[T3] CDIs

[Jim Adney]

On 2 May 2025 at 15:56, Doug Brashear wrote:

>  With all respect to the prior CDI comments and commenters, my experience
>  with installing one on my '75 Westy was a little different. I already
>  have a Mallory Unilite distributor so I opted to stay with the brand and
>  use their Mallory 6A CDI system. 

There are/were some ignition systems, including some CDI systems, which 
advertise multiple sparks per trigger. I've no experience with those.

But the one thing to keep in mind about ignitions is that the cylinder either 
fires or it doesn't. If it doesn't, that's a "Miss" and we'll feel even a single one

So, if you have a system that doesn't "miss" there's really no performance 
improvement possible with a "better" ignition system. Yes, we'd all liike to 
think that we could feel a difference, but there should not be.

In Doug's case, it's possible that he fixed some weaknesses by replacing the 
SP cables, and perhaps, the cap and rotor. For the record, I've found the 
genuine Bosch caps and rotors to be exceptionally reliable. I don't think I've 
ever replaced one that had failed in service. (I HAVE replaced a few 
aftermarket rotors that had failed and a few Bosch caps that I broke by 
mistreating them.)

It should be notied that adding a high voltage system like a CDI may also 
reveal some weak links that worked okay with the stock system.

-- 
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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