HIGH-lux Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Hi. Please excuse the ignorance of a noob! I was thinking on upgrading my ignition system to a mallory duel point distributor and mallory hyfire 6 ignition unit to get the best performance and mpg from my rover 3.5 V8 twin carb engine. The existing system has a lucas 9BR ballast resistor and lucas coil. Just wanted to know if the mallory setup requires a resistor? If so, would the lucas resistor and coil be suitable for the new mallory setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumpy2268 Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Hi, I have a Mallory dizzy and coil in my 4.2 V8 90, you do need a ballast resistor on the coil which can be bought separately from suppliers. I would not use the Landrover one, as the resistances may differ and cause damage to the system. I would recommend Magnecor plug leads too if you are going this route. Try RPI in the uk, or Summit Racing in the states - look 'em up on Google ! If you want to take it swimming, go for Megajolt which uses sealed Ford coil packs and no distributor. Gives a huge spark and can be run completely submerged - assuming you do something with the air intake to the carbs !! Adrian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p76rangie Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Ballast resistors are only generally required on ignition systems that still run points. The higher the voltage across the points the more they will ark out and pit. It is rare to find a resistor on an electronic ignition system. So if you are upgrading to electronic, ditch the resistor and use a coil that is designed to run on 12 volts rather than 9 volts. That is all the resistor does, drops the voltage to the coil and they all do it by the same amount. So you can basically use and make or model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuck Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Megajolt anybody? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Megajolt anybody? Yup. What about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumpy2268 Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Thanks for the clarification P76rangie. The Mallory duel point electronic dizzy does however need a ballast resistor according to Mallory, I would therefore suggest fitting one. Megajolt - yes please, going that route as soon as I have enough shirt buttons saved up :-) I am fed up with the carp Landrover ignition system which is giving me an intermittant misfire on LPG, despite numerous component changes :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Yup, megajolt or megasquirt with EDIS, far bigger & better sparks than clockwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p76rangie Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 The Mallory duel point electronic dizzy does however need a ballast resistor according to Mallory, I would therefore suggest fitting one. As it is a point distributor it would require one. What ever the manufacturer may describe it as, if it has points it is not really "electronic". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumpy2268 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 As it makes no difference to me what you fit, do what you like and pay for the damaged parts ! I was merely giving you my advise based on my setup and experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SORNagain Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Dual points? Isn't one set trouble enough? I would suggest that two of them makes it half as good rather than the other way around. The only way I can see that 2 of them would be beneficial is if they were connected in series - giving a better 'break'. They are however connected in parallel. (by an odd twist of fate I have one on my engine.) Go electronic - even the standard Rover electronic ignition has to be better that doesn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I've got a good standard distributor here you could have, save your money for something that is actually an improvment like MS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Idris Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I understood twin points were for high speed use so the points didn't bounce at high revs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SORNagain Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 That makes sense I guess. So they both still bounce, but they are hoping they don't both bounce open at the same time. I remain unconvinced! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p76rangie Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 That makes sense I guess. So they both still bounce, but they are hoping they don't both bounce open at the same time. I remain unconvinced! This may answer your question as to the benefits. "With the dual points distributor, the first points set to close "makes" the circuit and will incur any ravages caused by a small amount of arcing when closing. The last points set to open "breaks" the circuit and will incur any ravages caused by a small amount of arcing when opening. Since the make and break functions are done by different contact sets, the two sets of points share the wear and each will therefore wear less with time, causing less variation of dwell and timing, and it can run longer between required adjustment or points replacement. Also the two contact sets can share the electrical current load most of the time, so there can be less heating of the contacts and/or rubbing foot. This reduction of running heat leads to less wear on the rubbing foot as well as the contacts. This may be even more important if you also install a high output ignition coil which draws more current, which may noticeably shorten the life of single points. If the points may last roughly twice as long in service (and they do), it may not be such an increased expense to replace two sets of points instead of one. The reduced labor or inconvenience may save considerably on cost and/or tinkering time. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 What a bloody awful way to avoid using several pence's worth of transistor! If that's the only reason then the Maplins £10 ignition amplifier will take all the load off your points and leave you free to save up for a decent setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SORNagain Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 The explanation does make sense, but yes - what FF said ^^ ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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