as long as your plugs are fresh with a good gap and the wires and coils appear to be newer and I n good shape you should be ok.
 

v6buicks

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The main issue with them is build up of corrosion on the posts or the housing cracking and spark jumping.

My Turbo car I ran the silver bottoms (just cuz they were working fine) they were old, and I ran a tight gap .030.

I would say as long as your plugs are fresh with a good gap and the wires and coils appear to be newer and I n good shape you should be ok.
Damn. You make it sound easy. I have 605s gapped to .45 IIRC. I'd have to check though. The wires are Taylors which I made myself. I'm confident that those are still good. Should I close my gap a little? I always thought the L36 and L67 used the same coils. Maybe I'll have to try to find the blue bottoms.
 

v6buicks

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Honestly I wouldn’t bother looking for different coils unless you have an issue with your coils, or they’re OLD. The ignition systems are pretty stout. I was right at 15psi, running AL 103’s FWIW.

10sec would say use oem and don’t bother between silver or blue bottoms unless you NEED coils, he’s right.
Oh I'm definitely not going to worry about it unless Brian tells me that there's a problem. I'm sure it's just an issue with cold start tuning because once the issue goes away it doesn't come back until I the next time I start it up.

I kept trashing junk yard coils early on, but that very well could have been lack of tuning once again or wrong spark plugs. I guess the reason I'm here is for future reference. If I continue to have these misfire issues, I'm going to want to tackle it with the best parts I can get my hands on.

SleeperLS SleeperLS currently 8 psi. I'm going to want Brian to turn that up a bit though.
 

PANDA

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Damn. You make it sound easy. I have 605s gapped to .45 IIRC. I'd have to check though. The wires are Taylors which I made myself. I'm confident that those are still good. Should I close my gap a little? I always thought the L36 and L67 used the same coils. Maybe I'll have to try to find the blue bottoms.

Try a colder plug dude. 606 is stock.
 
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v6buicks

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Try a colder plug dude. 606 is stock.
?‍♂️ at only 8 psi I kinda figured I was doing a good thing. What's stock boost? Turbo and intercooler should be cooler than a heaton, and the E85 would cool the charge even more.

I'm not arguing. I'm still very new to this modding, breaking, fixing, repeating song and dance. I'm just trying to explain my thought process so somebody can pick it apart. Do you think a 104 would suffice?
 

1quick

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Is there a relationship between gap and heat range? Like if I start closing the gap to far I need to step colder? or is it totally separate?
Gap is just adjusted to prevent spark blowout under boost you would run the same gap no matter what heat range you use, if you have too big of a gap it could make your coils overheat like haven’t changed the plugs ever and there shot, but it sounds like you have a normal gap
 

Ron Vogel

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Add engine grounds to your frame, add a ground from the main ground to your icm if you haven’t already.

the grounds on w bodies are garbage. The wiring in general is shit. I had to cut back a lot of wires dealing with corrosion problems under the sheathing...and this was 15 years ago.

when I used to talk with Justin at Casper’s, he had a upgraded loom jig for the W-body...this was many years ago
 
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