msd ignition?????

i had it on my chevy ,big improvment, i had it on my ford , big improvement., will it help my 96 xj???? what part#s did you use and how does it run thanks.

Can't say from personal experience, but the most of the posts at this forum and other sites say don't bother. The stock ignition system does a good job igniting the Jeep's fire. Good Luck.

Woody

Aftermarket ignitions are a good mod for a lot of old motors. Unless you have a Chevy with HEI, it is a good upgrade. With most newer vehicles, however, the coil already puts out enough voltage for a good, strong spark. Get some Bosch Platinum +2's (don't bother with the +4, no appreciable difference) and some good wires if yours are questionable. IMHO the MSD is not a worthwhile upgrade.

Jared

I have a 94' 4.0 with 160k miles. I put an MSD-6 off-road in my Jeep. Love it. there was a definate increase in the butt dyno. I wasn't sure if I was just "thinking" that I felt more power until I disconnected it and went back to stock... WOW! Summit racing has them for about $212 and its worth every penny. it also smoothed out the idle a little bit and made starts easier.

I have a coil from performance distributers and MSD wires and saw no improvement. Next time I would go with Magnecor wires, some plain old Champion truck plugs and a good rotor and cap.

i didnt notice a big increase in power. i did notice a big decrease in reliability when it decided to quit while in 10* weather on the way to go snowboarding. Made me miss prime hours of riding while bypassing the stupid thing with numb frozen hands.

The stock ignition works fine- i'd put that couple hundred dollars to something more useful.

Msd

I'm assuming that your 96xj is your daily driver, and I would not put a MSD box on my daily driver for a couple of reasons.
1.It causes more wear on your ingnition compents, such as coil, cap, button, wires, and plugs. With my experience you would have to replace the cap, and button at least every 10,000 miles.
2. I would also agree that the stock ignition system in the jeep is sufficient. I would go with the better spark plugs, mabey a super coil from accel, and even some 8.0mm wires from accel. These would give you plenty of spark, while still being low maintnance.
3. I think money would be better spent somewhere else, such as throttlebody, cam...tires, lift, locker...ect....

If the 96 is not your DD, and you have some extra money layin around then i say go for it because it does increase horse power, and torque, and it does make the motor start faster.

Just my opinion

FYI ...my 94xj with over 200,000 hasn't had a new rotor cap and or button...or spark plug wires in over 75,000 miles, and its still runnin strong

it is my dd, but it just seems to be going downhill. it has 160,000 with 3.5 lift and 33's. i know a gearchange is in order but dont have the money right no for somthing that expensive.

Since it is your DD, then I would not put the MSD on, it will just cost you more money in the long run. The MSD 6AL box on my brother's chevelle, which was runninig a .30 over 350 pushing about 400 hp would burn up the cap and button in no time, and we were always replacing them. It did run better with the box on, and he still has it on, but its not his daily driver. (His daily driver is an '03 rubicon with 5.5 inches of lift, and 35" MTR's). I think gears would be the way to go, they are a lot less maintenace, and will save you money in the long run. Not to mention, the addition of gears will be easier on your tranny. I would save money for the gears. after gears if the 4.0 still needs a little more, then try the MSD

Does anyone else agree?....or am i just way out of line...

then agian...i just drive to my favorite spot, with my favorite girl...put the back seat down....and well.....you know....i'm not worried about how fast i get there.

i had one on but it burnt up last year. i did get a replacment but haven't bothered putting it back on yet. i had it on for about 3yrs. i did put 8mm wires on it and used a little more gap on the spark plugs. my caps looked fine. plugs were always clean. i did change everything once a year. my rig has 230k on it. i do notice a difference with without it. mostly mileage (down) and idle (rougher).

i'd say save your money for gears before a box.

On the subject of wires. Mopar Performance does not recommend any wire over 7.5mm because of compatibilty problems with on-board computers and electronics.
P-4286742 High performance wire set 7.5 mm 91-97 4.0 L
Wayne

I ran it on my 91 and it was great for about 6 months then after that it kept eating plugs, caps, and rotors to the tune of 2 or 3 a months not worth the money in my opinion....As far as the butt dyno didnt do crap the only good thing is I sold to bro in law for his 74 cj it did wonders for his....
for 200 bones just get a bored t-body and call it a day....
themud
:cheers:

Wayne Sihler said:

On the subject of wires. Mopar Performance does not recommend any wire over 7.5mm because of compatibilty problems with on-board computers and electronics.
P-4286742 High performance wire set 7.5 mm 91-97 4.0 L
Wayne

Click to expand...

Is this year specific for the wire size or do they say that is for all years?

I have an MSD 6 series box from a previous vehicle and never had issues with it going thru plugs and cap/rotors. i was running a matching MSD distributor and coil with it as well but I dont think that would have made a difference. This was on a big block chevy that I wheeled and drove dialy for a while. I still have the ignition and will be installing it on my 89. Even if I do end up having to change plugs, cap and rotrs every 10k miles or so, I dont think that is too big a deal. I dont see that as being any more of a hassle than changing the oil every 3000 miles.

They only talk about the 91-97 years.Early 4.0s used the RENIX system.I believe the plug wires would fit all years that dont have the coil on plug system.
Wayne