I've seen a lot of forum posts about it, but then I've seen a lot of forum posts saying "the TV radiation gave my cat cancer". I've also seen a lot of forum posts from people who have no complaints about their MSD coil pack. And most of the complaints I do see are all about the rubber mounting setup and damaging the valve cover with bolts that are too long. Which is important but it has nothing to do with the ECU.
OutMotoring replied first thing this morning and said they corrected the voltage to 36,000, and cleared up their suggestions on whether to drill out the MSD sleeves and re-use the stock bolts and dampers, or to use the shorter bolts that OutMotoring includes. Pretty decent.
From my point of view, saying the MSD is the cause of ECU damage is about as plausible as "weapons grade aluminum". I'm not saying I don't believe it. I'm saying so far I haven't been able to find any clear evidence of it, and nobody has explained precisely what causes the problem. It can't be "overloading" the ECU, because the high voltage doesn't go to the ECU, it loads the wires and plugs, and 40,000 volts isn't going to harm them if they can handle 36,000. Lots of modern plugs and wires handle 50k volts, and some reach 80k. And that's moot because the MSD puts out exactly the same voltage as the stock ECU.
And the Screaming Demon is actually claims 40k volts. If the extra 4,000 volts were a problem then that coil would be the one cooking things, though probably not ECUs.
I would quibble with OutMotoring saying the spark is more "intense" but that's asking too much from marketing copy. They got a business to run after all and you have to have a little common sense of your own.
It could be the dwell time is longer than stock. But doesn't Mini has a dwell map in the ECU? It cuts off voltage if it exceeds the stock dwell time. Which means the MSD is even less likely to offer any performance benefit, unless you tune your ECU specifically to increase dwell time.
If you did remap it, maybe it could damage the ECU, or the "driver transistor", if the Mini uses those? I dunno. I don't know if DTEC knows what they're talking about, of if it specifically applies to this car. But at least they explain both cause and effect, not just effect.
I have more questions than answers. I am 110% open to hearing the actual evidence that the coil cooks ECUs. Obviously, it's probably not worth it for the reason that it offers no benefit, other than maybe you like it because it's red, or maybe you want brass terminals to deal with the well known corrosion problem.
I just think its a wast of money. You get zero gains from the MSD. If your worried about the contacts just clean them every few weeks. Unless your putting out high HP numbers like 300+ you are adding nothing but bling. If you want one its your car. There a lot of Mods that will net you more gains.
Yes, quite true. That's why I took mine off. I have no reason to truly care if they cook ECUs or not, any more than I care if "weapons grade aluminum" is a thing.
I just gots questions is all. Sometimes I have to keep asking until I get an answer. When I see something that doesn't quiet add up, I have to ask.
I struck out with Sickspeed. So it goes. It's my fault. I said that if the Wikipedia article (they were quoting it) that says the M-16 uses 7000-series aluminum is what makes it "weapons grade", you could just as easily say that it's "RC car grade aluminum" or "yo-yo grade aluminum". If metal grades come from what you make out of them (they don't). And actually you probably don't want to remind anyone about the aluminum in the M-16.
It looks like the Ford F-150 uses one type of 5XXX-grade aluminum, and four different grades of 6XXX-series. I don't know if they're all military grade, or but saying that made GM counter with ads showing rolled-steel hull submarines breaking through ice. I think if you go off into "military grade aluminum" terminology, you invite that kind of thing.
One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bulls**t. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bulls**t and to avoid being taken in by it. So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate concern, or attracted much sustained inquiry. In consequence, we have no clear understanding of what bulls**t is, why there is so much of it, or what functions it serves…
MSD coils have been known to send power spikes to the ECU causing failure that can not be repaired. The MINI ECU is not a common GM, Ford, Morpar ECU. heck if you have ever had a low battery you would know from the amount of Christmas lights it set off on the dash from a little low voltage.
Also they are not specifically made for the MINI application (ECU) they are made for the Dodge Neon ( Same block but not same ECU) that's why they all need to be modified to fit.
MSD makes great products for many cars but in this case MSD coils are a huge No No.
