I have a 98 Durango 5.2 magnum and im about to do plugs wires cap rotor ext. I came across the wiring adapter online to run a MSD box and thought hmm. Anyone running a 6AL or any other Ignition box on there 5.2 , 5.9 magnum v8.



If so what are the Pros and Cons.

Thanks Jordan

don't know why you'd need to. I'd maybe upgrade the factory coil and be done.

Yes i can do that as well. i read on another forum it may improve MPG'S. It is a durango. So anything to help at the pump is always a plus

on a stock engine, there's not much need to upgrade to an MSD. now, if you have modified the engine with heads, cam, intake, spray, boost, etc. then sure, it might help you out some.


if your engine is stock, what I would do, is get a quality cap/rotor, a set of fire core 50 plug wires (yes, Rick makes them for the late model magnum engines, and they work well! my set has 10k miles on them, and still ohm at the same 50 ohms per foot as when I got them), and a set of stock replacement plugs.

you could also upgrade to the hotter MSD coil, but gains will be minimal, and you probably won't notice ANYTHING with the multi-spark MSD boxes other than a lighter wallet.

I agree I dont think you'll get the improvement you are seeking. I'm not sure what ign/fuel systems a '98 uses but I would look elsewhere

My guess would be that you will not see a fuel economy improvement,
But
I do remember reading a post about 14 years ago where someone with a 5.2 V8 Magnum in a Dakota said he got a MPG increase at highway cruise with an MSD.

I also remember more than one post where MSD ignitions were blamed for burning up the internal Triac switch inside the PCM computer, which usually means the computer has to sent off for repair, which is expensive.

The only automaker that i know of that has tried multi spark ignitions as standard equipment was Mercedes a couple years years ago.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/07/officially-official-the-new-direct-injected-multi-spark-v6-an/

Sample quote
A new feature of this engine includes what Mercedes calls "multi-spark ignition" – new ignition coils that recharge much faster and putting out up to four sparks within one millisecond. Doing this can result in more controlled and complete combustion for lower emissions and consumption.

Before i would try a MSD
I would buy some of those tiny tip Irridium alloy spark plugs and see if 0.055 to 0.085 inch gaps would speed up combustion and act like an ignition timing increase.

The Dodge truck Magnums are retarded about 12 degrees from MBT at wide open throttle
so that they can run on
85 to 87 AKI octane rating gasoline.

This MIGHT indicate faster combustion would help fuel economy.
Another clue is that Dodge switched to longer projected nose spark plugs in later model years.

When Jeep uprated their 1998 version of the 5.9V8 to run on 92 AKI octane they advanced the WOT ignition timing 12 degrees.

The everyday driving part throttle ignition timing won't be retarded this many degrees.

At part throttle highway cruise
my 1995 Magnum 5.9 V8 ignition timing advance
goes as high as 40 degrees
when the manifold vacuum is around 13 inches of mercury. That's alot, but may be due to the EGR on that model year.

If you are looking for an
ignition mystery to solve on
5.2/5.9 Magnum V8s,
Find out why the ceramic center tips on used spark plugs,
Always appear noticeably whiter on cylinders 7 and 8
Than the other six cylinders.

Waste of money IMO. On an otherwise stock magnum, I don't think there are any mpg gains to be had with aftermarket spark boxes, fancy plugs or wires.

Quote:

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if your engine is stock, what I would do, is get a quality cap/rotor, a set of fire core 50 plug wires

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Needless on a stock engine. On a cammed 440 with a hotter ignition I noticed no difference from the cheapies I had on there previously to the firecores.

I've done MSD coil & box on a bunch of Mag motors I've never checked to see if the MPG went up
As far as I know MPG & Durango are opposites anyway.
Underdrive pulleys would be a start
Remove the original fan on the waterpump & install a high capacity dual electric fan
Hi flow Cat & complete 3" exhaust
One guy I did twin NOS Power Wings in a Vortex spacer on his SS/T said that his HWY MPG improved with the spacer
I do know that when tuning my carbed Mag motor in my CrewCab with a single 3" exhaust there was a 2 mpg HWY difference between a Flowmaster 3 chamber & a stock 08 CTD muffler with the CTD muffler giving the best tone & MPG
Lower gears can help on the city MPG
Stopping & starting doesn't require as much fuel as the engine doesn't have to work as hard to get moving

If you are looking for relatively easy MPG increases,
For inspiration
Go to the dealership and look at a new 2013 Ram.

Look at the shutters on the Ram grille.
Try making your own manual shutters.

Look how the new Ram air suspension lowers the ride height one inch at highway speed and improves MPG 4%

look underneath at smoother layout for air flow
Consider adding belly plates to your Durango.

Calculate the overall gear ratio in the top gear of the new 8 speed trans on the Ram with the 3.21 diff.
Get you Durango closer to this

At the rear roof of your Durango is a small bump called the " Roofline Extension Spoiler, or RES for short.
Look at how much bigger the RES is on the latest SUVs
Look at the now huge RAM bump at the top of the tailgate, this is a cousin to a RES
Make your Durango RES bigger

Look at the unique shape of the rear brake light housing on the Toyota Tundra and Sequoria.
This is a hidden " Vortex Generator" that partially eliminates the need for a RES.
Read the post in the Moparts General forum about Gas Pods, Mitsubishi VG shark teeth on the Lancer, etc.

Read up about "low rolling resistance tires"
which can give up to an instant 3 MPG increase,
but dont sacrafice wet/dry braking too much.... Bad trade off IMHO

Rick's wires are a nice product and I do agree with periodic plug/wire/cap/rotor replacements. However IMO on stock engines, most of the time this stuff is replaced needlessly. With modern EFI engines, this stuff seems to last a long time, and with a 5.2 magnum in stock configuration they don't exactly have the highest cylinder pressures nor the hardest mix to light. I would just caution the OP against dumping 300 bucks into fancy plugs, wires and coil just to quite likely see zero mpg gains for his troubles.

Fancy coil $50, multi spark box $150, no limit to what you can spend on this stuff.

Who cares? Even the stuff you listed adds up to around 175 bucks by the time you figure in shipping and such. To me, that's still too much money to gamble on a maybe 1mpg increase.

Several past posters on Magnum ignitions
have mentioned that the
distributor bushing
should be checked for excessive wear when the cap and rotor is changed.
If there is too much slack the timing accuracy begins to vary.

After reading about how NASCAR engine builders who are limited to using distributors
Customize the 8 metal posts inside the cap
To advance some cylinders
And retard others
I have wondered if that would be a beneficial mod for a Magnum ignition?

The Magnum crank position sensor tells the PCM computer when to fire the coil,
But the circuit cannot complete until the post is near the rotor tip.

I suspect that cylinders 7 and 8 need a bit of retard
And cylinders 1 and 2 need a bit of advance.

It might be better to do this by modifying the slots the cps sensor picks up on the flex plate between the engine and transmission
But that requires a teardown.

On a slightly different Magnum ignition mod,
Has anyone ever seen or read
of trying to move the Magnum small bock
crank position sensor
away from its position where it reads the slots in the flexplate,
And instead custom machine holes into the crank pulley at the front of the V8
and then have a relocated, but adjustable,
crank position sensor read an equivalent signal there?

Instead of directly on the Magnum main pulley
a disc could be attached to the front shaft near the main pulley
similar to the way one of past MSD aftermarket ignitions used a disc with magnets imbedded at the disc's outer edge to trigger a sensor.

The main thing would be to add some advance / retard adjustment.