Which Aftermarket RV8 Distributor?

[robrover]

Given that you want to stick with a distributor, which one would you choose for an RV8:

Lucas 35DE8 fitted with a Lumenition kit with recurved advance - reliable but still Lucas body, rotor, base plate.
Lucas fitted with Petronix kit - same as above.
Dual point Mallory - some problems with condensers on these I believe and still use points.
Unilite Mallory - expensive but reportedly quite good.
MSD 8458 pro billet - magnetic trigger, adjustable mechanical advance, supposed to be very good – use with an MSD ignition control.
123 Electronic - optical trigger with electronically adjustable advance and other high end features, but very costly.
Scorcher - custom made by Performance Ignitions in Aus, uses all commonly available Bosch parts, magnetic and custom advance curve, very reliable and excellent performance.
Buick 350 HEI - common and cheaply available in the US these are supposed to drop straight in and provide good performance.
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[Bluebottle]

I'm in the same boat as you...

One other option to add to your list is the Omex 200 which will cost about the same as the Mallory Unilite/MSD install but will give you full ignition mapping.

[rev-erend]

Compromise, Compromise, Compromise..

Omex or Emerald is the way to go.

[GreenV8S]

robrover said:

Given that you want to stick with a distributor, which one would you choose for an RV8:

Nowt wrong with the original 35D* dizzies and they are readily and cheaply available. If you have a problem they can't fix then rather than looking for expensive clockwork dizzies I'd challenge the assumption you have given that a dizzy is the best approach.

[rev-erend]

I seem to remember reading some time back that TVR power could recondition the RV8 dizzy..

[eliot]

Dont use the mallory dual point - as noted they chew condensors and still use points.

[deetes]

Surely the only need for a dizzy is to drive the oil pump.

[eliot]

deetes said:

Surely the only need for a dizzy is to drive the oil pump.

Indeed - but I was being polite.

[domV8]

I have just had Mallory Unilite fitted.
Smooth as a babies backside...

Dom

[Barkychoc]

There's a guy on ebay seller id simonbbc that sells new RV8 distributors, I was tempted & bought one, I haven't tried it yet as engine is in bits but it certainly feels reasonable quality.
There is a little room for haggling with him if you ask.

[GreenV8S]

Barkychoc said:

There's a guy on ebay seller id simonbbc that sells new RV8 distributors, I was tempted & bought one, I haven't tried it yet as engine is in bits but it certainly feels reasonable quality.
There is a little room for haggling with him if you ask.

I've never investigated the advance characteristics of the OEM TVR distributors but they could easily be changed from the LR original spec, and I wouldn't assume they're standard. If replacing with another non-TVR distributor it would be worth checking that they have similar advance travel, spring rates and weights.

[robrover]

I'm going with the Aussie made Scorcher after reading good reviews on the Oz Holden/Ford V8 forums and the V8 Land Rover forum about their durability, smooth running and performance. You can specify any advance curve you want and it comes fitted with all commonly available Bosch components. Performance Ignition Services in Melbourne do them using Rover/P76 casings. Can be built up within a day and cost AUD500 (UKP240)

www.performanceignition.com.au

[drlloyd]

If you're spending money on upgrading your ignition you really need to look at a fully mappable system with coil packs. It really is worlds apart from any distributer system on the Rover V8.

There is the Megasquirt Wasted Spark system which controls both fuelling and ignition, or the Megajolt system (ignition only) if you really wish to retain the crude Lucas 14CUX system! Both use the Ford EDIS system with Ford coil-packs so all parts are readily available.

The Megasquirt system gets a bad press, maybe partly due to the fact that it's far cheaper than Omex, Emerald, etc, but my personal experience of Megasquirt is that it's an excellent system that is straight-forward to fit and map. Oh, and it seems to work wonders with the Rover V8 engine!

Me and my brother have fitted the Megasquirt Wasted Spark system to a Range-Rover LSE with a Chimaera 450 engine. We originally ran it with fuelling only and then added the wasted spark ignition at a later date. The difference when we originally added the mappable fuelling was impressive - more power practically throughout the entire rev range.

The difference when we added the mappable ignition was REALLY impressive though, more power again throughout the entire rev range and it runs much smoother. No shunting and incredible performance. Bearing in mind that this is in a 2.2 tonne Range-Rover, a much more taxing application for the engine and it's management system then any 1 tonne TVR!

Needless to say that I have already purchased another Megaquirt Wasted Spark system and required extra's to fit to my TVR Chimaera 400HC and will be fitting it as soon as possible!!

I really feel that any further money spent on the antiquated distributer system is completely wasted.

[GreenV8S]

drlloyd said:

The Megasquirt system gets a bad press, maybe partly due to the fact that it's far cheaper ...

I think the main issue with MegaSquirt is that it's not approved so nobody will fit it commercially - it's strictly a DIY solution. I don't know how well it compares to the commercial alternatives in terms of performance, mine works fine and not noticeably any harder to set up than the OMEX 710 I had before that, but the experts might be able to point to other advantages from the more expensive systems. The main advantage though as far as I can see is that you can have them fitted and set up professionally. If you're the sort of person who fancies the DIY approach then MegaSquirt is well worth considering, but I think DIYers are in the minority.

[eliot]

GreenV8S said:

drlloyd said:

The Megasquirt system gets a bad press, maybe partly due to the fact that it's far cheaper ...

I think the main issue with MegaSquirt is that it's not approved so nobody will fit it commercially - it's strictly a DIY solution. .

I think many people forget that the original ethos of Megasquirt was an open source project to learn about EFI and to create your own solution without the associated costs of a comercial ECU. Much of the costs of comercial ECU's goes into support - not the actual ECU itself.

A local tuner told me the lack of comercial support and backup stopped him from using it - which is a fair point. The "community" may well answer your problem at 3am and solve the problem in 10 minutes but what if no-one can help or assist? - it's down to you to figure it out. A comercial tuner needs the supplier to "own" the problem - they cant take the risk of spending weeks solving a problem.

So its a case of you pays your money and take your choices.

[Pupp]

drlloyd said:

If you're spending money on upgrading your ignition you really need to look at a fully mappable system with coil packs. It really is worlds apart from any distributer system on the Rover V8.

There is the Megasquirt Wasted Spark system which controls both fuelling and ignition, or the Megajolt system (ignition only) if you really wish to retain the crude Lucas 14CUX system! Both use the Ford EDIS system with Ford coil-packs so all parts are readily available.

The Megasquirt system gets a bad press, maybe partly due to the fact that it's far cheaper than Omex, Emerald, etc, but my personal experience of Megasquirt is that it's an excellent system that is straight-forward to fit and map. Oh, and it seems to work wonders with the Rover V8 engine!

Me and my brother have fitted the Megasquirt Wasted Spark system to a Range-Rover LSE with a Chimaera 450 engine. We originally ran it with fuelling only and then added the wasted spark ignition at a later date. The difference when we originally added the mappable fuelling was impressive - more power practically throughout the entire rev range.

The difference when we added the mappable ignition was REALLY impressive though, more power again throughout the entire rev range and it runs much smoother. No shunting and incredible performance. Bearing in mind that this is in a 2.2 tonne Range-Rover, a much more taxing application for the engine and it's management system then any 1 tonne TVR!

Needless to say that I have already purchased another Megaquirt Wasted Spark system and required extra's to fit to my TVR Chimaera 400HC and will be fitting it as soon as possible!!

I really feel that any further money spent on the antiquated distributer system is completely wasted.

Whilst, having gone down the comparable Emerald route, I'd agree with much of this, I'm not so sure I'd dismiss the 14CUX fuel system as being 'crude'. Knowing what I know now, and on the majority of 'tunes' that are ever likely to be run on the road, I think a combination of mappable wasted spark ignition with oem (but tweaked) fuelling could be a great package. If I was to start again with another car *shudder* then this would be my starting point...

[drlloyd]

Maybe 'crude' was a little harsh (I am aware that there are some reasonably sophisticated features with the 14CUX system) but the mappable fuelling systems such as Megasquirt, Emerald, etc do seem to make the Rover V8 engine perform better than any 14CUX tweaks I have seen to date.

[GreenV8S]

Pupp said:

oem (but tweaked) fuelling could be a great package.

The main drawback I see with this is that the oem ECU is not open to adjustment by the end user, very few people have the knowledge and resources necessary to change the oem calibration on hotwire, GEMS etc. If you were planning to pay a professional to do it all for you that's not the end of the world (just reduces the number of people you have to choose from, the price goes up accordingly) but it does rule out any DIY efforts.

[Pupp]

GreenV8S said:

Pupp said:

oem (but tweaked) fuelling could be a great package.

The main drawback I see with this is that the oem ECU is not open to adjustment by the end user, very few people have the knowledge and resources necessary to change the oem calibration on hotwire, GEMS etc. If you were planning to pay a professional to do it all for you that's not the end of the world (just reduces the number of people you have to choose from, the price goes up accordingly) but it does rule out any DIY efforts.

That's why I qualified the quoted passage with the preceding comments. I used a Tornado chip that Mark supplied based on my telling him the engine/induction spec etc. With only minor tuning of the CO trim, it fuelled spot on from the off and proved capable of accommodating my messing about with various induction and exhaust mods after without needing any remapping. Don't get me wrong, I like the Emerald set up and it is more flexible but I still don't think the 14CUX should be lightly dismissed unless you're doing something radically different. The weak area is definitely the sparks.