ignition upgrades?

[Ashkan's C280]

so I get the ngk plugs and magcore wires, but what else can be done to the ignition system, I know ned you did some stuff but can that be appilied to the c280? what were the ground wires you put in? any thoughts on a complete ignition upgrade?

[Denlasoul]

For Magnecore wires, you use them without the coil packs, right?

[jnenad16]

ashkan, you can install the MSD DIS-4 just like I had on my C280, but before you do that, give MSD a call to verify if they found the way for DIS- 4 unit to fully work with your mercedes. your C280 is a 97 and mine was 95, which is a good news because 95 uses HFM-SFI type ECU and 97 uses ME-SFI ECU, meaning that the signals and frequencies are most likely different and your might works well with the DIS-4 unit. here is the # and ask for Victor C. at small engines dept 915-855-7123. I also have my DIS-4 unit if you are interested, I can sell it to you for $300 with 2 tach adapters. the unit alone sells for $350 and each adapter is about $50. as for the ground wires, there are so many of them out there, the ones I had were HKS(you can see in my sig), other good ones are Sun Automobile's Hyper Ground System, Nology ground straps are quite good and cheap!(highly recommended). as for the installation, install/add most of the wires between the engine block and the chassis, also add one between the battery negative and the chassis.

nenad

[Josh R]

Actually I have ran dyno comparissons on the ignition systems that come stock on the 112 and 113 motors and have found that they are superior. Some companies have laid claim that they make more power than the factory, but when I put them to the test they did NOT outperform a properly working stock system. Think about this, Mercedes themselves are capable of making 400+ whp on a factory supercharged 113 motor and they are not having ignition problems. I say save your money for something that actually works.

[alphanumeric]

I 2nd that ^^^^^^

[Ashkan's C280]

well my car does not come close to making 400+ whp so I could have better...

[josh k]

Originally posted by Ashkan's C280
well my car does not come close to making 400+ whp so I could have better...

I think you missed the point. What Josh was saying is that the SAME components you have in your car are ALSO used by Mercedes in their cars that produce 400+ HP. Given that the same components you already have are capable of that kind of HP which you are nowhere near, nothing aftermarket you can buy is going to improve upon what you already have.

Soo......

Save your money and get some upgrades that will make a difference. :0)

[jnenad16]

I will have to disagree with both joshes on this one, not because I'm trying to convince ashkan to do this mod, but because I have installed about 15 or so capacitive discharge, multiple sparks ignitions systems and to my knowledge all of them(customers) are satisfied and praising this upgrade. most of the vehicles I have installed these were BMW's, and in my opinion, BMW has a more potent ignition system that the mercedes, yet the vehicles I have installed these systems on experienced an improvement in performance and even more in gas mileage. last week I have installed mallory's hyfire system on my 89 300SE, shown here, http://www.club202.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6743
(not a professional install, cant blame me), and the improvements were quite satisfactory. but as I have said in this post and in my signature, the system that would fit ashkan's application may or may not be fully compatible as it wasnt on my car, but mine was different than his, including the ECU type, so it might be quite possible that it would work on his car.

nenad

[Josh R]

On a 300 SE ignition system I don't doubt that you saw an improvement. On our systems 112 and 113's we run coil packs with 2 sparkplugs per cylinder " leading and trailing" Upgradeable ignition systems for these cars are over priced sparkplug wires that don't work "dyno proven". On my pro street 70 Camaro you bet your ass I run the full MSD 7 series system with a coil that produces enough voltage to power a small town. Distributor cars that run external coils need them and benefit from them, later model cars that run coilpacks simply work just fine.

[manny]

Just one more small point to ponder.
With ever-increasing emission requirements facing all auto manufacturers, one item that has been a priority with all of them, has been the reduction of Hydrocarbons ( mostly caused by ignition misfires ).
To accomplish these reductions, a VERY POWERFUL & reliable ignition system is an absolute must.
I do not see any OEM ignition systems out there, that can be improved on.
I also run an MSD-6 box on one of my older vehicles & it has given me many years of problem-free service.
;)