Any MSD Street Fire users?

You were supposed to play devils advocate and talk me out of it!

I should have one tomorrow but I won't be able to give any driving opinions until Spring. I do hope to have it wired in and started up this weekend though.

I have a quick question on the wiring for the MSD 5520 unit.
I am currently running a voltage gauge that is connected to the "+" side of the coil and it reads the average coil voltage and it works fine. The instructions for the MSD unit say that the ONLY wire to be connected to the "+" side of the coil is the orange wire. Will I have any issues if I wire in my voltage gauge to the orange wire ("+") ?

Thanks

Absolutely. Do not do it.

The Street Fire (I suspect it's made in China to compete with the Summit Chinese MSD copies) is a Capacitive Discharge ignition. When the capacitor discharges into the coil it sends a spike of 435 volts. To get multiple sparks it sends multiple spikes. That should either fry or really confuse your voltmeter.

R.

Got it, thanks.

Note: The Street Fire box is built in the US, but the Street Fire coil is not. I got that info from the MSD tech web sight.

The MSD instructions say that the Street Fire box can be used with any stock coil or any stock aftermarket replacement coil. I assume that my FBO 12v coil can handle this box. Any comments are appreciated.

Thank you.

I'm sure it can handle the voltage because it is applied in short spikes and because the other side of the coil has to be able to handle 45K volts. I have used the MSD 6A on my Jacobs chrome coil which looks like a stock oil-filled cylindrical coil for about a year now and no problems. Also consider that probably millions of CD ignitions are out there most using the stock coil. So no worries.

R.

Good point, thanks.

Another one:
On the attached schematic, the RED wire is shown to plug into the "original coil "+" terminal" which is the "run" blue wire. I am assuming that I need to also splice in the "crank" brown wire into this splice too?

Thanks again.

I don't know. If the blue wire has power in start mode you don't. If it only has power after you release the key from starting then it does. I'm thinking the blue wire is hot whenever the key is on but I can't remember for sure.
R.

I show that the blue "run" wire has 12v only on run and the brown "crank" wire only has 12v during crank. I will splice these together for the RED wire. I can splice my existing voltmeter in with the RED wire for my ignition voltage reference from inside of the car to see both cranking voltage and run voltage.

Another one:
My current spark plug gap is the standard .035", should I open up the gap? If so to what and why?

Thanks

This post is timely.

So I’m thinking about an ignition upgrade on the Road Runner. Currently running a stock type electronic ignition set-up with a recurved distributor. It’s probably overmatched against my fat cammed small block stroker. I was just going to put a better box on there but I think a multi-spark is in order to improve its manners around town lugging around in traffic and keep the plugs cleaner.

The car is 99% street, and while I haven’t put it on the track yet, I’ll do some fun runs when the opportunity presents.

I’m debating between the value priced street oriented Street Fire, or the tried and true, but significantly more expensive and more race oriented 6AL.

One thing I really like about the Street Fire is the compact size. It’s barely bigger than the stock box. There is also a new 6AL-2 which is about the same size, but with a two step limiter and a significantly higher price tag.

Lots of feedback out there on 6ALs, so I’m most interested in hearing from folks running a Street Fire, and what its limits are.

I have had a tough time finding the information too. From what I have found out so far, the Street fire box is made in the US and it is compatible with the magnetic pickups in our stock type Chrysler distributors (per the schematic). This box has an output for a tach and it is a bit smaller and it comes in black. The box will fire a stock or stock aftermarket coil so there is no special coil to buy. It has adjustable external rev limiter (one knob for 1000 and one knob for 100rpms). It has a LED that shows solid when the engine is running and the ignition has enough voltage (9-18v) to run correctly. Under 9 volts, the LED will flash to show low voltage. I have read that it will trigger as low as 7 volts but they recommend feeding it with 10-18v. I have found pricing from $120-$239 depending on where you buy it, but mostly $139-$159.00. I am having a tough time finding people running this box on the web so I thought that I would try our sight.

This box appears to be a good performance upgrade for the stock Mopar "type" ignition ECU. But we don't know how reliable it is yet.

I have a MSD Street Fire New for sale on Craigslist I also have a MSD Blaster SS coil to go with it. Send me a PM or email to mguzinski@gmail.com I know it's not the forum to list stuff for sale but...
I have run these before and they install pretty much like any MSD ignition. Here is the MSD site and you can download the Installation PDF on it too: http://www.msdignition.com/Products/Ignitions/Daily_Driver/5520_-_Street_Fire_Ignition.aspx
They work real well on street cars. I don't race so I'm not sure how they work on the 1/4 Mile. I'm guessing just fine.

They have about 2/3 the total spark energy of the 6A. I looked through everything on their website and did not find a single "made in USA" brag. They do say it was designed in the USA which sounds to me like it's built overseas.

If small size is your bag, the Accel 300+ is digital, small, has dial rev limiter, and I have more than 150K miles on one without a hiccup. It specs with the 6A but I believe has lower current draw. Most come with matching coils and I have bought 3 so far on the 'bay for $120 or less and they were new.

Do what you want. Good Luck!
R.

I got mine today and it says on the front of the box, USA MADE.
Are there people having issues with dial back timing lights and MSD? My light is an old Craftsman dial back. It appears that if mine does not like the MSD, then my old standard timing light with some timing tape is a cheap fix for the initial timing and then I can use the dial back when checking total timing above 3000rpms.

There is a tach note in the instructions that some might have issues reading this box but the list says that Autometer (my tach brand) does not. good note.

Thanks everyone.

These boxes are fairly small. Check out the difference between the orange box and the Street Fire unit.
This unit will mount directly to my existing Challenger ECU mounting bracket with the top two holes. The bottom two holes I will run ground wires from. I will take another picture once it is fully installed but so far, the wiring is going quick.

I had previously taken some measurements, and your photo confirms what I thought.

I plan to fab up a bracket similar to the stock bracket and mount mine in the factory firewall holes.

This is the unit installed.

Glad to hear it's made in the USA. I've run gaps around 0.045" with my 6A.
R.